Review of the Wokyis M5 dock for Mac mini M4

[Reviews]

Review of the Wokyis M5 dock for Mac mini M4

Let's dive into a review of an accessory that really caught my eye for the new Mac mini M4 (and Pro). It's the Wokyis M5, a dock station that transforms our machine into a miniature replica of the legendary original 1984 Macintosh. Beyond the retro aesthetic, it's a very functional peripheral: it adds the ports we're missing, includes an NVMe SSD slot, and most strikingly, features a fully functional 5-inch screen. I've been testing it thoroughly these past few days with my unit, installing an SSD drive and configuring the screen to see its real-world utility. Here are my impressions, the performance it delivers, and a little "secret" hidden inside. Let's check it out.



Let's start by reviewing what comes in the package, which shows the same retro aroma as the base included inside.





The first thing you think when taking it out of the box is that this isn't just a simple piece of plastic. The Wokyis M5 has its own personality. Its design is a direct homage to the Macintosh Classic, with that retro "beige" tone that will bring back great memories for us veterans.



Despite the vintage aesthetic, the construction feels modern and robust. The main body is made of good quality rigid plastic, no weird creaks. I was pleasantly surprised that, despite being a complete dock, it is quite compact and easy to transport. If you're someone who takes the Mac mini from the office to home, this dock fits in a backpack without issues.



A point in favor of Wokyis is that they don't skimp on accessories. In the box, we find, besides the dock, a USB-C connection cable for the Mac (short, just the right length so there's no excess cable), a pair of extra USB-C to USB-C cables (1 meter) to connect other equipment, thermal pads for the SSD, and a simple manual.



Here we see all the cables.









And the thermal pads that must be stuck to the SSD unit (recommended).



It doesn't come with a wall charger, but since it's powered by the Mac itself, it's not essential unless you connect many things (something that will likely happen in the end). To place our Mac mini, we just have to separate the lid found at the base. We won't need screws; it's a snap-fit.









Here's a detail for the curious ones. Opening the lid, we see that the manufacturer has written a message inside the casing, mimicking what Steve Jobs did with the original Macintosh team. It's silly functionally, but a geeky nod that shows the care put into the design.



The computer fits under the dock naturally. It doesn't look like a "patch", but an extension of the equipment itself. A crucial design detail is that it doesn't block ventilation or the speaker. In my tests, the Mac mini sound is heard just as clearly with the dock on as without it, something where many competitors fail by ending up "bottlenecking" the audio. This is something that, for example, didn't happen with the previous Mac mini base I reviewed from the brand Acasis.







Let's review all the interfaces and features of the base. On the front, we have the 5-inch IPS screen (which I'll talk about later) and a power button with a very "clicky" feel. But watch out for the top detail: we have physical buttons to control the brightness of the screen. It seems obvious, but it is greatly appreciated not having to navigate through software menus to lower the brightness if you are in the dark.



Here we see the two buttons, easily accessible.



If we buy these docks for anything, aside from aesthetics, it's to forget about the "dongle life" that we Mac users suffer from. And here the Wokyis M5 doesn't just comply, but offers high-end specifications. The connection to the Mac is made via a single rear USB-C cable, leaving our setup super clean. Let's see what we find on the back, from left to right.

• 2x USB-A Ports (USB 3.2 Gen 2): This is key. Many hubs sell you 2 ports and then it turns out two are 2.0 (slow). Not here. Both ports are high speed, supporting up to 10Gbps.This means you can connect old external SSD hard drives or fast flash drives and transfer files at over 900 MB/s. They also supply up to 5V/0.9A, enough to charge small accessories.
• HDMI-In Port: Careful, don't get confused. This port is an input, not an output. It serves to receive the video signal that will be shown on the dock's 5-inch screen.
• USB-C Data Port (10Gbps): The one we will use to connect the base to our computer.
• USB-C Power Port (PD 5V/3A): The dock works perfectly powered only by the Mac Mini. However, Wokyis has included this extra 15W port. If you plan to connect 2.5" mechanical hard drives or charge several devices at once that consume a lot of energy, I recommend plugging in any USB-C mobile charger here to ensure stability and not drain power from the Mac.
• 3.5mm Audio Jack Port: Although the Mac already has one, this dock adds its own audio output. According to the specs, it supports up to 32bit/384KHz (Hi-Fi), so if you have quality wired headphones, they will give you good results.

Looking at the front, in addition to the button that turns the screen on and off, we have the following:

• 2x USB-A Ports (USB 3.2 Gen 2) similar to those found on the back (10Gbps)
• MicroSD card slot
• Standard SD card slot
• A USB-C port, also 10Gbps.

Regarding the card slots, this is a differential point. The reader isn't the typical cheap USB 3.0; it's an SD 4.0 reader with UHS-II protocol, capable of theoretically reaching up to 312 MB/s. A great detail is that both slots can be used simultaneously. You can be dumping the camera card and the drone card at the same time without one disabling the other. Regarding the computer's own ports, many docks "hug" the Mac so much that they cover everything. The Wokyis M5 design leaves the lower front open. This means that the two USB-C ports and the original headphone jack of the Mac mini M4 remain fully accessible. We don't lose anything; we add everything mentioned above to what the computer already brings as standard. It will be almost impossible for you to require more ports than you will have available.



Let's see some additional images of the base.







Before continuing, let's watch a short video of the appearance.

We arrive at what makes this dock unique and differentiates it from the hundreds of hubs on the market: its 5-inch IPS panel.



