iPhone accessory maker Ugreen recently came out with a new Nexode Air charger and MagFlow Air power bank, two products that are designed for Apple users. MagFlow Air The $60 MagFlow Air is a 10,000mAh Qi2 power bank that also has a built-in USB-C cable. The power bank is 4.4 inches long, 2.75 inches wide, and 0.55 inches thick. It has some weight to it, and feels like a good quality device. It's about the same weight as the iPhone 17 Pro Max. It's close in size and design to Anker's MagGo, which is $20 more expensive at $80. The MagFlow Air has a clever design. It's a Qi2 charger so you can charge your iPhone wirelessly, but there's also a pull-out braided USB-C cable that unclips from the bottom corner. When it's clipped in, it serves as a lanyard. There's another USB-C port at the bottom for charging the power bank or charging a third device (though you can also charge it with the built-in cable). It does support passthrough charging, so you can connect it to a power adapter and then plug in an iPhone. With this setup, the iPhone charges first and then the power bank charges. I would not choose Qi charging over USB-C charging when there's a choice, but it's useful to have both in case you need to charge two devices at one time. I am a fan of built-in cables, and this one seems well-attached. It takes some force to pull the cable out, so it stays in place when it's used as a carrying strap. The cable is not removable, and it is not replaceable. Ugreen says it has been bent over 10,000 times in testing with no issue. Qi2 charges a compatible iPhone at up to 15W, and it's not the fastest wireless charging available. You can get up to 25W with one of Apple's MagSafe chargers or a Qi2.2 charger. The magnets in the MagFlow Air are strong, making for a secure connection to an iPhone. It stayed in place when pulling my iPhone out of a pocket. USB-C charging is faster at 30W, and if you use the USB-C cable instead of the Qi2 charger, you can fast charge your iPhone. You can attach the charger via ‌MagSafe‌ and plug it in, which is useful because it combines USB-C charging speeds with the convenience of a magnetic attachment. An iPhone plugged in via the USB-C cable won't charge wirelessly, but the connection remains available. I have an ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max, so 10,000mAh isn't quite enough for two full charges, but it is sufficient for a full charge and then some. The MagFlow Air gets warm when charging an iPhone wirelessly, which is not unusual for a Qi charger. I tested the space gray aluminum color, but the power bank also comes in blue and white. The back has a soft touch material that won't scratch an iPhone, and that provides grip. A button on the side lights up four LEDs to let you know the charge level. It takes about two hours to charge the MagFlow Air from empty to full over USB-C. Ugreen says the power bank has "Dymondcell ATL cells with 13-layer protection," "intelligent safety protection," and "Thermal Guard temperature control," which will hopefully keep it from exploding on an airplane (it is under the airline limit of 100Wh). The 13-layer protection is supposed to prevent "overheating, overcurrent, and short circuits" for safer charging. Ugreen doesn't explain what Dymondcell is, but it has partnered with battery maker Amperex Technology Limited (ATL) and is using ATL lithium-ion batteries. Ugreen's UK site has a little more information, but it doesn't detail what the 13 layers are. The battery cells can apparently withstand a 4mm tungsten steel nail penetration test and survive a 1.43-ton crush resistance test. I can't test those claims, but it sounds impressive. Nexode Air Priced at $25, the USB-C Nexode Air is the slimmest 65W charger I've seen to date. It uses GaN, and it's not too far off from the size of the tiny power bricks that Apple used to provide with the iPhone. The Nexode Air is just over 1.6 inches long, 1.2 inches wide, and 1.3 inches deep. The prongs fold in when it's not in use, making it more compact for travel. I tend to prefer multi-port chargers so I can charge more than one device at a time, but if you need a single charger for a Mac or another device, it's a good option. Ugreen's 65W Nexode Air next to 30W Apple USB-C charger I tested a space gray version that charges at 65W, but it also comes in 45W and in orange, white, and blue to match Apple's ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ models. 65W is enough to fast charge a MacBook Air , and it also works for iPhones and iPads. It fit well in a plug, left plenty of space to plug in something else, and it charged as expected. Ugreen includes a color-matched braided USB-C to USB-C cable that feels like it's made well. The cable is 3.3 feet, which is a standard size that usually comes with accessories. Bottom Line There are a ton of power banks out there, so the MagFlow Air has a lot of competition. This little Anker Nano is my favorite 10K option, but the MagFlow Air is growing on me. I like the magnetic connection with the option to charge over USB-C because it's a combo that most power banks don't offer. $60 is on the high side for a 10K power bank, but with the built-in cable and the Qi2 magnetic charging, it's priced competitively with other trusted brands. As for the Nexode Air, it's a good little USB-C power adapter if you need a pocketable single-device charging option. How to Buy The 65W Nexode Air is available from Amazon for $25. The MagFlow Air is available from Amazon for $60. Note: Ugreen provided MacRumors with an MA320UG for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. This article, " Ugreen MagFlow Air and Nexode Air Review: A Power Bank and Charger Built for iPhone " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
