Best docking station for Mac mini M4/M4 Pro with all essential ports

Does anyone know if it is expected to be released a docking station for the new Mac Mini M4/M4 Pro with all relevant ports and interfaces?

By relevant I mean traditional USB-A and SD Card reader on the front + jack 3.5mm and USB-A on the back + NVME disk slot.

I see a lot of new docking stations but none of them have "everything" I consider important.

The majority don't include a jack 3.5mm on the back for speakers nor a USB-A on the back for a web cam.

The only one I consider to be "complete", so far, is the "RayCue Mac Mini M4 Dock", but it misses the height or the leverage to facilitate the click on the Mac Mini button and its reviews are disapointing...

Do you know any other solution that meets the expectations I described?

Am I the only one with all of these "needs" ?

Thank you very much.

Kind regards

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on Jan 16, 2025 2:40 AM

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tbirdvet

Level 6

15,743 points

Posted on Jan 16, 2025 10:21 AM

You do not need to use the power button ever unless you need to go to recovery mode. I leave mine on all the time and just have the display turn off after a set time. I also have my Mac Mini M4 on a 4 legged stand so access to the power button is provided even though hardly used. I found with all docks that not all the connections are on the side that I want so need to make trade-offs. No dock controls power to your Mac.

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tbirdvet

Level 6

15,743 points

Jan 16, 2025 5:28 AM in response to antoniomsvenancio

Here is one but does not have a slot for NVME but I believe Acacias is about to release one that does.

https://www.cablematters.com/pc-1626-133-11-in-1-thunderbolt-5-dock-with-thunderbolt-share.aspx?srsltid=AfmBOoo_N2xtchLEzQZ4bAEGDfj4psXTgXRiC0-qUABskhwqfobkkugK

Jan 16, 2025 11:05 AM in response to tbirdvet

Actually, to do what I want, I need to turn the Mac mini off, I'll explain why.

I use a Maser - Slave plug (or Main - Followers), and I have the Mac connected to the master and 3 monitors + speakers connected to the followers.

Not sure if you are aware, but this means, when I am not using my Mac (if there is no electricity or only a very lower voltage), the followers should be automatically turned off to save some energy.

The problem is, I can only turn them off if I shut down my Mac, otherwise, if for example I put the Mac to sleep, either they stay On or On/Off switching depending on the energy fluctuation.

This is the reason why I would like to have a stand that, besides all the ports/interfaces I am looking for, could also provide me an easy way to turn the Mac mini on, allowing me to turn it off every time when I stop to use it.

varjak paw

Level 10

182,536 points

Jan 16, 2025 11:16 AM in response to antoniomsvenancio

Sorry, I thought it had ports on the back, but I see now that it doesn't. The mini itself has three USB ports on the back, though. Would that not be enough? If not, then I don't think you're like to find an existing or announced dock that has all the features you're asking for, though none of us can predict the future.

As to the power issue, though, most modern devices still use a small bit of power even when "turned off", and often it's an almost negligible difference compared to just being "asleep". So depending on what perpherals you're using, that may be an non-issue.

Regards.

varjak paw

Level 10

182,536 points

Jan 16, 2025 2:23 PM in response to antoniomsvenancio

Nothing else is going to give you easy access to the power button, though I've seen people report that they just put the mini on its side. Whether that would affect cooling I can't confirm. I also haven't yet found a dock that has an analog audio output on the back, probably because most people want to use headphones and so want the output on the front. With enough open ports, you could consider a USB-to-analog adapter. As to your other requirements, if you can go without an NVME slot that opens up other possibilities. Here's another one you could look at:

https://www.owc.com/solutions/thunderbolt-3-dock-14-port

There are other vendors making docks with similar specs including the aforementioned Satechi.

Regards.

Mar 2, 2025 1:51 AM in response to antoniomsvenancio

I came across an advert from this company. They claim SSD enclosure fixed underneath the M4.

https://minisopuru.com/products/mini4pro?srsltid=AfmBOoqnMyrwLz5CFMS2sSZA9T91-Gq-OwmI6kFfEzNob3dyVb_HODLH

Anyone any idea?

Feb 1, 2025 12:22 AM in response to antoniomsvenancio

Are you talking about docking stations in general – or only about ones that have a similar shape to the Mac mini and are meant to be stacked under it, or on top of it?