When it comes to keeping the right desk setup together for your requirements, a little adaptation can go a long way to make a great product even more useful.
Don’t think me wrong, the Mac Mini M4 is easily one of the best mini PCs you can get today but as I mentioned in my Mac Mini M4 review, it’s not right.
Upgrade from 8GB to 16GB unified memory is certainly a welcome change as its powerful new M4 chip and is fully designed to re -designed the aluminum case. However, after spending 8 months with Mac Mini M4, my original grip with the device is still correct today.
For the beginning, the Mac Mini M4 does not have any USB-A port. Instead, you get two USB-C ports at the front and three Thunderbolt 4 ports at the back. Although this is fine if you are using wireless accessories of apple like magic keyboard and magic mouse, it is not ideal if you have old peripherals that you will use instead.
The power button of Mac Mini M4 is also in an odd position below the device. If you quit your computer 24/7 running, it may not be a problem. However, if you prefer to power your computer at the end of the day while saving a little on your electricity bill at the same time, it is less than the ideal.
Finally, the base version of Mac Mini M4 comes with only 256GB storage. This possibility is not enough for most people and the cost of upgrading to a high storage tier every time you do this, which usually makes a very cheap Mac when $ 599 is less seductive.
While there are many different hubs and stands that address the biggest downside of Mac Mini M4 such as Satichi, I recently tried the new Minipro Dock case of Oriko. I think I can finally be customized for my Mac Mini for good, especially now when it looks like a mini Mac Pro.
An ideal fit for an easy installed
Like the Mac Mini M4, there is an all-aluminum chassis in the Minipro Dock case of Oriko. However, unlike some other stands and hubs, which you can get, it does not go under or top under the smallest Mac of an apple. Instead, you really put your Mac Mini M4 inside and close the lid.
To prevent scratches and your Mac Mini M4 moving inside it, Oriko has prepared its minipro doc case with a silicon inner lining that keeps the device in place. While the edges of the case have a smooth matte finish, there are similar circular cutouts from the front and back that you will find on the Mac Pro very expensive.
There are also handles carrying two at the top and two on the metal feet to complete the look. Although you will not find any alternative wheels for Mac Pro, but at $ 699 for wheels, you probably are probably better without one of Apple’s most expensive alternative accessories.
It is as simple to install your Mac Mini M4 inside Oriko’s Minipro Dock Case. You just push the slider to the top to remove its side panel and from there, you just push your Mac Mini inside.
I like the approach that I have seen on some other hubs, as you find a completely self-contained unit that protects your Mac Mini M4 from scratching. While I have not tried it yet (nor I am planning), I am sure the Minipro Dock case will also protect the computer if it happened to fall from your desk.
Oriko sells two versions of its minipro doc case: with a free slot for one SSD and a pre-installed SSD. I decided to investigate the previous because it is not only cheap, but you can also expand its storage. To reach the SSD slot, there is a removable panel below the case and you get a pad of thermal paste to put under your SSD so that it can be kept cool after it is installed.
Opening the lower panels and transferring my 1TB WD-Black SSD from my Satechi Mac Mini M4 Hub and the stand in Oriko’s Minipro Dock case was an air and took only a few minutes. With both my Mac Mini M4 and SSD, it was time to plug back and take my new impure Mac Pro for a spin.
Port and power where you need them
I have to admit that Mac Mini M4 both in itself and with the satechi stand and under the hub, I was often willing to remove this apple-operated mini PC from the path.
Now inside the Minipro Dock Case with it, I felt that it was worthy of being in front and center, which is why I put it on the left of the desk shelf above my desk. Not only this is now a conversation piece, but with below Mac Mini M4, the computer is also getting too much airflow.
Like Satechi’s stand and hub, the Minipro Dock Case uses a single cable to connect to your Mac Mini M4. A good touch with this case, however, is that it is a viosable cable instead of a hardwide, such as a satechi, which means that you can always change it later if you need. I also like that Oriko bounced for a hanging white cable as it definitely fits better with the entire beauty of Apple.
Around the front, you get easy access to both a microSD and SD card reader. However, there are also large classes and rectangular cutouts that allow you to easily reach the front ports of Mac Mini M4.
They sit a little back inside the Minipro Dock, but I really have such a kind of mixture because you don’t need them when you do not need them, but it is easy to reach when you do.
In addition to its unique look and how easy it is to add additional storage, the second great thing about the Minipro Dock case is that the Mac Mini M4’s power button is very accessible. On the hub and stands where your Mac Mini sits on top, you still have to reach around the back to access it, but in this way, it is there by all the ports by all the ports.
Talking about the rear ports, all the case of all origins of Mac Mini M4 lies within a uniform cutout. However, in addition to these people, you also get two USB-A ports on both sides, which are with an additional USB-C port in the middle.
In my Mac Desk Setup, I am using one of the USB-A ports that are for full-size satelly SM3 Slim Mechanical Keyboard and the other for Trackball Mouse from Loditech to Trackball Mouse. While many people have proceeded to use Bluetooth for their peripheners, I still prefer a 2.4 GHz wireless USB dongle.
The reason for this is that I often go from using a mini PC to another and I plug one of them and every time I am ready to go opposite to the Bluetooth pairing process.
Although it is worth noting that Logitech Ergo M575s Mouse and Satechi SM3 keyboard I am currently using this desk setup, both also have support for Bluetooth.
A new way for Mac Mini
From Geekom A6 to Khadas brain, there are tones of great mini PC for various workflows and desk setups. However, with Mac Mini M4, there are endless accessories that allow you to adapt the form and experience as apple’s mini PC.
While you can get an equal, Windows-based mini PC for the same price or even cheaper, you have lost to the ability to customize it after this fact.
You want a hub with more ports, a stand or even an under-desk mount, the possibilities are almost endless. They are not only for the look, as you can see with Oriko’s Minipro Dock Case and Satechi’s Mac Mini M4 Hub and Stand as they both allow you to add additional storage without paying Apple tax to do so.
Whatever option you decide to go with, you always have the freedom to change things while bringing any extra storage you have added.
For me, I am planning to keep my Mac Mini M4 for the future in this Minipro Dock case because not only do I like its unique form, but now standing vertically with computers, it helps to free more space on my desk.
