Photography Life

PL provides various digital photography news, reviews, articles, tips, tutorials and guides to photographers of all levels

  • Lens Reviews
  • Camera Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • Compare Cameras
  • Forum
    • Sign Up
    • Login
  • About
  • Search
Home → Reviews → PC / Mac / Tablet Hardware

Dockcase Smart USB-C Hub – A Mini Review

By Alex Coleman 7 Comments
Last Updated On June 9, 2024

If you’re using one of the latest laptops featuring USB-C, like the MacBook Pro, the C type port can be both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it’s a powerful and multi-purpose port. On the other hand, it seems like there are never enough of them to go around!

That’s where the Dockcase Smart USB-C Hub comes into play. Although I love my MacBook for travel, this hub allows me to use it in a much more fully-featured way, like connecting card readers, ethernet, or HDMI while traveling. Should you add it to your bag?

Dockcase Smart USB-C Hub

Like many products, Dockcase’s Smart USB-C hub offers a range of ports:

  • 100W PD USB-C power-in port
  • USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-C port
  • USB-A 3.2
  • 2x USB-A 2.0 ports
  • HDMI
  • DisplayPort
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • SD and MicroSD card slots

Screen

Beyond these ports, though, the Smart Hub includes an integrated diagnostic display. While this might seem like a gimmick at first, it’s actually very useful. The display can show things like what connection protocol your device is using, the amount of power being drawn, transfer speeds, and information about the display formats being used via HDMI or DP.

These diagnostics can help you troubleshoot bad cables, check the status of your device charging, and more. I found that it’s particularly helpful when chasing down video output issues. The state of video output over USB-C is a bit messy, and more information is always better.

All that said, the single-button interface for the display is not the most intuitive.

DisplayModes

As a big bonus for many photographers, the integrated card reader isn’t an afterthought. The transfer performance really impressed me, with UHS-II support enabling up to 312MB/s of reads. It can also pull from both the SD and MicroSD simultaneously. While I wish it had CFExpress support, CFE is probably too new of a standard to realistically expect in an off-the-shelf hub.

The presence of Gigabit Ethernet is also really nice to have, but given the otherwise great speeds of the device, I’d love to see Multi-Gig support in a future version. One other nice-to-have feature would be the addition of one more USB-C port. USB-A is really nice to have, but more and more devices are trending to USB-C cables, and just one USB-C port feels a bit imbalanced.

In short, I think this device is a really good option for users who are planning on traveling with their laptop or, at home, making use of the display outputs and multitude of ports available. It’s a great way to break down a single USB-C port into a wider range of capabilities. Finally, I really like the clear labeling of the ports, along with the helpful diagnostic display and the sleek enclosure.

The Dockcase Smart USB-C Hub is available now on Kickstarter and has been funded at $420,000 at the time of this review’s publication (the project’s goal, albeit a lowball, was $5000). While Kickstarter projects do carry delivery risks, Dockcase has delivered 9 previous products via the platform without issue. I also had the opportunity to test this model in the field on a recent trip, and it worked great – so, they’re clearly already capable of manufacturing it successfully.

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions!

Dockcase Smart USB-C Hub
  • Features
  • Build Quality
  • Size and Weight
  • Value

Photography Life Overall Rating

4.3
Looking for even more exclusive content?

On Photography Life, you already get world-class articles with no advertising every day for free. As a Member, you'll get even more:

Silver ($5/mo)
  • Exclusive articles
  • Monthly Q&A chat
  • Early lens test results
  • "Creative Landscape Photography" eBook
Gold ($12/mo)
  • All that, PLUS:
  • Online workshops
  • Monthly photo critiques
  • Vote on our next lens reviews
 
Click Here to Join Today
 

Related Articles

  • MindShift Filter Hive Mini Filter Pouch
    MindShift Gear Filter Hive Mini Review
  • MIOPS Smart Trigger
    Introduction to MIOPS Smart Trigger
  • Smart Image 8 DSC_2744_DxOsmall
    Using DxO Smart Lighting
  • Canon EOS R6 Review
    Canon EOS R6 Video Review
  • Pink Balloon
    MIOPS Smart Camera Trigger Review
  • BenQ SW320
    BenQ SW320 Monitor Review
Disclosures, Terms and Conditions and Support Options
Filed Under: PC / Mac / Tablet Hardware Tagged With: Computer, Gear Reviews, Laptop, PC Hardware, Product Reviews, Travel

