Apple just released a new Mac mini late last month, equipped with the new M6 and M5 Pro chips. If you’re looking for a perfect Thunderbolt 5 dock to pair with your new Mac mini (or your current M4/M4 Pro model) – Satechi has a great offering for you.
Satechi’s Thunderbolt 5 CubeDock is shaped just like a Mac mini, making it a perfect companion, whether you have it side by side or stacked. It brings 8 additional ports, an M.2 NVMe SSD bay, and supports up to 140W of host charging if you’re pairing it with a laptop instead.
With Thunderbolt 5, there’s up to 120Gbps of throughput, allowing you to run up to three 6K@60Hz or 4K@144Hz displays with M5 Pro through a single cable, or two with any other chipset.
Beyond its display capabilities, it offers two 10Gbps USB-C ports and two 10Gbps USB-A ports, a 2.5G Ethernet port, an SD card reader, and a microSD card reader – with each supporting UHS-II. There’s also an additional 3.5mm combo audio jack if you need a second one.
The best part for me is the fact that it has an M.2 NVMe SSD bay, and the bay is large enough to fit SSDs that have a built-in heatsink – which can’t be said for every product with an SSD bay. The SSD bay sits within the enclosure and doesn’t expand the footprint. You can fit an 8TB SSD in it, at up to 6000MB/s – and it supports 2230, 2242, 2260, and 2280 drive sizes.
9to5Mac’s Take
If you want the best dock that can take advantage of Thunderbolt 5 capabilities and look right at home with your Mac mini, the Satechi CubeDock is undeniably the best option. I will say, it’s a bit pricey at $399.99, so it’s likely hard to justify for most people unless you’re super obsessed with running everything through one dock with an integrated SSD hub.
One thing of note is that it does get quite warm when you’re using it. It’s not to a concerning level, though you absolutely will notice it if you touch it. Is this an issue for something that sits on your desk? Probably not.
You can purchase the Satechi Thunderbolt 5 CubeDock for $399.99 on Amazon. Right now, there’s a promo where you can bundle an additional braided Thunderbolt 5 cable ($39.99) and unlock 10% off of your order, effectively making the second cable free with the purchase.
If you’re just interested in the new Mac mini, I’d also say they’re worth a purchase. They’re still readily available with delivery in September, compared to the previous M4 models which were incredibly hard to find:
My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:
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