Accessory maker Satechi released its first Thunderbolt 5 dock earlier this year, debuting the $400 Thunderbolt 5 CubeDock . Satechi's dock combines Thunderbolt 5 connectivity with the traditional ports you expect from a dock, plus extra SSD storage thanks to an added SSD enclosure. Satechi likes to make things shaped like the Mac mini , and the CubeDock gives ‌Mac mini‌ vibes. It's five inches by five inches, and two inches thick, identical to the ‌Mac mini‌. It's silver, so it matches Apple hardware that comes in that shade, and it would pair well with a ‌Mac mini‌. The front of the dock has a 30W/10Gbps USB-C port, a 7.5W/10Gbps USB-A port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and SD and microSD card slots. I like the positioning of the card readers because they're easy to get to. I don't use wired headphones, but if I did, I'd also appreciate having that front audio jack. 30W charging for the front USB-C port is useful too, because 30W is enough to fast charge an iPhone and charge an iPad or MacBook Air . The back has a 2.5Gb Ethernet port, an 80/120Gbps Thunderbolt 5 host port to connect to a Mac, three additional 80Gbps Thunderbolt 5 ports (with 15W each for accessories), a 10Gbps 4.5W USB-A port, a 10Gbps 7.5W USB-C port, and a DC port for connecting the power supply. The CubeDock provides 140W for a MacBook,can charge the 16-inch MacBook Pro at the fastest speed. At the bottom of the CubeDock, there's a panel that can be popped out to add in up to an 8TB NVMe SSD. It supports 2230, 2242, 2260, and 2280 sizes with transfer speeds of up to 6000MB/s, depending on the SSD used. The CubeDock has an SSD enclosure, but it does not come with SSD storage. You need to buy an internal SSD separately if you want to use the enclosure, and SSDs aren't cheap right now. I installed a 2TB SSD in the slot at the bottom of the CubeDock. There's a plastic cover that comes off, and the SSD plugs in underneath. It's held in place with a screw, but the installation process was a little annoying because the screw needs to be positioned before the SSD is inserted. Satechi includes a thermal pad, which I added before closing it back up. My Mac recognized the SSD in the enclosure just as it would any other SSD I plugged in. There is a fan in the CubeDock that circulates air, along with vent holes at the sides. It has an LED power button on the front, and it charges with an included 180W power supply. The power supply is not built into the dock and is instead an external brick. Satechi also includes a Thunderbolt 5 cable to connect the dock to a Mac. I don't generally mind the sound of fans, but the CubeDock's fans have a subtle electronic whine that bothers me. I know some people can't hear that high-pitched electronic noise, but I can, and in a quiet room, it's the audio equivalent of having a pebble stuck in my shoe. I can't hear the sound when the TV is on, when music is playing, or when my AC is running. Anker's Thunderbolt 5 Dock has fans and had a similar noise, but fanless models like the CalDigit TS5 Plus are silent. With the fans, the CubeDock doesn't get blazingly hot, but it is warm to the touch. The temperature is closer to a hand warmer on a cold day than scorching coffee. I didn't notice a temperature difference testing with the SSD installed and without it. The CubeDock supports up to three 8K displays at 60Hz, but Satechi says 8K is limited to Windows machines. The M5 Pro and M5 Max chips do support 8K displays, but I don't have one to test with. What I do have on hand is a 5K Studio Display and a 32-inch 4K 120Hz OLED display, both of which the CubeDock can handle with no problem. I plugged in two iPhones to charge, put in an SD card, and connected two SSDs, and transferred large files. I had no issues with the CubeDock under this stress test, and everything also worked during day-to-day testing. The benefit of a dock like the CubeDock is being able to plug in multiple displays, peripherals, and accessories while only having one cable connected to a Mac. I can tuck the CubeDock under a display, route the cables out the back, and keep my desk neater with less cable clutter. I felt like the CubeDock had a good number of ports for everyday use, and I wasn't missing anything. It has fewer USB-C and USB-A ports than some other docks that it competes with, but I have few enough USB-A devices that even two USB-A ports felt like one too many. The Apple silicon chip you have determines the number of displays that the CubeDock can drive over a single Thunderbolt port. M5 Pro and M5 Max Macs can drive three displays at 6K/60Hz with Satechi's dock. M4 Max, M4 Pro and earlier Pro/Max chips support up to two external displays with the CubeDock (up to 6K/60Hz). Pro/Max Macs can generally support more than two external displays, but you need to use more than one Thunderbolt port. I have two displays connected to an M1 Max with the CubeDock, and a third display plugged into a different Thunderbolt port. Base M1 and M2 Macs support a single external display over Thunderbolt, but base M4 and M5 Macs can drive two. The M3 is complicated because an M3 ‌MacBook Air‌ can support two displays, but only in clamshell mode. It's best to check Satechi's website for compatibility info to make sure you can connect what you want to connect. Bottom Line Satechi's dock lets you connect multiple displays, peripherals, and accessories to your Mac with one cable, offering easy plug-and-play functionality. The addition of an SSD enclosure helps differentiate the CubeDock from competing products. It puts the ports most people need right up front, and hides the rest away for desk organization. The CubeDock is one of the better looking options on the market because of how well it matches Apple's aesthetic, and it doesn't run as hot as docks without a fan included. Unfortunately, the fan noise can be distracting for people who are sensitive to certain sounds. With two generations of Thunderbolt 5 Macs now available, there's more reason to choose a Thunderbolt 5 over a Thunderbolt 4 dock. Compared to Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 5 offers double the bandwidth (80Gbps instead of 40Gbps) and up to 120Gbps for display-heavy setups. If you have a newer Mac that supports Thunderbolt 5 and need extra ports, a Thunderbolt 5 dock makes the most sense. If you have an older Mac and are trying to decide between Thunderbolt 4 and Thunderbolt 5, Thunderbolt 5 is the better choice if you're going to upgrade anytime in the next couple of years. How to Buy The Satechi Thunderbolt 5 CubeDock with SSD Enclosure can be purchased from the Satechi website or from Amazon.com for $399.99. Note: Satechi provided MacRumors with a CubeDock for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Satechi and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article. Tag: Satechi This article, " Satechi CubeDock Review: A Thunderbolt 5 Dock That Doubles as an SSD Enclosure " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
