If you use a laptop that’s equipped with a USB-C port or two and nothing more, there’s a good chance you might need a dock. On one extreme, there examples like the OWC USB-C dock I reviewed last year. This dock has every port you could possibly want — some of them in triplicate. While ideal for creative professionals with lots of peripherals, something like this would be overkill for many people. That’s where the CA Essential micro docking station from Cyber Acoustics comes in. This provides more ports than a mere dongle, but keeps it to the basics — the essentials. And does so in a compact form factor with a very reasonable $69.99 price tag.
You are not paying for fancy packaging.
One of the ways Cyber Acoustics keeps costs down is to ship the dock in a basic cardboard box. No pretty pictures or graphics. That’s fine because it’s what’s inside that counts. And the plain cardboard packing material means less garbage and more recyclable material.
The dock itself is a square, 3.13 inches on a side and 0.63 inches thick. It weighs less than a third of a pound. On one end you’ll find its three ports and on the other is an LED power indicator. There is an integrated USB-C cable to plug into a laptop or charger. It’s flexible and wraps around to tuck securely into the bottom of the unit. On the top surface is a no-slip ring — more on that shortly.
The dock is compact and easy to pack or stick in a desk drawer when not in use.
I have mixed feelings about the integrated USB-C cable. On the one hand, it makes sure you always have the cable with you. That’s useful, especially if you travel with the micro dock. However, that cable isn’t removable and it’s short — it extends just 2.25 inches when you account for the length of the connector. So you need to have the dock really close to your laptop or USB charger, to the point where it may be hanging in the air.
The integrated USB-C cable is handy, but its shortness can be limiting.
As its name suggests this dock supplies the essential ports that average laptop users are likely to need:
Most laptop owners will find the Cyber Acoustics CA Essential micro docking station supplies the ports they’re missing. There’s USB Type A for thumb drives, mice, keyboards and external hard drives. USB-C acts as a data passthrough from the laptop. If you instead plug into a power adapter, the USB-C port can supply up to 65W of power for connected devices. The HDMI port supports 4K.
The essential ports are there: USB-C, USB Type A, and HDMI
I used the dock with both an M1 MacBook Pro and a Google Pixelbook Go. It connected to thumb drives, wired mice and USB drives without a problem. Outputting 4K video over HDMI was solid.
That USB-C port should be able to output 4K video as well, but I had no luck in doing so with either laptop when connecting to my BenQ monitor. That issue may be specific to the monitor but if you intend to use the USB-C video instead of HDMI, I’d suggest checking with Cyber Acoustics support to see if there are any known issues with your particular monitor.
I mentioned the no-slip ring on top of the Essential micro docking station. That is a Qi wireless charge pad. So long as you can position the dock flat on a desk and you have sufficient power flowing through the USB-C port, it can output 5W to the wireless charge pad.
The dock does double duty as a Qi wireless charge pad.
If your laptop is all-in on USB-C and short of ports, the Cyber Acoustics CA Essential micro docking station offers what most users will need and at a very affordable price — not much more than some dongles sell for. Its compact form factor, integrated cable, built-in Qi wireless charge pad and light weight also make it a great option for travel.
Just be aware that the USB-C cable is very short, and the USB-C port might not work with your monitor for video output.
Disclosure: Cyber Acoustics provided an Essential micro dock for evaluation purposes but had no input into this review.