Tag Archives: Dock

This Thunderbolt 5 Dock Finally Gives Apple Silicon Macs 3 Displays

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Most docking stations are either a tangle of cables or a bland box you hide behind your monitor out of shame and embarrassment. For creative pros and MacBook power users, finding a dock that keeps up with demanding workflows while actually looking good on your desk is a rare win that deserves celebrating. Most people settle for function over form, accepting ugly tech as the unavoidable price of modern productivity.

The iVANKY FusionDock Max 2 changes the game with a design that’s as visually striking as it is functionally capable. With Thunderbolt 5, native triple-display support for Apple Silicon Macs, and a chassis built for both performance and aesthetics, it’s a dock you’ll want to show off front and center on your desk, not hide away beneath it in shame.

Designer: iVANKY

The FusionDock Max 2 is machined from a single block of aluminum using a 2,000-ton extrusion press, giving it a dense, premium feel that most plastic or stamped-metal docks simply can’t match. The matte dark finish, copper-alloy midframe for efficient heat dissipation, and bold orange accent lines create a modern, professional look that stands out in any workspace without screaming for attention.

The floating chassis design and visible fan vents aren’t just practical engineering choices—they’re deliberate aesthetic statements that celebrate the dock’s industrial elegance and functional beauty. The elevated base allows air to flow naturally underneath, while the integrated fan remains whisper-quiet during operation. The orange accents frame the port array, turning functional connectivity into visual interest that enhances rather than detracts.

With Thunderbolt 5 and a dedicated DisplayPort-Alt chip working together seamlessly, the FusionDock Max 2 is the first dock to offer native triple-display support for Apple Silicon MacBooks without adapters, dongles, or driver headaches. Video editors, developers, and designers can finally spread their work across three external monitors while keeping their MacBook lid closed for a cleaner, more organized setup.

The dock packs 23 thoughtfully chosen ports selected specifically for professional workflows rather than just chasing numbers. Five 10Gbps USB-C ports, four 10Gbps USB-A ports, dual HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, 2.5G Ethernet, SD 4.0 and microSD 4.0 card readers with 312MB per second transfer speeds, optical audio, and a security lock slot cover virtually every professional need imaginable.

Thunderbolt 5 delivers up to 120Gbps bandwidth—triple that of Thunderbolt 4—enabling smooth 6K displays, lightning-fast file transfers, and zero-compromise workflows for creative professionals. The dock powers your MacBook Pro at a steady 140W even with every single port busy and drawing power, while a separate 30W USB-C port handles phones and tablets without stealing power from the host machine.

Active cooling with a copper midframe and floating chassis keeps the dock up to 20 degrees Celsius cooler than typical Thunderbolt 5 docks during sustained full-load operation. This thermal management prevents flickering displays, dropped connections, and performance throttling that plague lesser docks when you push them hard during intensive video rendering, large file transfers, or multi-monitor coding sessions.

The FusionDock Max 2 is designed to be seen, appreciated, and admired rather than hidden from view. Its industrial elegance, compact footprint, and thoughtful cable management make it a natural centerpiece for creative studios and home offices that value both performance and presentation equally in their workspace design.

The post This Thunderbolt 5 Dock Finally Gives Apple Silicon Macs 3 Displays first appeared on Yanko Design.

Mac mini M4 dock offers a stylish way to expand your ports and storage

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The popularity of the Mac mini has made small desktop computers quite the fad. Especially with small components getting more powerful, it’s now possible to have a decent desktop experience in a small box. What isn’t possible, however, is enjoying the same range and variety of ports available on towers, at least not without some outside help.

Docks for mini PCs aren’t new, but the Mac mini does present some very particular design challenges. How do you make a dock that isn’t just functional but also just as aesthetic as the Mac mini itself? That’s the puzzle that this new dock for the latest Apple mini computer tries to solve using a large number of ports, a hidden SSD enclosure, and a rather peculiar appearance.

Designer: RayCue

The Mac mini has always been designed to be discreet and subtle so it could be hidden from view while it does its job. Lately, however, the trend has been to actually show off the beautiful minimalism of these small boxes, though that also meant exposing hubs and docks that extend the modest port selection of the mini computer. Rather than those conventional long bars, hubs made specifically for the Mac mini are designed to sit beneath the computer, blending in as if part of Apple’s design itself.

RayCue’s hub and stand for the newest Mac mini M4 and M4 Pro follow that trend, adopting the same silver colorway as the Mac mini itself as well as its length and width. It sits below the Mac mini, leaving a slight gap in between for better airflow. A rather interesting design choice, however, is the raised fins radiating from the center of the dock, perhaps acting as passive cooling for the small yet powerful computer.

