// 9TO5MAC — MOBILE & WEB
This unique retro dock adds a flip-up display, Thunderbolt 5, & 8TB storage to your Mac [Video]
Amid all the craziness of this iPhone launch week, one of my favorite brands has released its brand-new retro-style dock for the Mac mini and the Mac Studio. Last year, they released their Retro Dock for the M4 Mac mini, and it was the perfect combination of functionality, form, and nostalgia that I had never seen before. It added a ton of ports, an NVMe storage slot, a 5-inch display, all wrapped up in a housing that looked like the original Macintosh from 1984. The new Wokyis G5 & G7 takes it to a whole other level. They’ve added even more pro-level ports, a larger display, usable tactile buttons, while still keeping that retro style look and feel, and they’ve expanded it to both the Mac mini and the Mac Studio. Here is what you need to know.
Be sure to check out our hands on review where i really showcase how I use the G7 in my worflow.
I highly recommend checking out the hands-on video above to get a real sense of how cool and unique this dock’s design is. But when you strip away the look and nostalgia, you still have a high-powered 16-in-1 dock that combines a 7-in display, high-speed connectivity, pro-level ports, physical controls, and an NVMe SSD enclosure. Wokyis offers 10 Gbps and 80 Gbps configurations for the G5 (Mac mini) and the G7 (Mac Studio). I was testing the G7 for the Mac Studio. Some of the key specs you should know are:
In the box, you also get everything you need. It brings the dock itself, a screw driver for the NVMe enclosure, thermal tape for your SSD, and two braided USB-C 10Gbps cables. One thing to note is that even though this is built to physically fit on top of the Mac mini or Mac Studio, you can use it as a standalone dock with any computer that uses USB-C.
Thunderbolt 5 is another major feature of the 80 Gbps flagship model. When you connect the dock to your Mac, the 80 Gbps connection enables a supported NVMe SSD to reach speeds that approach internal storage performance. So you no longer need to pay the Apple premium to upgrade your internal storage. Even with SSD storage prices at an all-time high, it is still cheaper to get an NVMe SSD than to upgrade your computer with more internal storage.
The first thing that drew me to this dock was the design. The Mac Studio is an incredibly powerful and efficient computer, but the minimal design makes it look like a large, sterile silver box that lacks a bit of personality. Placing the G7 on top completely changes the look and feel of the Mac. This time, Wokyis decided to pull at the heartstrings of retro gamers. The beige finish, directional pad, red action buttons, and flip-up display immediately give the setup a nostalgic gaming aesthetic. Of course, this look is an instant conversation starter to anyone who walks into my office. But after you get over the look, it actually adds a surprising amount of function.
The on-device physical controls actually have a function. They handle actions such as volume adjustments, media playback, copying, pasting, screenshots, screen brightness, and display controls. Then you have the display. At first, I thought it would be more of a gimmick than anything else, but it was surprisingly practical. MacOS recognizes the display just like any other external monitor, so any window or app can be moved over to it, and it instantly scales perfectly. It’s a 7-inch IPS panel with a 1280×800 resolution. I mostly use it for passive data and content viewing. Normally, you will see a video podcast playing when I am getting admin work done, but then, when using it with Final Cut Pro, I use it as a color monitoring system. It works fantastically in that use case. But the use cases are limitless: you can use it for a clock, messages, widgets, system monitoring, and, supposedly, Wokyis is working on a 1st-party utilities app optimized for that display.
But to me, the most practical benefit is the storage expansion. I use a 4TB NVMe SSD to store all my important files and documents. I use it to run all my FCP projects and e