Over the past few weeks, we have looked at a couple of different styles of wireless charging hubs from AUKEY (check out all of our AUKEY reviews here). Whether you want to charge one device or several, there is an AUKEY Wireless charger that’s bound to meet your needs.
But anyone with a recent model MacBook or MacBook Pro, with only one or two USB-C ports is probably using some type of USB-C hub and once you add the wireless charger to the hub, your desktop starts to get pretty crowded.
The folks at AUKEY have a solution for that with their AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub.
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Apple Tech Talk Scorecard
| Pros | Cons |
| Includes HDMI and power connections | Integrated USB-C cable is short |
| Trim design keeps your desktop neat |
AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub – Unboxing
Like all things AUKEY, the AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub (Model #: CB-C70) has minimal packaging. Inside the box is the AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub, a multi-language User Manual and the standard 24-month AUKEY Warranty Card.
AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub – Specifications
The AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub measures 3.62” x 3.62” x 0.63” (92mm x 92mm x 16mm), and weighs just 5.57oz (148g). Attached to the hub is a USB-C cable that measures 4.33” (110mm), not including the actual USB-C connector. The body is made of a combination of zinc-alloy and ABS plastic and has a solid feel to it. The overall build quality is excellent.
The AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub includes a USB-C Power Delivery port, 2 USB-A 3.1 Gen 1 ports and an HDMI port.
Power input is DC 5V-20V 5A and supports up to 100W Power Delivery for compatible computers.
Power output is rated at 10W when a laptop and power adapter are both connected. USB Data port output is DC 5V 900mA Max, with transfer speeds up to 5Gbps. The HDMI port supports display resolution up to 4K@30Hz.
The wireless charging pad supports Qi Fast Charging.
The AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub has two (2) LED indicators. One is mounted on the top to indicate wireless charging while a second one is mounted on the side opposite the USB-C connector. The side LED provides the following status conditions.
Indicator Status Red Standby Flashing Red Charging Error Green Charging Blue Fully Charged
AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub – Set-up
Our normal set-up is to have an external hard drive connected to our MacBook Pro, which we use for our Time Machine backup. In addition, we need to power our laptop, connect an HDMI cable for our external monitor and add a Lightning cable to charge our iPhone. With only 2 USB-C ports on our MacBook Pro, we have no choice but to use a hub. Even If we swap out the Lightning cable for a wireless charging pad, our desktop gets pretty full and the cables become almost unmanageable.
By using the AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub, we are able to connect our HDMI cable, USB-C charging cable and Time Machine drive and still have one open USB-A port for additional use. We can now eliminate the Lightning cable or wireless charging pad since that is integrated into the AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub.
Set-up of the AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub was effortless. We just needed to connect the HDMI and power cables and connect our Time Machine drive. We then connected the USB-C cable to one of the USB-C ports on our MacBook Pro.
The Time Machine drive was recognized almost immediately and the wireless charging was also immediately available for use.
AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub – Test Results
Overall, we were very satisfied with the performance of the AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub. It provided solid performance during the several weeks that we tested it.
Of particular note is that we did not experience any instances of the Time Machine drive connection being spontaneously dropped. This is something we have seen with other non-AUKEY hubs we have tested.
The wireless charging performed as expected and we had no issues charging our iPhone XS, even with the plastic case still on the iPhone.
All that said, we do have a couple of comment about the overall design.
First, like almost every other USB-C hub we have looked at, the AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub has a rather short USB-C cable that connects to the computer. Perhaps there is a technical reason it has to be like this but we would like to see a longer cord so we have more flexibility on the position of the hub. Another option would be to replace the attached cord with a USB-C port which would allow the user to add a longer cord if needed.
Another issue, which is somewhat related to the short cord is that you have to choose between seeing the LED indicators or the USB-A ports. In our case, the HDMI and power cables come up from behind our desk. In order to get the wireless hub to sit flat on the desk, we had to arrange the HDMI and power cords to be on the left of the hub. The put the LEDs in clear view but placed the USB-A ports facing the laptop. Because of the short cord, access to the remaining open USB-A port (we have our Time Machine attached to one), is very close to the laptop and is now somewhat difficult to reach.
Granted, we don’t use other USB-A devices much so this is a minor inconvenience, but a slightly longer cord would have eliminated this issue altogether.
Admittedly, our set-up is complicated in that our monitor does not have a built-in HDMI port and we therefore need a rather bulky, and heavy adapter to convert the DVI to an HDMI plug. This tends to pull the charging pad in an awkward position causing it to not lay flat on the desk so you may not experience this same issue.
In the end, these are minor points and nothing that would cause us to have a negative impression of the AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub. The ability to reduce the number of devices sitting on our desktop, far outweighs the minor inconvenience of having to place the hub in a specific direction.
The Bottom Line
Wireless charging continues to grow in popularity. Over the past few weeks, we have looked at a couple of different styles of wireless charging hubs from AUKEY (check out all of our AUKEY reviews here). Whether you want to charge one device or several, there is an AUKEY Wireless charger that’s bound to meet your needs.
The AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub is available directly from the AUKEY web site.
We would like to thank the folks at AUKEY for providing the AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub for our testing and review.
Are you a fan of wireless charging? How do you manage your desktop peripherals? Why not join the conversation and leave a comment below?
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[…] For those who are looking to reduce desktop clutter, don’t forget the AUKEY Wireless Charging Hub (Model #: CB-C70), with its built-in wireless charging pad on top (read our review here). […]