The RayCue Mac mini M4 dock expands the port selection with 10 different connectivity options, including an additional HDMI port for a dual display setup that doesn’t sacrifice a Thunderbolt port. Just like the Mac mini itself, it’s designed to have the most often accessed ports in the front, leaving the more “stationary” ones on the back.

Another trend in this product category is using the spacious dock for additional storage. The RayCue dock and stand supports a variety of M.2 NVMe SSD sizes up to 4TB in capacity, almost double the maximum Mac mini configuration available. Stylish and functional, it’s a perfect complement to the elegant Mac mini M4, one that will, however, cost you $99 without a $20 pre-order discount.

The post Mac mini M4 dock offers a stylish way to expand your ports and storage first appeared on Yanko Design.

Dieter Rams-inspired iPhone Standby Mode Dock comes from an alternate timeline

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Have you ever wondered what would happen if two people from different time periods or locations met and worked together? Short of breaking the laws of time and space, we can only take a guess based on the works and ideas they left behind, though some “what if” collaborations feel more natural than others. The legendary industrial designer Dieter Rams, for example, has influenced generations of designers, some of whom became legends themselves and even carried on the spirit of his design philosophy. Perhaps nowhere is this association more pronounced than in the Ive-era Apple designs, particularly those that embraced minimalism to their very core. We might not need to imagine what a Rams-Ive collab would look like based on this rather simple yet intriguing iPhone dock that utilizes Standby Mode to become a modern version of the Braun DN 40 alarm clock that Rams designed.

Designer: Scott Yu-Jan x OVERWERK

Although probably best known for his Ten Principles of Good Design, Dieter Rams’ industrial designs not only became Braun products but also served as the inspiration for the likes of the original Apple iPod or the first Sony Walkman. His designs espoused a “less but better” philosophy, a foundation of modern minimalism, and among them was the DN 40 electronic, a funnel-shaped alarm clock that, as you might have guessed, did that and only that. There are dozens of alarm clocks today, of course, including an iPhone if you charge it horizontally to activate Standby Mode.

Inspired by this concept, musician OVERWERK created an initial prototype that simply housed a circular iPhone MagSafe charger to hold the phone at a specific angle similar to Rams’ design. It was basic, functional, and a bit cumbersome and wasteful. To take out the iPhone that sits flush inside the body, you have to press on one end of the phone to raise the opposite end and then pry it out. The rest of the clock’s chassis also held no purpose since there were no electronics to put in there as well.

Working together with designer and YouTuber Scott Yu-Jan, the design took an interesting turn and, thus, the iPhone DN 40 Dock was born. Two simple yet crucial changes were made to the original design, including adding an ejection button at the top that pushes the iPhone forward, detaching it from the MagSafe charger. Yu-Jan also added a space for the small Apple Watch MagSafe charger underneath the top cover at the back, allowing you to charge your AirPods on top. As a bonus, charging the AirPods case has a satisfying feeling when you simply put it down on top of the clock and it slides into place thanks to the power of magnets.

The result of this collaboration between two modern-day designers is a design object that feels like a collaboration between Rams and Ive, two designers with great respect for one another but never got the chance to work together. It has the minimalism of the original DN 40 clock but is made even simpler because you only need an iPhone and MagSafe chargers. You do need a 3D printer to make your own, though, and you might need to modify the design since this was made specifically for an iPhone 15 Pro. Fortunately, the design files are freely available so anyone can now have their own Rams-inspired iPhone Alarm Clock by their bed or desk.

The post Dieter Rams-inspired iPhone Standby Mode Dock comes from an alternate timeline first appeared on Yanko Design.

iPhone Standby Mode on Steroids: The Vobot gives you a Multi-Hub Display Dock for Widgets and Tools

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Sure, your iPhone can show you the time or the game score or even photos of your holiday when it’s docked horizontally during charging… but can it give your laptop HDMI and LAN connectivity? Can it track crypto prices? Does it let you code your own apps/widgets? And hey, can it play DOOM? Well, Vobot can. A compact desktop display that doubles as a multiport hub for enhanced productivity, the Vobot puts fun and function together. It has 7 ports for enhanced connectivity and charging (up to 90W), but its magnum opus is the display on front, which does everything from being a clock, weather forecast indicator, Pomodoro timer, Todoist task tracker, Crypto or stock ticker, or even a screen-mirroring display. The best part, you can code your own apps for it, so unlike the iPhone’s Standby Mode, the Vobot can be exactly what you need it to be.

Designer: Mocreo Pvt. Ltd.

