The Aukey Powered USB hub allows you to expand the amount of ports you have on your computer, making one port into seven. It’s a great choice for those who want more USB ports on your computer, and also includes three charging only ports to quickly charge your phone, tablet and other devices.
Firstly, why powered? The issue with non-powered USB hubs is that when you start adding hard drives, keyboards, and devices that require a lot of power, the USB port cannot supply enough power to the USB hub to keep those devices going. Powered USB ports solve this issue – each port on the USB hub will receive full power, with no dips and a completely stable connection, which is very important if you use it to transfer data.
The Aukey Powered USB hub is a great choice – at an affordable price of £31.99 (at time of writing) is much cheaper than many other USB hubs on the market, and the Aukey Powered USB hub has many features that you won’t find on hubs at a similar price. Let’s go through them.
The main feature of the USB hub is the seven USB 3 ports, allowing you to plug in keyboards, mice, microphones, hard drives, USB sticks and a lot more. The advantage of USB 3 is that it can transfer 640 megabytes per second, which is over ten times as fast as USB 2. For those wanted to use multiple hard drives1 and USB sticks with their computer, this is a great feature as you can quickly transfer data between your devices.
At the top of the USB hub, it has three output ports that you can use to charge your devices. Each of these ports supply up to 2.4 amps, and features Aukey’s AiPower adaptive charging, which adjusts power output to match the needs of the device you plugged in, which protects the battery health and charges it faster.
The build quality of the hub is good – it’s made out of plastic, and feels a little light, however it doesn’t get too hot if you have multiple devices plugged in, and it feels securely put together. The hub is well-built, but it does feel as if it is lacking a little weight.
The Aukey CB-H18 powered hub is a great choice for anyone wanting to plug in multiple devices into their computer. I’ve had no issues when transferring large amounts of data with it, and the three charging ports are also extremely useful.
The Aukey CB-H18 Powered USB Hub is available for £31.99 off Amazon.
- Note that only two SSDs are supported. ↩
