If you use a 13-inch MacBook, chances are, you carry a port hub along. How the heck will you use a computer with nothing but a single USB port, after all? While the Linedock 13 is not as compact in size as your dongle, it brings a few clever additions that might make you want to consider it as your MacBook hub of choice.
Unlike most port hubs for laptops, this one takes on a form factor more similar to a laptop than a dongle. Seriously, it’s like someone took a laptop, snapped off the monitor, pried off the keyboard, and just covered the top with a metal panel, giving you a whole collection of ports on the sides that you can use for all your computing needs.
Instead of sitting on the side of your MacBook like most dongle-type port hubs, the Linedock 13 is designed to sit under your laptop, where it raises your laptop just a smidgen higher and gives you access to nine different ports. That’s three USB Type-C slots, three USB 3.0 slots, an SD card reader, an HDMI slot, and a MiniDisplay port, any of which you can use to hook up any accessories and peripherals you need to your laptop. From a wired mouse and a USB controller knob to an external hard drive and a second monitor, this gives your erstwhile port-averse MacBook the necessary slots to accommodate them all.
Those USB slots, by the way, boast 100W pass-through when connected to a power source, so you can use it to charge up to six different USB devices and your MacBook all at once, while the HDMI and MiniDisplay slots support 4K video for your second monitor, so you can put on a movie in crystal clear detail that you will continually ignore while you try to finish whatever you’re working on. Yeah, we’re guilty of doing the same thing.
If you think the Linedock 13 is too big just to serve as a USB hub, that’s because it isn’t the device’s sole function. Instead, it also comes with an integrated 20,000mAh battery that can provide one full charge to your MacBook, essentially doubling your laptop’s battery life on the road, even if you never find an outlet to plug into the whole day. When charging your laptop, it delivers 60W of power output, allowing you to charge a laptop to 50 percent in just 45 minutes and 100 percent in two hours.
There’s also room inside the laptop-like enclosure to accommodate an SSD, which is offered as an option. You can opt for no storage, 256GB, or 1TB, giving you access to whatever size of storage is needed for your work files, media files, and whatever nefarious data you handle throughout the course of the day. Other features include an aircraft-grade aluminum construction for the case and EMUI/DEX support (you can use it to turn your Huawei Mate 30 or Galaxy S10 into a desktop machine, with full mouse-and-keyboard support).
Want one? The Linedock 13 is available now, priced starting at $349.