As the folks behind the Vobot say, it’s first and foremost a mini dock. With 7 ports to supercharge your laptop/desktop, the Vobot offers connectivity and power to your device. It sports a 4K@60Hz HDMI port, a Gigabit LAN port, one USB-A 3.0 port, and two USB-C 3.0 ports. There’s one single USB-C input port that powers the Vobot (the Vobot comes with its own adapter, and doesn’t have a battery of its own)… so in essence, it’s every bit a multiport USB hub… but the screen on the front is what radically changes things.

Think of that screen on the front of the Vobot as a dedicated secondary display. It’s split into two parts – the part on the left is a dot-matrix seven-segment LED display that’s dedicated to showing the time and day, while the right half is an LCD IPS screen that can be controlled using a knob and button interface on the right side of the device (reminiscent of a watch’s crown). When plugged in and running, the Vobot’s screen becomes your custom control center. The left half shows you the time, while the right half unlocks productivity in a variety of ways. The Mini Dock has its own built-in app gallery, including a weather widget, a Pomodoro timer, a Todoist task manager, calendar, stock/crypto tracker, PC monitor, indoor air detector, game emulator, WiFi status checker, screen-mirroring applet, and a lot more.

The vast app gallery means the right half of the Vobot mini dock’s display becomes your work and your life’s control panel. You can track productivity, review the stock market, watch YouTube videos on the side, check your PC’s performance or thermals, or even code your own IoT apps. With MicroPython programming, you can add new features to the dock that serve your needs, from doing things like monitoring cameras around your smart home, to checking your home’s power consumption. Create games that you can play using your laptop keyboard or a game controller (which comes along with the mini dock), or just build something as simple as a subscriber counter or notification center for your phone.

The Vobot Mini Dock boasts compatibility across Windows, Linux, and MacOS machines, but there’s also support for Android and iOS devices. Each Mini Dock ships with a 100W power adapter, and a tiny gaming controller that lets you play games on the dock’s built-in emulator. A quick-start guide briefs you through the dock’s features, and an online app store lets you access apps by other creators, or make your own to boost productivity… or should I say, pro-dock-tivity!

The post iPhone Standby Mode on Steroids: The Vobot gives you a Multi-Hub Display Dock for Widgets and Tools first appeared on Yanko Design.

AYANEO AG01 graphics dock puts a retro-style spaceship on your desk

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Nostalgia is a very powerful (and lucrative) emotion, but the retro designs don’t necessarily have to be just based on past products. In fact, they don’t need to be based on real things at all. Retro designs only need to incorporate elements from the past, whether that’s a historical past or a fictional one. The latter especially applies to what has become known as retro-futuristic styles that try to blend past and future in a way that makes some sense in the present. This upcoming graphics dock, intended to give handheld gaming PCs a performance boost, is one such example, bringing a unique visual accent to your workspace by taking on the appearance of a miniature spacecraft with the blocky and rugged aesthetics of the past.

Designer: AYANEO

Although external graphics enclosures have existed for a while now, it was only with the advent of handheld PCs that they started to become smaller and slightly more portable. The purpose remains the same, providing significantly more powerful graphics capabilities than the portable computer can manage, but in a form factor that can also be carried around in a bag if desired. Many of these so-called graphics docks take on the form of uninspiring rectangular bricks, but the AYANEO AG01 bucks the trend with a design that is almost literally out of this world.

As part of its next batch of REMAKE products, AYANEO is including its very own graphics dock with a design that doesn’t really resemble any existing product from the past. The company describes it as a starship, though it might not immediately strike one as similar to those from hit sci-fi shows like Star Trek or even Star Wars. It has a more blocky shape, not unlike other graphics docks, but with an overabundance of panels and grilles. Its rough edges and dark color scheme contrast with the usual smooth curves and lighter motifs of futuristic spacecraft. This is a spaceship that humans would first produce for exploration and perhaps even militaristic action. Space-efficient, rugged, and a little menacing.

Underneath that retro-futuristic shell, however, is a very typical graphics dock, one that even houses a slightly dated AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT graphics from last year. There’s a plethora of connectivity options, including USB4 and the newer Oculink technology. It does also function as a typical data hub when connected to a computer, which means USB ports and even an Ethernet jack for faster network connectivity. Although technically compatible with any computer that supports external GPU via USB4, the AYANEO AG01 is specifically designed for the brand’s handheld gaming computers that have a significantly weaker GPU compared to laptops.

There’s also some RGB lighting, but that’s curiously limited to the ring around the dome on one end of the dock and three “vents” near it. It’s a purely aesthetic element, though one that admittedly looks too modest for what should be a space-faring vehicle. Availability details about the AYANEO AG01 are still unknown at this point, but the graphics dock’s unique design will surely catch the fancy of many collectors, whether they have an AYANEO handheld PC or not.

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