IOGear Dock Pro 6-in-1 4K Dock Stand
Summary
IOGear Dock Pro 6-in-1 4K Dock Stand an odd, intriguing laptop stand that gives off a 1970s NASA vibe. It works well, but it isn’t the most stable choice in stands.
IOGear Dock Pro 6-in-1 4K Dock Stand Review
The nice thing about our world is that we all have the capacity to imagine things that others might never imagine. Sometimes they lead to beauty, sometimes to ugliness, sometimes to wonder, and at other times to curiosities that fit no articulated category. Such is the IOGear Dock Pro 6-in-1 4K Dock Stand an odd, intriguing laptop stand that I would never have considered—spindly and prone to collapse unless assembled just so—but when fully expanded and connected, it fades into the background–an invisible accessory that transforms port-starved laptops.
What we like
This is one of those odd products that I find I don’t really like any of it, but in the end, I don’t mind its flaws because it hides behind the laptop it supports.
The stand essentially takes a machined metal mobile USB-C hub and affixes it to the underside of the left strut. The hub portion of the stand supports 4K HDMI output, dual USB-A ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and dual USB-C ports, with one for Power Delivery (PD). It covers most of the connectivity bases. While it requires a bit of maneuvering, a laptop’s USB-C power supply offers up power to its host and leaves a standard (non-Thunderbolt) USB-C port for additional devices.
These features fold up into a stand that offers five viewing angles. While it appears the stand’s arms unfold near the rubberized protection base, they do not. They rather lift from the opposite end where spindly legs fall from inside of them, asking to be seated in one of five notches. Those legs fold back imperfectly into the stand, flattening out only after the stand’s supports are also tucked away and magnetically captured by the larger base.
An articulated “X” supports the two main struts. Its lower arms slide down a groove so that the entire stand looks like a piece of aerospace kit made both compact and functional for the likes of NASA or SpaceX. The video from IOGear below demonstrates the positioning of the arms for different viewing angles.
When fully deployed, the stand appears a bit alien, conceived from a different aesthetic than the items around it. But as noted, put a laptop on it, and it all but disappears. IOGear clearly opted for functional portability over looks (though to be fair, some people may like the stand’s otherworldly aerospace vibe).
What could be improved
I understand the design now. I rarely look at manuals for simple hardware. I must admit that I found IOGear’s design less than intuitive. My first attempt at deploying the spindly stand ended up with me using it upside down and backward. I wondered why IOGear designed these leggy attachments with so little regard for gravity. After looking at the manual, I found I was the one attempting to defy gravity. IOGear simply overplayed friction.
When properly deployed, and I use the word deployed because opening up the IOGear Dock Pro 6-in-1 4K Dock Stand feels decidedly space-faring, I found it to be stable save for moments when the shallow leg targets proved unable to contain the legs, and I was forced to realign. This only happened during deployment. When in use, I found the stand stable because the laptop’s added weight stopped the smaller legs from moving. Though knowing how it was assembled, I remained worried about its solidity.
Because of the spindly nature of the fully deployed stand, owners should be cautious about applying stress, especially against the sides. Don’t lean on this stand or whack its support struts inadvertently.
IOGear Dock Pro 6-in-1 4K Dock Stand: The Bottom Line
The IOGear Dock Pro 6-in-1 4K Dock Stand serves its purpose with portable aplomb, even if it backs into it with its niche 1970s design.
The stand makes for a worthy travel companion for travelers seeking a solid basic USB-C hub combined with ventilation improvements and some angle adjustments. At home or in the office, I would consider it a functional, if a less than elegant, solution. There are prettier stands, such as those from Twelve South, although those stands don’t include a USB-C hub. In the home or office, a larger, sturdier stand and a more versatile hub such as the Dock Pro 6-in-1 likely makes more sense.
IOGear and Satechi Design Comparison
Design language influences the look of devices. These two devices, the Satechi Aluminum Stand and Hub and the IOGear Dock Pro 6-in-1 4K Dock Stand, do about the same thing, though the IOGear Dock Pro 6-in-1 4K Dock Stand offers more port options. Satechi also targets tablets rather than laptops, but I find 2-1 laptops flipped into screen work as well on Satechi’s stand as does my 12.9-inch M1 iPad Pro.
The designs could not be more different, though they both create a stand, offer ports, and use hinges and other mechanisms to fold into a portable and protected mode. Look at the following images to see just how these two functionally similar products approach their design goals.
IOGear provided the Dock Pro 6-in-1 4K Dock Stand for review. Images courtesy of IOGear unless otherwise noted.
Serious Insights is an Amazon Affiliate. Clicking on an Amazon link may result in a payment to Serious Insights.
For more serious insights on hardware and accessories, click here.
Leave a Reply