These days, working from home, or schooling from home means that you’ll need a very comfortable workspace. You don’t want to strain your eyes or your wrists when using a laptop or tablet at your desk. Yet at the same time, you probably need a docking solution for your monitor and other accessories.
That’s where a product like the IOGEAR Dock Pro 6-in-1 4K Dock Stand comes into play. One was sent for me for review, and after a week of using it, I really think this is a unique and comfortable combo stand and docking solution, helping keep my workspace clean, and my setup quite ergonomic.
Design of stand
The IOGEAR Dock Pro 6-in-1 4K Dock Stand is a product that’s designed strong. It offers a unique take on the traditional USB-C laptop dock and combines both a laptop stand and a dock into one single solution. Made of a lightweight Macbook-like aluminum, the stand measures 10 inches x 2.36 inches x 0.82 inches. It’s also under 0.65 pounds in weight.
I’ll start this review with the stand part of this product first. When closed shut, this stand is quite compact, and can easily fit in a laptop bag. You can expand this stand open when you need it by holding it at the two sides and pulling it out to the right with your hands for the bototm bracket to pivot open. Then, when expanded out, you can pull up the two primary supporting arms from their housing at the rear and then push down on two additonal pegs on that arm to release the secondary supporting arms.
Those secondary supporting arms fit into one of five different slots giving you five angles to hold your laptop up. If you pick a slot closer to the front, your laptop is held up higher. Pick one from the rear, and it will be lower, ideal for typing with your laptop at an elevated angle.
Speaking of holding the laptop up, the front of the stand has a rubber grip. As does the bottom part. This prevents it from sliding around. The primary supporting arm has supporting grips at the bottom and the top parts, too, so as not to damage your laptop.
The stand held a 16-inch Dell Inspiron 2-in-1 alongside my monitor just fine. It also held my Surface Laptop Studio up, too. I definitely see this stand supporting almost any laptop you own as it works with some heavy systems across the MacOS and Windows 10 and Windows 11 spectrum (no drivers needed for the dock part.)
I really do like the fifth and final angle on this stand the most. I use my laptop indepednt of my monitor, and this elevates my device to a level where the laptop display matches my eyes, so I don’t need to look up or down. And, when I am hooked up to my display, the first level of the stand allows my Laptop Studio to sit right alongside my monitor. It’s really great!
Ports on stand
Alright, so now, for the ports. Like I hinted before, this stand has a built-in dock along the left side. This means that you won’t need to use a dongle when your’re using the stand. Just plug in the single USB-C cable, and you’re good. You get an ergonomic all-in-one solution. That’s because the stand has a variety of ports.
The mix includes 2 USB-A USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port (data only,) a HDMI port that suports 4K @ 30Hz, and a RJ45 ethernet jack. There’s also a USB-C AC adapter on the inside of the port hub. The adapter hits 100 watts of PD charging, but a total of 88 watts can be charged to the laptop, when the dock takes 12 watts that it needs.
I honestly don’t like the posistion of that adapter, as it’s really awkward to route a charger, but other than that, it’s great to see this huge mix of ports. And, it’s nice to see the hub on the left side, where more Windows laptops have USB-C.
I also do want to mention that the single USB-C cable has some good length. It can be routed to the right side of a laptop if need be. And, you can carefully tuck it under the stand when not in use.
Unique and comfortable
As someone who is always at their desk, the IOGEAR Dock Pro 6-in-1 4K Dock Stand has been a life safer. I’m able to use my laptops at a more convienent and ergonomic angle, and get a more natural view when hooked up to a display. I’m also able to save space on my desk and have a dock right in my laptop stand. And, when not needed, fold the stand nicely and tuck it away.