EXACTLY what I needed!
I originally wanted to mount my new widescreen monitor on a swing arm but after purchasing and mounting the arm on my desk it was not able to put my monitor in a comfortable position given the space I had for my desk. I searched for a while until I discovered this powered monitor shelf docking station – everything I looked at was too big, too ugly, too short, etc.This docking station allowed me to eliminate some cables, raise my monitor to the perfect height that also allows for needed adjustments, slide my 16 inch MacBook Pro underneath and power nearly all of my peripherals. Another upside is the overall design that works beautifully with my Apple and Satechi setup. Speaking of set-up, this really is just plug and play right out of the box.It’s pricey but if you remember that it’s a powered docking hub and from a great, reliable brand (all of my chargers for phones, tablets, etc. are from Anker) it really is an easy choice. Also, it’s really nice to have the mag charger for my phone right in front of me and not a separate piece of tech taking up valuable desktop space.

Great, almost perfect docking station
I am no expert when it comes to docking stations, but…..I know what looks good and I also know what is reliably functional. To begin, this is a pricey option and every gadget and company is different, but I wanted to have something that replaces the space I lost with this station.It looks very sleek and is designed very well. The ports are top-notch and I both love & hate the wireless charging spot. I say this because the wireless charging could be faster. This is a newer product & for the price, there is simply no excuse.The Cable management is a good idea, but it is hard to gauge how much length to keep cables in the right length. Not a ding against it, just something that having this does not keep all cables neat, unless you go to further steps.1. Patience and velcro strips helps with cable lengths (which they give some).2. You also need Clamp-on under metal cable trays. This will tidy up cables on your entire desk.3. You want side-clamp power strip outlets, so it keeps any desk oprganized. Most come with 3 or 4 USB ports (find ones with both if you can & most should)Going back to the space you lose, don’t worry. You kind of gain it back, once you place it down where you want it. In fact, you end up gaining sort of a 2-to-1 space back. I can place things on the bottom & the top or use it to put a monitor on there, but….if you have a monitor arm….then you get twice the space.I wish it did not need a big brick to power the entire thing, but the former under metal cable trays can handle all of the weight & than some. For thos that don’t have those…..it is big and unless you know how to tuck away & get them out of sight, you should be geat as well.This works rather well & the only Con is the price. I am spatially aware of what my desk needed, so I took the plunge. If you are on limited space, other docking stations are smaller & can do the job just as well. Anker is a solid company & I have not had any duds yet. As a bonus….they also have a lighted power button on the left side or right, depending how you want the thing oriented on your desk. It isn’t very tall either, so even though it looks big at first….when you unpack it all……it fits things nicely.

I haven’t used many of the connections yet, but the build quality and finish are great. Raises the new iMac to a much better height. Underneath connections are great. Frees up some decent desk space.

***Updated on 06/02/2024:Anker has quickly and efficiently gotten back to me after seeing my review. They were really quick to send me a replacement dock! New dock is working great! I hope this one lasts! 🤞🤞🤞***Very expensive item. Worked well at first. After only 3 months of usage it stopped working. It not longer turns on. Very disappointed as initially it worked well and seemed like it was good quality. I was unable to get a replacement through Amazon! For this price range you’d expect the product to last. Really disappointed! Don’t waste your money!

This form factor is brilliant and more companies should do something like this. It makes it so easy to hide wires, it looks good, and makes docking easy and fun.The one issue that gets to me is one that is likely attributable to something about the Mac I’m using, but regardless it’s annoying. There seems to be no easy/reliable way to wake my Mac from sleep when connected to this thing. Sometimes it’s very quick (I don’t expect instant), sometimes it just sits there and nothing wakes it and I need to ‘coax’ it awake by turning it off and on, opening the laptop, pressing a bunch of buttons, etc. I just wish I could press a button and have the thing come on.EDIT: March 2024I’m removing a star because the reliability of this thing is bad. Twice now I’ve had to get the thing replaced because it randomly stopped working. I thought maybe I was super unlucky but a friend I recommended this to just had the same thing happen. A lot of promise to this thing but super annoying that it breaks for no reason every few months.EDIT: August 2024It happened again!