I never thought I would see the day I would write an article about a USB Hub that I thought was actually cool. I mean, sure, I use USB hubs all the time, from extending USB ports from the back of my desktop to allowing my tiny-but-mighty laptop to connect to a device that isn’t USB-C. Still, I’ve never paid much attention to it besides being USB 3.0 compliant.
I have, however, run into issues where certain hubs just don’t provide enough power to my devices or don’t even connect at all.
Enter the Dockcase Explorer Edition: Smart 10-in-1 USB-C Hub.
This is no ordinary hub, oh no. And you can immediately tell just by looking at it.
Besides the 10 extra ports, providing 1x Gigabit Ethernet port, 1x USB-C PD charging port, 1x 4K@120Hz/8K@30Hz HDMI port, 1x 4K@120Hz/8K@30Hz DP port, 1x UHS-II TF&SD card slot, 2x USB-A 2.0 ports, 1x USB-A 3.2 10Gbps, and 1x USB-C 3.2 10Gbps, the Dockcase Explorer Edition has a sleek see-through design allowing you to view all the hubs’ internals, and it has a mini 1.54-inch display that shows you exactly what’s going on with every device connected.
This tiny screen shows information like what ports are in use, what displays are connected, and at what resolution and frame rate they are pushing. It also shows how much of the 100W power is being used and where.
It’s the tech enthusiast’s dream hub, even if the only satisfaction you get from it is showing off the device to all your colleagues at the office.
The double-legged kicker? We currently can’t get the damned thing in South Africa, and the RRP puts it well above the R2000 mark.
Yet, that hasn’t stopped me from adding it to my Amazon.com shopping cart, for one day when I’m feeling rich and confident.
