The M1 iMac Gets Ports and M.2 Storage!

[@JulianHunt-lo4zc]

Finally - thanks to you - a reviewer who understands the theoretical nature of all these "bench tests"! Agree 100% that they mean nothing in the real-world application of this - or any device really. Looks exactly like what I need for my new iMac next month!

[@Frits08]

I got mine the moment I learned of it. Blends in beautifully with the iMac’s stand and everything functions perfectly. I got rid of the plug-in hubs I had before and am very happy with my super clean looking desk and the same functionality of my setup.

[@bryans8656]

I like how the hub blends in with the stand. You'd have to know what you're looking for to spot it.

[@sommid]

Bought one last week in blue colour. What a great addition to my M1 iMac. Recommended aluminum iMac hub. Great buy if you can use some extra ports and SSD storage.

[@K_R_W]

The real answer is not a restricted USB 3.2 hub, but a reasonably priced Thunderbollt Hub with these features. While I appreciate the information the reality is buyers of the M1 Mac's are still not able to access the full potential of the M1 because 2 Thuderbolt ports sit idle rather than say an attached Thuderbolt SSD.

[@ElevatedSystems]

The hardware requirement nessasary to meet TB4 certification standards is just expensive. The more ports you add to it the more expensive it becomes. That's why USB hubs are a fraction of the cost of TB hubs.

[@richarddcrossley]

Grabbed one of these a month ago. Brilliant product I just wish it came in pink to match my red iMac. Also nice it supports proper NVMe drives as the none NVMe drives I needed for my Mac mini version are getting hard to find! I use it for all my media. As a person who is 6ft 2 I like it adds height too!

[@mendodsoregonbackroads6632]

I don’t understand how 4 ports is lacking. You already don’t have to plug in a keyboard, mouse, camera or speakers, which mean’s after you turn it on you have 4 unused ports, actually 5 if you remember the Network port is on the power supply. I’ve had one of these since they came out about 2 years ago and had all 4 ports engaged maybe twice. Typical usage is one to three ports for me at any given time. I usually leave one lightning cable hooked up and dangling for charging something, and maybe a thunderbolt cable for some kind of data transfer, but not always. I’ve got a dongle for an SD card but it usually lives in the drawer. 4 ports seems like plenty.

[@hippocheese14]

4 Ports isn’t enough if you’re not happy with Apple’s default things, and also want reliable wired connection. Mouse with flawless sensor, mechanical keyboard, USB DAC + Amp and/or speakers, a 4K webcam, SD card dongle/free USB port to hook up DSLR directly, a USB audio interface for microphones, etc. It adds up if you want a higher-end desktop setup.

[@mendodsoregonbackroads6632]

@@hippocheese14 Well if you’re going to do all that, you should probably get the Studio.

[@NethirOsman]

@@mendodsoregonbackroads6632 100%, seems like they are looking for problems with a solution that doesn't work anyway, if the Imac doesn't offer you a 4k webcam then why are you even looking at it as an option as opposed to something else.... The m1 I Mac is not a "pro device" it's a consumer device anyway

[@TheRocketdrone]

you should check out the satechi usb-c slim dock for the imac it also has a m.2 slot but it's a different design that matches the keyboard footprint and doubles a storage for the keyboard

[@PLANETWATERMELON]

I see it and it's about 30% more expensive and I don't think it looks as clean as this device does.

[@apeel2008]

Why would they have put 2 USB2.0 ports on it? Seems to me they could/should have had put 2 USB3.0 ports instead. This is 2022. Seems like USB2.0 should be dead by now. Cannot imagine that USB3.0 (5GB) ports would have added much to the cost.

[@ElevatedSystems]

That bandwidth is dedicated to the NVMe drive. It dosen't add to the cost it subtracts from available bandwidth.

[@apeel2008]

@@ElevatedSystems Makes sense. That said, I would still prefer to have 2-USB3.0 ports, as I have a large number of USB3.0 hard drives, that are fed by a couple of USB3.0 hubs. That way, I assume that the NMVe speeds would not be impacted if one is not actually reading / writing to the USB3.0 ports.

[@gabesz]

@@apeel2008 You can use thoose ports for non speed sensitive periperials.

[@johnwaldmann5222]

The slower usb2 ports make sense, to ensure the NVMe ssd data speed is not significantly impacted. And most thumb drives, mouse dongles and other ancillary tools do not benefit from usb3.x.x speeds. If this was a thunderbolt hub, then maybe having a full suite of Usb3 speed ports would make sense. The bigger issue is that usb 3.2x provides an unreliable connection for NVMe SSDs. Causing auto-eject errors.

[@LiLBitsDK]

@@johnwaldmann5222 you need to buy better thumb drives if yours don't use usb 3.0... can't understand people buy the slow 2.0 drives it takes forever to use them... and you can use usb. 3.0 ports just fine... how often would you do full speed transfers on all ports at the same time anyways but now you don't have the option but you could use usb 3.0 just fine at full speed when not using the ssd and vice versa and if you use both at the same time they just share speed but it is still better than 2.0 speeds...

