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Lifewire / Jonno Hill
Sleek design
Small and space efficient
Affordable
Slow charging speeds
Slides around too much
The Aukey USB Hub 3.0 does exactly what it sets out to do for a perfectly reasonable price, and looks good while doing it. It should meet the needs of almost everyone.
USB hubs are a wonderful and often overlooked option for those looking to increase the functionality of their workspace and broaden the USB connectivity available to them. Desktop computers often have awkwardly located ports that require a lot of back-bending and neck-arching just to connect. Laptop computers, on the other hand, often simply suffer from a lack of available ports. The Aukey USB Hub 3.0 is here to remove some of these tiny but cumulative problems by offering 4x high-speed USB ports offering up to 5 Gbps of bandwidth.
This little hub might not be much of an overachiever, but it definitely gets the job done, and looks pretty good while doing so. We tested this hub across all the categories that might matter to a potential buyer so you can determine if it’s the right fit for you or not.
Measuring 3.4 x 1.8 x 1.1 inches (HWD), the Aukey USB Hub 3.0 is rather small, not taking up too much extra space on your desk. Aukey made some nice design considerations that make a meaningful difference in its use. One such consideration is the tilted angle, which makes it a little bit easier to connect devices to the unit when it is facing you. Another easily-overlooked feature is the inclusion of a small indent on the underside of the device towards the front, just big enough to allow you to run the USB cable underneath it and back to your computer. Sure, it might not look like much, but it will keep your desk a tiny bit tidier in some circumstances.
The Aukey USB Hub 3.0 may not wildly exceed expectations, but it does exactly what it was designed for and looks good in the process.
We liked the brushed aluminum finish, and the hardened plastic sides of the product also feel very solid. All these details come together to make the hub feel well put together, unlike other products in this category.
From a design perspective, the only fault that was immediately apparent to us was that the feet on the bottom of the device don’t provide enough grip to prevent the hub from slipping around—at least on the desk we did most of the testing on. This probably won’t be a dealbreaker for most, but perfectionists might take an issue with this shortcoming.
To start using the Aukey USB Hub 3.0, simply remove the main hub from its packaging and connect the supplied USB (A-to-A) cable to both the hub and your computer. There shouldn’t be any additional steps necessary—this hub works out of the box. The manual itself contains a very cursory overview of this simple product’s use and operation. It also makes note of the power limitations outlined in the below section.
The Aukey USB Hub 3.0 won’t fast-charge any of your devices, and will likely take a long time to charge tablets and comparable products.
The Aukey USB Hub 3.0 comes with a rather short 1.6-foot USB (A-to-A) cable to connect to your computer. This might be too short for some users, but luckily this connection can be swapped out at any point for a longer one if you wish.
The hub itself then provides four USB 3.0 Gen 1 ports, offering a maximum transfer speed of 5Gbps. For those curious, this is ten times the speed of the older USB 2.0 standard, but slower than the newer USB 3.1 Gen 2, which offers up to 10Gbps.
The Aukey USB Hub 3.0 suffers a bit in the performance department, mostly because of its reliance on a single USB port from the destination device. This means that you get a maximum of 5V and 0.9A of combined power to the whole hub. This will be fine for USB thumb drives, mice and keyboards, but not enough to power multiple external hard drives that rely on USB power. Aukey is transparent about this fact on the product page, stating that the hub supports a maximum of one hard drive, and that high power devices such as Apple’s optical SuperDrive shouldn’t be connected.
This will be fine for USB thumb drives, mice, and keyboards, but not enough to power multiple external hard drives that rely on USB power.
This also means the Aukey USB Hub 3.0 won’t fast-charge any of your devices, and will likely take a long time to charge tablets and comparable products. Many larger USB hubs get around this limitation by providing dedicated power connectors to the wall. Even still, those devices usually have a limited amount of dedicated ports designed for quick charging.
At a list price of $19.99, the Aukey USB Hub 3.0 seems fairly priced for what it offers. If it offered any additional features like per-port LEDs or external power, it would be a steal. But even as it stands, we consider this hub to be appropriately priced. Buyers looking for a bit more might consider Aukey’s 10 port powered hub or the AmazonBasics 7 Port USB 3.0 Hub. Both these hubs offer more connections and dedicated power.
The Aukey USB Hub 3.0’s closest upgrade opportunity is the AmazonBasics 7 Port USB 3.0 Hub, which offers an additional three USB ports and a dedicated power adapter to enable use with multiple power-hungry devices at the same time. This, of course, doubles the MSRP to $39.99. There isn’t a clear winner here, and some users might prefer the look and simplicity of Aukey’s option over the expanded functionality of Amazon’s offering. We recommend taking a look at both products before you pull the trigger.
Read more reviews of the best USB hubs available to purchase online.
Does exactly what it promises.
The Aukey USB Hub 3.0 may not wildly exceed expectations, but it does exactly what it was designed for and looks good in the process. If you’re looking for a simple USB 3.0 hub and you don’t need a ton of extra ports, this is a really great option to consider.
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