Add 6 ports to your iPad with this tiny, clip-on hub [Review]

The Satechi USB-C Mobile Pro Hub SD is designed to look and act like it’s part of an iPad. It attaches directly to the side of the tablet and adds an HDMI video port, a USB-A port plus a headphone plug, SD card reader and more.

I tested the six-port hub with my iPad Pro, and am quite pleased with it.

Satechi USB-C Mobile Pro Hub SD review

iPadOS now offers full support for external displays on top-tier models. Plug one in to tremendously expand your available work area. Of course, if you want to use an HDMI monitor, you will need an adapter.

The Satechi USB-C Mobile Pro Hub SD has exactly the port you’re looking for, with support for 4K video.

And that’s only the start, as the hub also lets you plug keyboards, mice, external drives, headphones, SD memory cards and more into your tablet.

I used the hub on a recent vacation as a critical part of a mobile office. It’s a serious improvement on the iPad’s single USB-C port.

Even better, all of the hub’s ports fit into a very portable device.

• Clings to your iPad
• iPad USB-C hub packs 6 useful ports
• Satechi USB-C Mobile Pro Hub SD final thoughts
• Pricing

Clings to your iPad

An iPad can use any USB-C hub designed for a Mac. But these are usually so bulky it’s a shame to plug them into a sleek iPad.

The Satechi USB-C Mobile Pro Hub SD is anything but bulky. It’s a mere 3.9 inches by 1.2 inches by 0.4 inches. That’s pocket size, or it goes easily into a purse of backpack.

And the add-on saves even more space by not requiring a built-in connector cable. It plugs straight into the USB-C port on the size of the iPad. The additional ports are very convenient there, especially if the tablet is in landscape mode.

And the accessory looks right at home. I used it with my space gray iPad Pro and the two match almost perfectly.

Satechi includes a 3-inch adapter cable that allows the hub to be used with any computer that has a USB-C port. So this isn’t just an iPad multiport adapter, it’s also a MacBook one.

iPad USB-C hub packs 6 useful ports

Now that iPad models with an M1 or M2 processor have full external display support, the HDMI port in the Satechi USB-C Mobile Pro Hub SD is one of its most useful.

I used it to connect my 2022 iPad Pro to an Innocn 4K monitor to confirm the adapter provides 4K video at up to 60 Hz. And it looks great.

The hub also sports a USB-A port for connecting your iPad to a keyboard or mouse. That was easy, plus I used a USB-A hub to successfully connect multiple accessories at the same time. The port supports USB 3.0 for data transfers at up to 5 Gbps. As a test, I copied a 1GB file from iPad to an OWC SSD and back, with each trip taking under 5 seconds.

Satechi built in SD and microSD card readers (UHS-I) so you can pull a card out of your drone and easily transfer images to your iPad. Even better, my tests show that both readers work at the same time – a feature many rival hubs lack – so you can move files between a microSD and an SD card and vice versa. I personally would rather have had a second USB-A port than the card readers, but that’s me.

Although Apple pulled the headphone jack out of all iPads, this multiport adapter adds one back. It’s very convenient.

The list of ports in the hub finishes with USB-C. With it, you can keep your iPad charged while it’s connected to an external monitor and keyboard or mouse. The port can handle up 60W of power, which means it’s more than enough for an iPad. The port can also be used for some USB-C accessories. It transferred a 1GB test file back and forth to an SSD in under 4 seconds. But it can’t handle an external monitor.

In my use, the USB-C Mobile Pro Hub SD never got more than slightly warm.

Satechi USB-C Mobile Pro Hub SD final thoughts

Now that iPadOS offers floating app windows and full support for external displays, iPad is an even better option to be the centerpiece of a mobile office. But to pull that off, most professionals will need more than the tablet’s single USB-C port. Satechi’s uber-portable hub delivers.

And hubs like this one prove that iPad can easily handle a range of ports, even if Apple insists on putting only a single one int the tablet.

★★★★☆

Pricing

Satechi’s USB-C Mobile Pro Hub SD is available now for $69.99. An introductory sale knocks 20% off that price with code: SD20.

Buy from: Satechi

If you want to shop around, rival hubs designed to cling to the side of an iPad include the Sanho HyperDrive USB-C 6-in-1 Hub for iPad as well as the HyperDrive 6-in-1 USB-C Media Hub.

Satechi provided Cult of Mac with a review unit for this article. See our reviews policy, and check out other in-depth reviews of Apple-related items.