[@PLANETWATERMELON]

Maoin issue here is the permanently attached usb-c cable. If that goes bad your SOL. Also kinda late on this prodect if they just came out with it. Lasty wish they would offer a blugged in powered version for more money that had thunderbolt. I wold pay the extra cost for the speeds.

[@thomaspp9136]

Very nice presentation. I just received my and love it. Have you had any trouble with the scandisk ultra scandisk insertion? My scandisk card will not insert. There is some resistance? Any thoughts? Thanks!

[@Kamelemele]

Thanks so much!! especially for the link to the SSD - I've been trying to make sure to get the right one and got pretty confused. I love this hub btw. got one in orange, great match to my new 24" iMac.

[@JavierArochoVega]

Amazing product that’s I saw too in another tech channel but you just review it and clarified all my doubts!!! Great work bro!!! Keep it up the good job!!! New subscriber!!!💪🏾 God bless you, your career and your family!!!

[@olegyamleq7796]

great review, thanks. wowwwwwww, the way the hub blends in with the stand is impressive...

[@lamasteve6905]

You have elevated to the Mac ! We use more port because our computers work better ! Nice hub ! Laptop hubs too ?

[@eliaspujols5015]

Thanks a lot for the review, was great, helpful and cover all the specs!

[@IgorsPlay]

Can you hide that mounted ssd from a desktop, I hate to have to look at mounted thing on my screen all day 😁

[@merinocreative]

Did someone notice that iMac stops sleep mode every now and then when connected to this hub? I just bought it and my imac2023 stops sleep mode once or twice a day when connected to it... Thanks!

[@laletemanolete]

Cool hub. I'm only missing the imac.

[@hadouma]

Nice, but still a very limited number of USB ports. I would 7 USB3.0 ports to connect all my external drives, so this is unfortunately not suitable for me

[@ElevatedSystems]

Sounds like you need to build or buy yourself a storage server.

[@WhittyPics]

Pretty cool. I will bookmark that hub

[@lancer1993]

I got something similar which is basically a stand and the ports are on the front, where I need them. One things mine is missing is the additional storage option which would be nice to use for TimeMachine.

[@revenge217]

I have a problem..... I bought the hub and ssd 1 tb.... I did the process and when I connect to the iMac it shows an error message....it says it could not star the disk

[@TheMetalMag]

thx for this review, I was checking to get a really good review and you gave it, but it doesn't get down in price but it's the opposite! The success makes it more expensive! Oh and yeah I too thought about the color. They made it first for the base model, but I'd love it to match my iMac.

[@rolandgerard6064]

Nice product, thanks for the review.

[@keithpinn152]

Very interesting device. I wonder if this device would accept the base of a Mac Studio Display? Good to hear that over-heating isn't an issue.

[@PLANETWATERMELON]

Nope. Too small.

[@Watchandlearn91]

The iMacs have fantastic screens but 24 inches is just way too small and it would look funny next to an external monitor. Still, I have thought about getting one for my wife who is thinking of getting into graphic design. The high quality screen and color choices would make her happy.

[@ElevatedSystems]

The screen is amazing but you can probably get better value out of a M1 Mac Mini with a 32" 4k ProArt display for graphic design.

[@willm5032]

​@@ElevatedSystems I'm a graphic designer and I came to say this. Mac Mini, with at least 500gb SSD and as much RAM as you can afford to pay for (16 or more ideally) or a Studio (if you've got money to burn) and a decent 4k display will be better value and hopefully be better for futureproofng as a setup than a 24" iMac. That's the setup I'd go for for a work machine at home if I could justify the outlay.

[@hippocheese14]

It’s because of Apple’s peculiar way of doing OS scaling. If they went 27” then they’d want to make it a 5K panel (like the Studio Display) and that would be significantly more expensive considering that the Display is already $1600 by itself. The best plan would be to get a Mac mini and a 27in 1440p external monitor.

[@bwalk1963]

do external hard drives actually show up? i have tried and sent back 6 hubs because nothing would mount on the desktop i am at my wits end

[@ajackson-ross7295]

Is the better than the slim doc

[@AluisioAffonso]

Thanks for sharing

[@joeymcjoeysalot6596]

Don't care about Macs in the slightest, but that's an attractive design.

[@JalilFitriAyub]

imagine got imac but still record every single test in a physical note book. hehe

[@ElevatedSystems]

Imagine having no idea how benchmarking works.

[@tomm3218]

Great review! Will the Gen 4 version of the Crucial drive work?

[@ElevatedSystems]

The gen 4 will work but you are limited to USB speeds so you won't get gen 4 speeds.

[@tgee557]

Just wondering if you could run your 3 video editing sample workflow on iMac 24 to possibly compare M1 Pro MBP 14 and M2 MBA Apple Silicon performance progression and if the desktop better than laptop setup.

[@colingordon0986]

I have a headphone dac amp I want to connect to my imac 24! Will this dock work if I plug my usb into it

[@ElevatedSystems]

It should work but how well is the question. They can be really sensitive. I always recommend connecting them directly to the computer.

