Satechi OntheGo 7-in-1 Multiport Adapter review: The most portable USB-C hub we’ve tested

Best Prices Today: Satechi OntheGo 7-in-1 Multiport Adapter

As useful as the MacBook’s ports are, there often just aren’t enough of them. Attach a USB-C hub to one of your MacBook’s Thunderbolt ports to greatly increase functionality and at a low cost.

Design

The Satechi OntheGo 7-in-1 Multiport Adapter doesn’t look like the average USB-C hub. It’s a pocket-sized hockey puck shape with a coiled braided USB-C cable and seven varied ports, and handily portable.

It has a 2.55-inch (6.5cm) diameter and sits just over an inch tall (2.7cm). It weighs 2.4oz (68g).

Another startling break from hub design is its magnetic mount that enables you to mount it on the back of your device, be that a MacBook, iPhone or iPad.

It will clamp to the back of an iPhone via MagSafe, and it comes with a 3M Adhesive Ring to add compatibility for the iPad, laptops, gaming consoles, and non-MagSafe smartphones or cases. You can slap it onto your laptop and there it will stay even as you move around with the MacBook under your arm. It is possible to remove the ring with some gentle prising, but I doubt you could move it more than a couple of times before it loses its stick, so choose wisely.

Hubs can add clutter to any computing setup with trailing cables and devices sticking out from the hub that’s hanging off the central computer. The OntheGo 7-in-1 Multiport Adapter is a much neater solution. Attach the adhesive ring to the back of the laptop’s lid to create a place where you won’t even see the hub while you work.

Clamped to the back of an iPhone (it must be an iPhone 15 or later to utilize the built-in USB-C cable), the hub gives you access to the SD and microSD card readers to add extra storage for photos and videos or transferring large files easily between your devices. These affordable portable storage cards are also useful for creating physical backups.

Unlike other members of the Satechi OnTheGo family it’s available in just one color: a terribly sensible black, so no gentle Sand or pretty Desert Rose.

Specs: plenty of ports

The Satechi OntheGo 7-in-1 calls itself a “Multiport Adapter” but it’s really a hub, boasting seven ports, alongside its integrated 10Gbps USB-C cable. None of the ports are pro-level top end but they are capable enough for most users. If the connection was Thunderbolt 5, the card readers UHS-II and the passthrough 140W, the attractive price would sky rocket.

• Integrated 6.5-inch cable (10Gbps)
• USB-C PD (80W passthrough power)
• 2x USB-A (5Gbps)
• SD Card Reader (UHS-l, 104MBps)
• microSD Card Reader (UHS-l, 104MBps)
• HDMI 2.0 – Up to 4K/60Hz
• Gigabit Ethernet

If you’re not using the MacBook’s MagSafe 3 charging cable, you can supply up to 80W of passthrough power via the USB-C PD port connected to your own USB-C charger.

For MacBook Air users, the HDMI port offers an easy connection point for monitors up to 4K and a 60Hz refresh rate.

The SD card readers are useful for adding portable and very affordable storage. At the time of writing, you could pick up a 512GB microSD card for $40, and 1TB for around $100. The card readers are of the slower UHS-l variety, allowing data-transfer speeds of up to 104MBps. While you can get faster card readers— Apple includes a 250MBps SD card reader on the MacBook Pro, and premium Mac docking stations boast 312MBps UHS-II readers—the ones on the Satechi OntheGo are fine for non-pro work.

The Gigabit Ethernet (1GbE) is also looking a bit past it these days with docks offering 2.5GbE or faster, but the vast majority of our networks are still stuck at 1GbE so it probably matters little, and even 10GbE networks are backwards compatible with Gigabit Ethernet.

The dock connects to your device at 10Gbps, so not 40 or 80Gbps Thunderbolt but fast enough for most purposes.

The two 5Gbps USB-A ports are handy as no Apple device has sported one of these for years, and yet they persist in memory sticks and some device chargers even in the face of superior USB-C.

Price

The Satechi OntheGo 7-in-1 Multiport Adapter costs $59.99 / £54.99 / €59,99.

If you need a Thunderbolt or USB4 hub or a hub with more or speedier ports, look at our reviews of the best USB-C and Thunderbolt hubs.

Should you buy the Satechi OntheGo 7-in-1 Multiport Adapter?

The Satechi OntheGo 7-in-1 Multiport Adapter offers a decent set of useful ports in an extremely portable form. The ports aren’t at the very top levels of speed and performance but at this price and this compact shape, with the hidden built-in cable and magnetic attachment, it makes a compelling option for the regular tech traveler.

In a world of largely rectangular tech gadgets, there’s something pleasing about a circular accessory. The shape also helps keep the coiled integrated cable tangle-free and the whole package efficiently neat and tidy.

Best Prices Today: Satechi OntheGo 7-in-1 Multiport Adapter