For those of us that use thin and light notebooks, one major issue we are faced with is the lack of ports on our device. Take the MacBook Air as an example, it has just two ports. Granted they are both thunderbolt 3 ports but that just isn’t going to cut it for most of us. At the end of the day, we all have to make the decision to get a dongle.
This same problem applies to most netbook and even some laptop users, where thinness was more of a priority than having extra ports. But we love them just for that very reason. Hence since we have to buy a dongle anyway, might as well get one that has a decent number of ports, functions fast and looks good too.
The Xcellon U6-1VPD 6-in-1 USB Type-C Hub with Power Delivery is a rather small but surprisingly very functional dongle. You get 6 ports which are 1 x USB 3.0 Type-C Port (60W PD), 2 x USB 3.0 Type-A Ports, 1 x HDMI Port (3840 x 2160 @ 30 Hz), UHS-I SDXC and microSDXC Card Readers.
It connects to the host system via USB Type-C and you can expect that 5GBs speeds on both the USB Type-A and Type-C ports on the device. While also delivering pass-through charging to power attached devices up to 60w via Power Delivery 3.0. The HDMI output supports HDCP 1.4 and 2.2 for connecting your system to an external display with a resolution up to 3840 x 2160 @ 30 Hz. The Memory card slot has support for SD, SDHC, or SDXC cards up to 2TB as well as microSD, microSDHC, and microSDXC card formats.
However, there is one key point to note here and the manufacturer also made it very clear. This hub does not support Apple's SuperDrive and the USB Type-A ports do not have sufficient power to charge iPads. While this isn’t going to affect everyone it is something to note if you plan on purchasing the hub.
And finally, we can talk about its appearance. With its aluminum construction, slim build, and metallic grey finish, it does not look out of place when connected to something like a Macbook or most computers for that matter. But it works just fine when connected to Windows, macOS, iPadOS, and Android devices with support for DP-alt mode. Plus it takes up almost no space in your bag which makes for easy carry.