[@Warfare432]

Is there something like this for the air or pro

[@dave4shmups]

Great video on this product! That’s some impressive performance! My gripe with the 2021 iMac’s port selection is that there’s no ethernet jack in it. What do you use for ethernet on your 2021 iMac?

[@ElevatedSystems]

It's in a room without a hard line so it just uses WiFi, but any quality USB WiFi dongle will work. It is unfortunate that this hub dosen't have an RJ45 port but that would require removing something else to provide enough bandwidth.

[@SterkeYerke5555]

What's wrong with having the ethernet jack on the power supply though? I agree it's a bit weird, but I guess it does make cable management a bit easier since you can just stuff the psu away wherever you want it

[@ElevatedSystems]

@@SterkeYerke5555 Nothing wrong, except the base model dosen't come with that.

[@dave4shmups]

@@SterkeYerke5555 Good points.

[@mattbosley3531]

I don't know that many home users that use a wired ethernet connection, so I think that was part of their reasoning. You can either buy the power supply with ethernet connection or a USB ethernet adapter if you need the wired connection. I've seen the USB adapters available online for around $10.

[@rachelbolyard1527]

The Thunderbolt ports are 40gbps, not 10.

[@ElevatedSystems]

This is a 10 Gbps USB hub, not a thunderbolt hub. Thunderbolt ports are irrelevant.

[@DanJaeSmith]

I got one of these and love that I can discreetly add more SSD storage right under the base. One issue I come across is the SSD improperly disconnects at times; Is that a hub issue or a SSD issue? Also, I plugged a HDD to the hub at the same time but that stays plugged in...

[@ElevatedSystems]

That is a MacOS problem. The Mac will improperly disconnect the SSD when it goes to sleep. This even happens with my external USB-C SDDs plugged directly into my Mac Studio. I've had to disable sleep on all my Mac's.

[@leegallant5632]

Do any of these usb ports provide charging or is it strictly data transfer?

[@pbartlett-l4u]

I think he said they would charge slowly but not as fast as if the device was plugged directly into the imac...so if you dont need fast charge then youre fine.

[@KgLim3691]

can the NVMe slot take a card with Heat Sink?

[@ElevatedSystems]

No, but you shouldn't need a heat sync. With the USB speed restrictions the SSD won't get a chance to heat up.

[@B17B25guy]

Thank you for such an informative review! I'm curious if the Minisopuru will accept a Samsung 980 Pro with Heat Sink SSD which requires a bit more depth than the non-heat sink 980 Pro. Its difficult to determine looking at the vid. Thank you!

[@ElevatedSystems]

There's no reson to use a gen 4 NVME SSD in there as you are limited to just USB speeds anyway. Even if you do use a 980 pro it will not operate anywhere close to fast enough to need to be cooled.

[@B17B25guy]

@@ElevatedSystems Thank you! I just ordered the blue Minisopuru 😀

[@kreasu]

Still no purple 😢

[@jaekyungkim2839]

possible 2Tb?

[@andre9095]

Got an early version at around launch. Glad to see they stopped putting their brand on the front of the dock, it looks pretty bad on mine (and wasn’t in most marketing shots). Biggest issue is I’d expect the drive to always be mounted if it’s plugged in, and I regularly have to plug/unplug mine for the disks to show up again. Really good concept, just wish better execution.

[@ElevatedSystems]

That's a MacOS issue. It even happend with my CalDigit TB SSD's. Mac ejects the drive when it goes into sleep mode.

[@ivylee95]

wow. love it .

[@muwaffaq27]

Can I use this hub on my Mac mini M1 ?

[@ElevatedSystems]

it will work but there are hubs like this that are made for the Mini.

[@MarcoGPUtuber]

Too bad it isn't stackable

[@RobertMayfair]

Do people really have that much to plug in?

[@Guironey]

thxxxx

[@mikec2660]

permanently attached usb c 👎🏻👎🏻!

[@revoltoff]

scam advertising, hate HATE THESE TYPE OF VIDS

[@ElevatedSystems]

Advertizing would require I received a payment for this review, which I did not, and is against KZbin policies and FTC rules. A promotional video would require me to disclose that and would be indicated by a banner at the beginning of the video. This is a product review Period. My conclusions were my own. If you disagree with my conclusions that's fine, but do not accuse me of deceptive behavior.

[@balfit]

@@ElevatedSystems I wonder what makes someone to take the time and watch at leat some of your videos, only to add a negative comment on one and a false accusation on the other one. Don’t let this deter you from the usual high quality content we receive. It’s very appreciated by the rest of us! 😊

[@Watchandlearn91]

This is actually one of the only tech reviewers I trust not to be making positive videos about products for money. This guy does this type of thing for fun and makes almost 0 money from KZbin. His videos are insanely high quality and he receives a very small amount of views for his work. The least you can do is not try to drag his name into the mud with absolutely 0 evidence.

[@alexn989]

Design is perfect! But at almost $100 and it still has 2 USB 2.0? That’s an F! USB A 3.0 is the minimum in 2024!