About Alex Coleman

I'm Alex Coleman, a commercial and travel photographer in Arizona. As an educator, I enjoy sharing my appreciation for photography with audiences both online and in person. You can see more of my work on my website.

guest

guest

7 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Jason Polak
Jason Polak
Admin
August 31, 2023 7:47 pm

Nice review! I was just looking for a hub like this but was overwhelmed with all the options. This looks like one of my finalists.

Just as a side note, I don’t much like USB-C…it’s too small and flimsy. I much prefer USB-A. But I think I might be the only one…

0
Reply
Alex
Alex
Reply to  Jason Polak
September 4, 2023 6:44 pm

Thanks! Yeah, the USB hub marketplace is staggering, and I know I really wanted an option that felt reliable in terms of data integrity.

USB-C is a pretty good connector, but I agree on the flimsy aspect – I definitely try to protect it more than a connector like HDMI or DisplayPort.

0
Reply
Fernando B. Corrada
Fernando B. Corrada
August 30, 2023 2:05 pm

Would you use the Dockcase hub with an IPad Air (5th Gen) for travel? I will be going on an African safari next year and I want to travel light. I shoot with a Z9 and an OM Systems OM-1. At this point I have not decided if I will take the Z9 or the OM-1 for the trip. I have a Delkin Devices card reader that works with CFexpress and SDXC cards. I am taking a couple of Samsung 2 TB and 4 TB SSD’s to backup the cards. So do you think the iPad would work well for copying the memory cards to the SSD’s? Or do you recommend other options? Thank you very much!

0
Reply
Alex
Alex
Reply to  Fernando B. Corrada
September 4, 2023 6:45 pm

Unfortunately I can’t speak to compatibility with an iPad – I did all my testing on MacBooks, and I’m not really familiar with iOS file management. Have you considered something like a MacBook Air? While not much bigger than an iPad, having a desktop environment might come in handy. Either way, good luck on your trip!

0
Reply
Kathleen Moore
Kathleen Moore
August 30, 2023 12:27 pm

If only it had CF Express. Are there any good card readers that will read CF Express and SD cards?

0
Reply
Alex
Alex
Reply to  Kathleen Moore
August 30, 2023 1:42 pm

Pergear has a CFE A and SD card reader that I like. I have a review coming up on it soon. While not as multifunctional as this hub, it’s a good reader.

0
Reply
Fernando B. Corrada
Fernando B. Corrada
Reply to  Kathleen Moore
August 30, 2023 1:48 pm

Delkin Devices DDREADER-56 reads CFexpress B and SDXC. I use it all the time, very happy with its performance.

0
Reply

Learn

  • Beginner Photography
  • Landscape Photography
  • Wildlife Photography
  • Portraiture
  • Post-Processing
  • Advanced Tutorials
Photography Life on Patreon

Reviews

  • Camera Reviews
  • Lens Reviews
  • Other Gear Reviews
  • Best Cameras and Lenses

Photography Tutorials

Photography Basics
Landscape Photography
Wildlife Photography
Macro Photography
Composition & Creativity
Black & White Photography
Night Sky Photography
Portrait Photography
Street Photography
Photography Videos

Unique Gift Ideas

Best Gifts for Photographers

Subscribe via Email

If you like our content, you can subscribe to our newsletter to receive weekly email updates using the link below:

Subscribe to our newsletter

Site Menu

  • About Us
  • Beginner Photography
  • Lens Database
  • Lens Index
  • Photo Spots
  • Search
  • Forum

Reviews

  • Reviews Archive
  • Camera Reviews
  • Lens Reviews
  • Other Gear Reviews

More

  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Workshops
  • Support Us
  • Submit Content

Copyright © 2025 · Photography Life

You are going to send email to

Move Comment