Brand: Linedock
Product: Linedock 13
Release Date: late 2019/earlier 2020
Price: $349+
From: linedock.co
The Linedock ($349+) is a 3-in-1 gadget that works as a docking station, a portable power bank and an external hard drive for your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. It’s unique because it’s shaped exactly like the bottom half of your laptop, so it can then rest under it and comes in the same colors Apple offers its MacBooks in space grey and silver (you can also get a Linedock in matte black). Aside from color, the only other thing(s) you have to decide is how much storage you want and how much you’re willing to play. More storage, more dough.
For those of you who think you’ve seen the Linedock before, you probably have! It was first launched as an Indigogo campaign back in 2016, but it only just became available recently. After reviewing it for the past few weeks, I can say that the Linedock really isn’t like anything else, and it is an extremely overkill device if you can stomach the price. As for the design, which is one of the Linedock’s most striking features, it’s definitely innovative — but there’s one design flaw that can’t help but think it would drive Jony Ive up a wall.
It really is a productivity beast.
The Linedock is first a docking hub. It adds pretty much all of the ports that a creative would want — there are nine in total — including three USB-C ports, three USB 3.0 ports, an SD card reader, HDMI and MiniDisplay ports, and a 4K display output. By allowing me to connect my old-school wired keyboard and mouse to my MacBook Pro, plus simultaneously charge my other devices like my iPhone and AirPods without taking power away from my computer, it essentially made my laptop feel more like a desktop. Also cool is the fact that the Linedock worked with the external display (LG UltraFine 4K) at my office. (The Linedock works with 4K displays up to 60Hz, but it can only be connected to one at a time.)
On the charging front, the Linedock is a decently powerful portable battery. It has a 20,000mAh capacity, which is approximately enough to fully recharge a 13-inch MacBook Pro (or give it 8+ hours of extra battery). There’s a button on the side of the Linedock that, if double-tapped, switches the Linedock into a more powerful “Saiyan mode” that delivers up to 60-watts of power so that the Linedock can fast charge your computer. If you want the Linedock to charge multiple devices at once, it can; it can simultaneously charge six different devices, spreading 100 watts of power between them; according to the company, it’s enough to work on your MacBook, while keeping it fully charged, as well also charging four other devices.
