Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub Pro Review: A Space-Saving Addition to Your Desk

Especially if you’re a Mac user, additional Thunderbolt ports can be used in various ways, like for external monitors and storage. And if you’re looking for a cost-effective option that looks great and won’t take up a lot of space on your desk, the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub Pro is a nice choice.

Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub Pro

The Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub Pro can upgrade your setup without breaking the bank or taking up tons of room on your desk. Along with an upstream Thunderbolt 4 that can provide 90W of power delivery to your laptop or desktop, there are three additional Thunderbolt 4 ports with 15W of downstream power for other devices like a monitor. Additionally, there is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 with up to 10 Gbps data transfer. The hub can be used with both compatible Macs and Windows devices. 

Ports

4 Thunderbolt 4, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2

USB Power Delivery

90W upstream, 15W downstream

Power supply included

Yes

Max display res.

Single 8K or Dual 4K

Price

$199.99

Dimensions

12.2 x 2.91 x 0.71 in.

Pros

• Compatible with Mac, Windows, iPads
• Three downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports
• Backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 3
• Lower price compared to similiar options
• Won’t take up tons of room on your desk

Cons

• Lack of additional USB-A or HDMI port.
• Metal shell could be prone to scratching if used while traveling

Unboxing and Setup is Easy

Getting started with the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub Pro takes just a few minutes. After unboxing the hub itself, you’ll need to grab the power cords. Since this is a powered unit, the power equipment is large and extensive and actually takes up more room than the hub itself.

Attach the power cord to the plug on the hub and then into the included power brick. The power brick has the actual plug. I had to find a specific place in my desk’s cord management system to place the brick because it was so large—it reminds me of an old-school PC laptop power supply. Though it’s quite large, there is good news. The 150W power supply can output up to 96W of power to the host device, perfect for Mac laptops like the current-generation 14-inch MacBook Pro.

Satechi also includes an almost 3-foot Thunderbolt 4 cable that you can attach directly into your machine. While Thunderbolt hubs like this are mostly favored by Mac fans, you can also use it with a number of modern iPads and some Windows machines. I tested the hub mostly with my 2021 14-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro chip.

Just to note, even though it is a Thunderbolt 4 hub, it’s backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C.

A Beautiful Design That Compliments Your Mac

I usually don’t worry about how something looks on my desk, but the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub Pro just looks great. The top, bottom, and sides are covered with a space gray aluminum that closely matches the same color of various Macs.

On the bottom are four, non-skid feet to help prevent the hub from sliding around your desk with just a bit of movement. Both of the longest sides, where the ports are located, are covered with a similar black material. Sloping down from the top are chamfered sides.

Overall, the hub is 12.2 inches long, 2.91 inches long, and just 0.71 inches deep. It weighs 8.5 ounces. So if you can find a spot for the power cord, the hub won’t take up tons of space on a desk. Since I don’t have a dedicated office space at my home, my desk is very small and tucked into the side of a living area, so was really nice to use the Satechi hub without having to rearrange and remove items from my desk.

The hub is even small enough that it shouldn’t be a huge burden to take with you while traveling, with one caveat. Make sure to keep any sharp items away from the aluminum as I suspect it might easily scratch if it rubs up against a set of keys or something else sharp.

Powerful Thunderbolt Ports

On the front of the dock is the upstream Thunderbolt 4 port that can provide up to that 96W of power along with a maximum of 40Gbps of data.

Next to it is the USB 3.2 Gen 2 port provides a maximum of 10 Gbps. It’s also backwards compatible with older USB-A devices. I would have liked to have seen the port be moved a bit further from the upstream Thunderbolt 4 connector. When trying out a wide variety of different devices, some of my chunkier USB cords and a larger USB thumb drive were a very tight fit because of the port’s proximity to each other.

Finally, on the far right is a power button that turns green to let you know the hub is on and active.

On the other side of the hub is the power outlet for the brick and three downstream Thunderbolt 4 plugs that can provide up to 15W of power each. That should be enough to fast charge your iPhone with MagSafe connector.

All of the downstream connectors can also be used for video output. On the Mac, you can use dual 4K displays at 60Hz or a single 6K display at 60Hz. Windows is a bit better with dual 4K displays at 60Hz or a single 8K display at 60Hz.

Only one external display is supported on a Mac with the base-level M1/M2/M3 processor. That’s a disappointment, as one of the best use-cases for a hub like this is for a dual-monitor setup.

Works Well and Doesn’t Heat Up

I’ve used the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub Pro for around two weeks with my MacBook setup and haven’t experienced any issues. I used the hub for a wide variety of tasks like device charging, using a variety of peripherals like printers and hard drives, and with my main 38-inch Dell 4K display.

The connection to my display worked well without any flickering or other issues sometimes seen with Thunderbolt hubs. I used the hub to charge my MacBook Pro, and it charged just as fast as with Apple’s 96W adapter.

Another issue, sometimes found on Thunderbolt hubs, is that they can become warm or even hot to the touch when charging devices or during a large transfer. I previously used an older Thunderbolt 3 hub that became so hot, I was afraid my hand might have been slightly burned.

But that’s not the case with Satechi’s option. It’s designed to dissipate and regulate heat and operate between 86 and 122-degrees Fahrenheit during use. At least in my testing, the hub got mildly warm at most, nothing near the top of its range.

My only other small issue after testing, is that I had a bit of a hard time orienting the hub correctly because the usable Thunderbolt plugs were on the back of the dock. I would have loved to have seen the power cable plug placed with the single upstream and USB 3.2 port instead. That would make it easier to access the plugs without having to deal with the power cord snaking on my desk.

Should You Buy the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub Pro?

If you’re looking for a traditional hub with tons of legacy ports, a SD card slot, and HDMI, the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub Pro definitely isn’t for you. With only a single USB-A port, you’ll have enough room for a single device like a keyboard, mouse, or hard drive. Most likely, you’ll need to spend a bit more for something like a more powerful, and expensive, docking station.

But if you’d like a modern hub with tons of Thunderbolt 4 ports, and power to charge up pretty much any laptop and other devices, the Satechi is a nice option that doesn’t cost tons. It looks great on any desk, and it is small enough to pack up for travel easily. Just make sure to find a secure place for it in your travel bag so the beautiful exterior doesn’t get scratched.

Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub Pro

The Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub Pro can upgrade your setup without breaking the bank or taking up tons of room on your desk. Along with an upstream Thunderbolt 4 that can provide 90W of power delivery to your laptop or desktop, there are three additional Thunderbolt 4 ports with 15W of downstream power for other devices like a monitor. Additionally, there is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 with up to 10 Gbps data transfer. The hub can be used with both compatible Macs and Windows devices. 

Ports

4 Thunderbolt 4, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2

USB Power Delivery

90W upstream, 15W downstream

Power supply included

Yes

Max display res.

Single 8K or Dual 4K

Price

$199.99

Dimensions

12.2 x 2.91 x 0.71 in.