Anker 7 port USB hub
I have a love / hate relationship with USB ports. I love how ubiquitous they are in my computing life, but I hate how the ports are often times tucked away and difficult to reach. Despite the several ports on my computing setup, I’ve found it incredibly inconvenient to access.
So after dealing with this annoyance for a few months, I plunked down approximately $30 for an Anker 7-port, 60W powered USB 3.0 hub. Since the name is a mouthful, I’ll refer to the device as the Anker USB hub from here on out.
Anker does a nice job with is packaging.
Opening the box reveals the USB hub, in all its glory.
Taking the hub out of the box reveals an accompanying USB cable, a power supply, a warranty registration card, and a Welcome guide.
The unit itself is made of high quality plastic. Front facing, it has 7 ports, one of which is a dedicated fast charging port, providing up to 2.1 amps per port or 10 amps overall.
Size-wise, it’s 5.7 × 1.7 × 0.9in and fits in my hand.
There are two input ports, one for power – the other for connecting to the USB port of an upstream computer.
It sits well on the desk, even with cables and drives attached to it. I’ve kept my Anker hub close to my keyboard for easy access.
When a device is plugged into one of the USB ports, a small blue LED light activates. At a glance you can see which of your downstream devices are connected.
From a software standpoint, there were absolutely no drivers to contend with. Mounting and unmounting devices through the Anker hub was fast and almost immediate. This was a true “plug-n-play” experience on both Mac and Windows. I tested the Anker USB hub with various USB drives and also used the fast-charging port with my iPhone and iPad Pro. There were no issues to report. All devices were recognized without issue. The dedicated charging port is reserved ONLY for charging. But that’s not a big deal as I have more than enough spare USB ports on the Anker USB hub to work with.
I liked the Anker USB 7 port powered USB 3.0 hub so much, I bought another one for use with my 13″ Macbook Pro. With the hub, I was able to consolidate all my USB connections through the Anker hub. Now, instead of unplugging three USB cables when taking my laptop on the road, I only have to unplug one.
Anker makes a great USB hub. I have been really pleased with it and give it my highest recommendation.
(This review was written after using the hub for 30 days.)
-Krishna
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