Verdict
Pros
- Sturdy, sleek base
- Easy docking
- Definitely saves space
Cons
- Not quite snazzy enough for the price
- Doesn't add extra ports
Key Specifications
- Review Price: £59.99
- Spacing-saving vertical design
- Repeater ports for USB Displayport
- Sturdy base
Laptops are fast replacing desktop PCs throughout both homes and businesses but when at a desk there’s still no substitute for a proper keyboard, mouse, monitor and set of speakers, which is where laptop docks come in. The Henge Docks range are specially made for docking your MacBooks and give you instant connection to all your peripherals and, because they dock vertically, they save space too.
Available for most new and existing MacBooks (bar the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display), we’re looking at the 13-inch Macbook Air version.
The Henge dock design really couldn’t be simpler. The glossy white plastic base incorporates a rubber lined slot into which the laptop slides. At the bottom of said slot are plugs that marry up with the ports on that side of the laptop. In this case we’ve got a USB 3.0 plug and a mini DisplayPort plug. These connections are then repeated out the back of the dock.
So far, so conventional. However, this particular MacBook Air version of the dock – because the power socket for Macbook Airs is on the opposite side to the DisplayPort – doesn’t include a socket for the power adapter. Instead you must attach the power cable to the other side of the laptop – the one that’s stood 13-inches into the air.
This does rather destory this particular version of the Henge docks’ appeal, as it only removes some of the labour of docking your laptop, not all of it. Nonetheless, it still has its merits. The build quality is good, if not quite very good. The glossy white finish looks excellent while the rubber lining of the docking slot is nice and thick. The base is also wide and sturdy so it holds your laptop securely, and thanks to thick rubber feet it won’t slide around either.
However, there isn’t quite enough quality on show here to justify the fairly steep price – the white plastic has a couple of sections where you can just make out the seams from the mould. Combined with the lack of any actual expansion of the ports already existing on the laptop and it really comes down to this being a space saving purchase only, all be it one that looks fairly tidy.
Verdict
We like the idea of the Henge Dock 13-inch MacBook Air dock. It saves space, provides instant connection to your desktop peripherals and looks quite nice too. But with no port extension, and with you having to plug in your laptop’s power cord separately, we don’t feel it quite justifies its £60 price. We’d love to have one but wouldn’t necessarily recommend buying one, unless space really is a premium.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
