If you’ve owned a MacBook Pro with Retina Display, finding a vertical dock has been a bit of wait. In fact, the machine is going on two years old now. With Henge Dock’s new metal doc for the MBPr, the wait has definitely paid off. For a company known for great docking solutions for MacBooks, the company has really outdone themselves. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Features
At its core, the Vertical Dock is a simple yet complex beast. It’s made of a metal casing and stand, and soft and secure inner-liner. The metal casing appears to be the same material used in the Gravitas iOS dock. It’s got a similar feel and that same neutron star-esque density. Make no mistake, you don’t want this dock falling on your foot. It also means that this is going to be a tough cookie to break. It’ll last longer than the machine it was made for. The MacBook is very securely seated with just a tiny bit of side to side sway possible. The outer feet make this almost impossible to knock over.
The MacBook Pro seats into the doc on the side with Thunderbolt Ports and the MagSafe. In all, it gives you extensions for your the TRRS audio cable with Mic and iPhone controls, USB 3.0, two Mini DisplayPort extenders for the Thunderbolt ports, and adapters for both kinds of the MagSafe power connectors. The slots for the Mini DisplayPort cables will also fit Apple’s Thunderbolt cables or the thunderbolt connector from the Thunderbolt Display. The audio jack has an optional 3.5mm optical to TOSLINK adapter. The other side has another USB 3.0, full size HDMI, and the SDXC card reader are left exposed and accessible.
The cables are held in place with an Allen screw. This can be accessed through a rubberized access panel on the right hand side of the dock. There are four screws for the ports and a master screw that also holds the MagSafe connector. You don’t need to go searching for a tool since one is hidden in the bottom of the dock. There is also a built-in cable management system in the back and plenty of room in the base to hide the portion of the cables you don’t need to use.
Standing it up vertically seems to cool the MacBook Pro much better than your desk. I have yet to hear the fan even once in the time I have been using this vertical dock. Removing it is as simple as lifting it up and taking it with you. That being said, you might want to invest in a second MagSafe power supply since that isn’t as easy to remove. As for the cons… I really can’t think of anything this dock could do better than it does. It’s pretty much perfect.
Pricing and Availability
The Henge Docks Mac Pro Retina Vertical Dock is $119 for both the 13″ and the 15″ version which I tested. That’s a little steep, but it may be worth it. If you want a more traditional plastic version of this dock, that can be had for $89. Since that heavy metal alloy is such an integral part of what makes this dock great, I can’t guarantee you’ll get the same stability and toughness.
Final Word
If you use an Apple Thunderbolt display or other large screen display (or TV) with your MacBook Pro with Retina Display, the is something you definitely want to get. You’ll save a bunch of desktop space, cool your MacBook, and the cable management makes your desk a lot cleaner. This is a great product that looks fantastic and is virtually indestructible. For drawbacks, there really aren’t any other than the $119 you have to plunk down to buy one. In fact, I’m recommending this Henge Docks for a Geek Beat Editor’s Choice Award.
Pros
- Incredibly Well Made
- Matches MacBook Pro Retina perfectly in terms of both fit and finish
- Simple to Use
- Adjustment tool included in dock
- Almost impossible to knock over with heavy alloy construction
- Built-in cable management
- Improves cooling of the MacBook
Cons
- Apple has not bought Henge Docks and included one with every MacBook sold. This is as close to a perfect companion as you can get.
It drives me nuts that I cant get something like this for my PC laptop (a lenovo Yoga)
I’m waiting for day, when a notebook will allow for docking and driving a Retina 27″ Cinedisplay! Other than that, I still prefer my mac mini to drive my 24 inch Dell Monitor, modified with an internal SSD and regular drive.
That Day may be very very soon if you read the rumor mill. That being said, the latest Macs with Thunderbolt 2 will treat any 4K display as a Retina display, though the currently available 4K panels are all TN instead IPS.
I have no sources to say one is coming, but you might get your wish come this fall. The current Thunderbolt display is getting long in the tooth.
Editor’s Choice – wow! A big thank you to Ben and Geek Beat TV for the great review! We’re beyond excited that these docks are now available!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I deal with these pieces of crap at work they are HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have hundreds of these things and they all suck. No one wants one as you can’t use the monitor of your laptop with them You can’t turn your computer on while it is docked. and its nearly impossible to get all the cables aligned properly. You need two hands to undock it. You couldn’t be more wrong about this product. It shouldn’t even exist. The belkin thunderbolt docks are way more practical.
This one may be better suited to your use case. There are users who this fit better. If you don’t use the internal retina display and use larger external displays, the Macbook just takes up space. I’ll concede the not being able to turn it on in the dock, but to be honest I never shut it down.
http://geekbeat.wpengine.com/editors-choice-landing-zone-pro-macbook-air-docking-station-review/
In the photo you should it hooked up to two thunderbolt monitors. Why not just plug it into them and set in closed on the stand below the monitor.
That is a stock photo. I can’t afford to buy one of them let alone two nor do I have anywhere near the space. Docking might be an option with an 11″ Air, but a 15″ Retina is too large at 10″ deep. My desk has 21″ of usable depth and there wouldn’t have enough room for a keyboard and mouse set in front of it. However, if have a deep desk, your use case may be capable of what you describe. In my use case, the vertical gives me a lot of space the MacBook would be taking up.