At a glance
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Robust Construction
- Effective fan
- Good data transfer rates
- Informative display
Cons
- Not many extra ports
- Fan not silent
- No carrying case
Our Verdict
Anyone who opts for the Smart USB-C Hub 7-in-1 will do so mainly because of the option to integrate an NVMe SSD.
Price When Reviewed
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Best Prices Today: Dockcase Smart USB-C Hub 7-in-1 with M.2 SSD Enclosure
$149.99
At first glance, what stands out most about the Smart USB-C Hub 7-in-1 with M.2 SSD Enclosure hub is its relatively large case with an equally large display. The 4.3 by 2.3 centimeter display shows, among other things, the connected devices and the current data transfer rate. It also serves as a touchscreen for settings such as data protection and fan speed. The large display looks playful, but is very informative. An integrated SSD health monitor issues early warnings.
Speaking of that integrated SSD, inside the hub is a connector for an M.2 SSD module that you provide. It supports the compact 2230 and 2242 NVMe SSDs with a maximum capacity of 2TB. An optional read-only mode prevents unwanted changes or deletions and thus protects sensitive data, if required. An integrated, temperature-controlled fan and ventilation openings ensure efficient cooling of the NVMe SSD. Installtion an SSD module is effortless and Dockcase provides a small screwdriver.
The ports on the Smart USB-C Hub are one USB-C and USB-A (both USB 3.2 Gen 2 at 10GBps), a 100W Power Delivery USB-C power, an HDMI 2.1 port with support for 4K at 120Hz, an SD card slot, and a TF port. If you want a hub that gives you more connectors, other hubs and docks are better suited in our Best USB-C hubs and adapters for Mac 2025 roundup. Not everyone needs a lot of extra ports; primarily, this is an external SSD enclosure with a few useful ports.
The data transfer rate of the integrated NVMe SSD impresses across the board in the AJA System Test Lite with 875MBs for writing and 955MBps for reading. The fan occasionally starts up in the read/write endurance test; it is relatively quiet, but not silent. In our endurance test, however, the small NVMe SSD can get very warm after more than 30 minutes of intensive use. The write rate then decreases significantly. However, this is a respectable performance for a USB-C hub.
With the fan deactivated for the test (the temperature was read via the internal sensor), the temperature rose during continuous operation of the SSD. After a short time, a warning was displayed at 69 degrees Celsius, and the data transfer rate dropped significantly in some cases. At 72 degrees Celsius, we activated the fan to protect the SSD and within a short time, the temperature dropped to below 60 degrees Celsius.
The full metal housing is robust and also ensures good temperature equalization thanks to the many ventilation slots. However, the fan can be noisy and annoying to sensitive ears. Dockcase provides a fan control with four sppeds or the ability to turn it off completely–but doing so puts the SSD at risk.
With an OWC Ultra SDXC memory card, we measured 253MBps for writing and 284MBps for reading–an excellent performance. with a Lexar Armor 700 USB-C SSD, the 890MBps for writing and 939MBps for reading are only aabout 100MBps below the values directly on the MacBook Air M3.
Should you buy the Dockcase Smart USB-C Hub 7-in-1 with M.2 SSD Enclosure?
Anyone who opts for the Smart USB-C Hub 7-in-1 will do so mainly because of the option to integrate an NVMe SSD. If you need an external storage device and could use card reader slots and an extra charging port, the Smart USB-C hub may work. But there are plenty of other options out there if you want to add more ports.
This article originally appeared on our sister publication Macwelt and was translated and localized from German.
