Your iPad is fun and relaxing, but it can also be the heart of a compact workstation with the Satechi OntheGo Foldable Stand Hub. This holds up your tablet while simultaneously expanding its connectivity with five additional ports.
It’s so useful in the office, it’s easy to forget the accessory folds down so you can take it with you. Satechi says it’s made for creatives on the move.
I tested the stand+hub in my home office and when traveling. Here’s what I found.
Satechi OntheGo Foldable Stand Hub review
Of course, you hold your iPad in your hands when you use it, but have you considered making it even more useful by upgrading it into a desktop? You can connect an external screen to iPad Pro, iPad Air or budget iPad, and with an external keyboard and mouse/trackpad, the tablet becomes the center of a productive setup. But to pull this off, you certainly need a stand, and probably need more ways to connect accessories than Apple built into the tablet.
That’s where the Satechi OntheGo Foldable Stand Hub comes in. While propping up the screen, it also adds a range of useful ports. These let you easily pull images plus other files from SD cards and external SSDs.
Designed for creators, professionals, and students on the move, the Foldable Stand Hub combines a fold-flat stand with integrated connectivity, delivering display expansion, fast data access, and reliable power in a single, refined design that adapts across devices and environments.
- Solidly supports iPad
- Adds 5 useful ports
- Cable just slightly short for 13-inch tablets
Table of contents: Satechi OntheGo Foldable Stand Hub review
- It’s a travel stand
- Ports for transferring files
- Video and audio ports, too
- Connectivity matters
- Satechi OntheGo Foldable Stand Hub review: Final thoughts
- Pricing
It’s a travel stand
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The stand+hub starts out folded up to be 4.4 inches by 4.3 inches and 0.7 inches thick, which makes it entirely portable. Especially as it weighs 0.4 pounds. It rides easily in a backpack, laptop bag, messenger bag, etc.
The front of the Satechi OntheGo Foldable Stand Hub is a hinge that allows a kickstand to flip around from the bottom of the accessory.
This supports your iPad with it leaning 30 degrees back. That’s the only angle it supports, but it’s a usable one. With the tablet on a desk in front of me, I have no problem using the screen with it tilted back at that angle.
And the tablet is solidly supported. The kickstand cannot lean farther back, so it securely holds up the screen. I extensively used the stand with my 13-inch iPad Pro, and never had a problem.
Although the device casing is plastic, it’s space gray with curved corners so it matches the look of my tablet quite well. The combination looks professional if you need to use it in an office.
Ports for transferring files
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
I love the slim shape of my iPad, but it doesn’t leave much room for ports. With just a single USB-C port, connecting a range of accessories can be challenging — especially external storage devices. That’s why the Satechi OntheGo Foldable Stand Hub includes a range of ports that extend the tablet’s usefulness.
With photographers and videographers in mind, Satechi added 10Gbps USB-C and USB-A ports intended for fast transfers of large files such as RAW photos or 4K video.
I tested these out in real-world data transfers. A 1GB file transferred in about 2 seconds, while a 10.7GB file took roughly 12 seconds. That’s over 7Gbps… which is quite good for real-world conditions.
Satechi also built in UHS-II SD and microSD card readers that support transfer speeds up to 312MBps. You can pull the memory card from a camera or drone and insert it into the hub. The pics are then accessible through the iPadOS Files application — no separate adapter needed.
When pulling files off an SD card, file transfers are fairly quick. In my testing, a 1GB test file transferred in 12 seconds. But putting the same file onto the card took 47 seconds.
Video and audio ports, too
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
You can always see what you’re working on with your iPad’s screen, but the Satechi OntheGo Foldable Stand Hub makes it easy to connect to an external monitor for an even better look. Just plug it into the HDMI port. This is capable of driving an external display at up to 4K resolution at 60Hz.
I tested the hub with my 4K monitor and it was as easy as I could hope. And the screen looked great.
Satechi also built in a 3.5mm audio jack so you can connect your tablet to speakers to listen to music while you work.
I plugged in my favorite headphones, and music was as clear as a bell. I’m not claiming this is professional-grade audio equipment, but it’s good enough to keep you entertained.
Connectivity matters
Photo: Satechi
The Satechi OntheGo Foldable Stand Hub connects to your iPad with a short USB-C cable that can be stored in a protective slot on the bottom of the accessory. It’s actually covered by the kickstand with the accessory folded up, so it’s very protected.
The cable isn’t quite long enough, though, which is my only significant complaint about this product. I cannot place the stand in the middle of my 13-inch iPad Pro because the cord won’t reach. It’s close — only about half an inch off — but I still notice it. To be clear, it’s not going to be a problem for 11-inch tablets.
The hub draws power from your iPad to run, but Satechi built in a second USB-C port that supports 100W Power Delivery passthrough. This port is only for power, not data – I confirmed that – but still can keep your iPad juiced up while you’re working.
Satechi OntheGo Foldable Stand Hub review: Final thoughts
Turning an iPad into a desktop must seem like a big jump to some people. For me, it’s an average workday. I use Apple’s tablet as my primary computer, and it sits in a stand connected to a hub and external monitor whenever I’m working in the office. It certainly wasn’t hard for me to see the advantages in Satechi’s combo stand+hub.
It solidly supports a range of iPad models and adds the most useful ports to make you more productive in the office or on business trips.
★★★★☆
Pricing
The Satechi OntheGo Foldable Stand Hub costs $79.99.
Designed for creators, professionals, and students on the move, the Foldable Stand Hub combines a fold-flat stand with integrated connectivity, delivering display expansion, fast data access, and reliable power in a single, refined design that adapts across devices and environments.
- Solidly supports iPad
- Adds 5 useful ports
- Cable just slightly short for 13-inch tablets
Satechi provided Cult of Mac with a review unit for this article. See our reviews policy, and check out more in-depth reviews of Apple-related items.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh SE/30 (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer.
That’s because he’s a “tablet first” type of guy. Rather than use a Macbook, he connects a keyboard case to the iPad. And instead of a desktop Mac, he connects his tablet to a 27-inch display and full-size keyboard. (So don’t try to tell him that everyone has to use a Mac to be productive.)
Before coming to Cult of Mac, Ed wrote for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
