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Out of all of the docking stations I’ve examined, the Baseus Spacemate RD1 Professional is among the most original, sporting options not generally seen on different docks.
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It instantly distinguishes itself with an adjustable wi-fi charging pad on prime and a small, high-resolution show on the entrance. What’s nice is that these additions do not feel like gimmicks; they ship genuinely helpful data for busy work setups, along with all the advantages of a high-end docking station.
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All of the ports
The Spacemate RD1 Professional is a pretty big docking station with an in depth array of ports and controls:
Entrance:
- 2 × USB-C (as much as 100W PD)
- 2 × USB-A (5 Gbps)
- 240 x 240 show with management button (decision TBD)
Again:
- 2 × USB-C (10 Gbps)
- SD/TF card slot (V3.0)
- 2 × USB-A (480 Mbps)
- HDMI (as much as 4K@60Hz)
- HDMI (as much as 4K@120Hz)
- 1 Gigabit Ethernet
- Full-featured USB-C host port
- DC enter (as much as 100W PD)
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It is a fully-loaded docking station with quick USB ports for near-instant file transfers and a full-gigabit Ethernet connection for low-latency networking. For the common consumer, that is overkill, however for energy customers, I feel it is almost good.
One thing it’s possible you’ll not discover at first look is the warmth vents, that are a part of its cooling system. Spacemate RD1 makes use of a graphene-enhanced thermal construction together with vents to effectively dissipate warmth. In my expertise, the cooling system does a positive job of conserving it cool. It received a bit of heat throughout testing, however by no means uncomfortably scorching, and there have been no indicators of instability on account of overheating.
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What’s attention-grabbing in regards to the dock is that it ships with two interchangeable energy plugs: one for the US commonplace, the opposite for the European commonplace. Each connect by sliding over the adapter’s pegs on the entrance. I discovered the US plugs simple to take away: simply press the button on prime, and it slides off.
The European plug, nonetheless, was surprisingly harder to detach. It makes use of the identical launch mechanism, however in my expertise, it received caught on the progs. I had to make use of a little bit of elbow grease to take away.
For all its strengths, my greatest criticism in regards to the Spacemate RD1 Professional is its energy adapter. It is enormous; almost half the dimensions of the dock, and you’ll’t go away it behind. The gadget can not function off simply energy siphoned from a bunch laptop computer, it wants the adapter. Good luck discovering an area for it. I really needed to unplug my desktop PC from an influence strip throughout testing simply to make room for each the adapter and my monitor’s energy cable.
You do not see this on a regular basis
By far probably the most eye-catching characteristic is the Qi 2.2 wi-fi magnetic charging pad on prime. It delivers as much as 25W of wi-fi charging energy and may be positioned in one in every of three positions: utterly flat, at roughly 45 levels, or almost upright. To get probably the most out of this pad, make sure your cell gadget helps the Qi commonplace; in any other case, you will be ready for a very long time. I positioned a 2026 Motorola Razr Extremely on prime, which does not help Qi2.2, and it took roughly 4 hours to succeed in 50% cost from a totally depleted battery.
After that, I positioned an previous iPhone 13 Mini (which helps Qi) on prime, and the recharge time to 50% was almost reduce in half: 2 hours and 14 minutes, to be precise. It’s doable to realize increased speeds, supplied your cell gadget helps Qi 2.2.
These numbers had been obtained whereas the Spacemate was in Charging Mode. In Charging Mode, almost all the gadget’s options are disabled apart from charging. You possibly can’t switch recordsdata or output a video sign. In case you press and maintain the button above the show for 2 seconds, it switches over to Hybrid Mode.
Operational modes
Hybrid Mode is the default setting and allows all the dock’s performance. You possibly can join exterior shows, switch recordsdata between gadgets, and cost related {hardware}. Nevertheless, charging efficiency is restricted in comparison with Charging Mode since energy is being distributed throughout a number of gadgets.
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I needed to see how the Spacemate RD1 Professional dealt with real-life workloads, particularly multi-monitor setups and file transfers. Unsurprisingly, the dock did nice. It had no bother driving high-resolution video indicators. Textual content appeared crisp on my HP Omen gaming monitor, colours appeared correct, and I did not encounter any unusual flickering or bizarre visible artifacts. It even adjusted the side ratio of the laptop computer’s video sign to match the monitor’s.
File switch efficiency was equally spectacular. Shifting a 22GB film from a WD_Black SN770M SSD to my laptop computer took roughly 43 seconds, whereas a separate 85GB switch completed in roughly two minutes and 30 seconds.
One neat characteristic is the small 240 x 240 pixel RGB show on the entrance. It generates a visible map of your setup, detailing what’s plugged in and the way energy is being distributed. You will see issues just like the setup’s host gadget, related peripherals, energetic shows, and real-time energy supply.
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Multi-monitor help varies relying on whether or not you are utilizing a Home windows or Mac gadget. Home windows customers get probably the most flexibility, since they’ll mirror a laptop computer’s display, prolong the video sign throughout a number of displays, or have every display run an unbiased video sign.
On macOS, you possibly can solely mirror content material or prolong the sign throughout the displays, however you possibly can’t have all three be unbiased from one another.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The Baseus Spacemate RD1 Professional is offered from Amazon and Baseus for $300. To assist soften the sticker shock, Baseus is at the moment providing a promotional low cost on Amazon with the code BASEUSPR at checkout for $100 off.
General, the Spacemate RD1 Professional is among the higher docking stations I’ve used, and positively probably the most distinctive. It’s a nice mixture of a beneficiant port choice, considerate thermal administration, and helpful extras like its Qi2 wi-fi charging pad. In case you’re in search of a extra reasonably priced various, contemplate the Baseus Nomos Air 12-in-1, with comparable options, just like the charging pad.