On paper, we have a resolution of 1280x720p. Reading "720p" in the middle of 2026 might seem low to you, but I assure you that at a size of 5 inches the pixel density is very high. It looks really sharp. Being an IPS panel, the viewing angles are quite good, something fundamental because normally we won't look at this dock head-on, but will have it to the side of the main monitor.



We'll return to the screen in a moment, but first let's talk about storage. We know that expanding the internal SSD of a Mac is an almost impossible mission and that paying Apple for more capacity hurts the wallet. This is where the Wokyis M5 shines brightly, integrating a housing for an M.2 NVMe SSD. The system is very simple. You just have to remove a back cover (which is magnetic) and we find the M.2 slot.





A detail that is appreciated is that the manufacturer includes several thermal pads (silicone pads) of different thicknesses, as we saw a bit above. This is vital to ensure the disk makes good contact with the aluminum back cover, which acts as a passive heatsink. For this review, I have mounted a Corsair MP500, which I had been using in an external SSD enclosure. So the first thing is to remove it from there to introduce it into its new home.





We put in a small screw and it's all set.





The dock connects to the Mac via USB-C at 10Gbps. This means the maximum real speed we are going to get will be around 900 - 1,000 MB/s. Although the Wokyis supports modern PCIe Gen 4.0 disks, you don't need to spend a fortune on the fastest SSD on the market because the USB port will act as a "bottleneck". With a reliable Gen 3.0 disk like this Corsair, you have plenty and get the maximum possible performance from the device. And here I must make a brief aside. Although I have analyzed the standard 10Gbps version (which I think is the most balanced in quality/price for the majority), the manufacturer also sells a superior version with Thunderbolt 5 technology. That "vitaminized" model reaches a bandwidth of 80Gbps and includes an Intel certified 0.5-meter cable. The difference? While in my unit we are limited to about 1,000 MB/s, the Thunderbolt 5 version is capable of squeezing the most modern NVMe PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 SSDs to the max, achieving brutal read/write speeds (similar to those of the internal Mac disk). If you are professional video editors working with 8K RAW from the external disk, know that you have that option available.

To start working with our new base, we only have to connect the short cable between the Mac mini and the base, connect the computer cable and the HDMI to the screen. Little else. It is worth noting that the HDMI port on the base will allow us to work only with the screen of the base itself. It doesn't seem like the best idea, but in the case of not having an external screen, it can serve as a fix.





As we saw before, as soon as we turn on the devices the screen greets us happily in true Apple style.



Here is where many of you will ask the million-dollar question: Do I need to install drivers or additional software?. The answer is: No, and it's better that way. The device acts simply as an external monitor via HDMI. macOS detects it instantly as a second screen. This has a great advantage: we don't depend on the manufacturer updating their software when a new version of macOS comes out. You simply drag the windows you want there and that's it. You drag them or, if you wish, you mirror the original screen.







At first you might think it's pure "posing", but after a few days using it, you find real utility. I've been using it to watch YouTube videos in the background, have a retro clock, or view Spotify lyrics.





Also as a screensaver, of course.



Is it going to change your life? Certainly not, but it's going to give a more geeky touch to your desktop.

I recorded a short video of how the brightness buttons work.

Also how Spotify and YouTube look on the screen.

Regarding the performance of the ports, after moving heavy files and using it as a work disk, my conclusions are that it delivers what it promises. Transfers are sustained and take advantage of the USB 3.2 bandwidth. For editing 4K video, Time Machine backups, or having the game library, it runs like a shot. The SSD unit performs perfectly as well, although you must take into account what was discussed above. Given that the Wokyis M5 (in this version) connects via USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 at 10Gbps, that is our physical limit. The Corsair MP500 SSD is a beast that can reach about 3,000 MB/s (read) and 2,400 MB/s (write) on its own if connected internally in a PC, but passing through the dock's USB cable it will be "slowed down" to the maximum allowed by the port.

In the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test (the standard on Mac), we get very stable results typical of good quality NVMe enclosures. Taking into account that the theoretical limit of USB 3.2 Gen 2 is 1,250 MB/s (which in practice is never reached due to protocol "overhead"), the results are very good, around 850/900 MB/s for both reading and writing.



As you can see, we are grazing the technical ceiling of the USB-C port. Is it fast? Yes. To give you an idea, it's about 2 times faster than a conventional SATA SSD (like the old Samsung T5s). It allows editing 4K ProRes video directly from the dock without stuttering and you can move a 10GB movie in just about 10-12 seconds. The dock squeezes almost 100% of what the port allows, so the performance is a high B+ / A-. I checked the SSD unit temperature with a thermal gun and the result is totally normal, not reaching 40 degrees (35.7ºC), even while making intensive use of the unit. Mind you, the temperature in the room is rather cool. In any case, everything indicates that temperature management is well executed.



So, is the Wokyis M5 worth the price? My verdict is clear: If you're just looking to expand ports or have a card reader, there are hubs for €40 that do the job. But if you buy this Wokyis, you don't do it just for the ports. You do it for the "love" of the setup. This dock turns a computer that we usually hide or goes unnoticed into the absolute protagonist of the desk. It's a nostalgia hit straight to the heart of Mac users, but executed with modern and functional hardware. It's not a toy; it's a work tool with a lot of style.

The best (+):

• Spectacular Design: The homage to the Macintosh Classic is very well achieved.
• Real Functionality: The screen is useful (with the right apps) and the SSD slot runs fast and cool.
• Respect for the Mac: It doesn't block ports, choke the sound, or heat up the equipment.
• Details: From the interior "easter egg" to the physical brightness buttons.

The less good (-):

• The Price: It's not cheap. It's a premium/niche accessory.
• Materials: The plastic is good, but the contrast with the Mac Mini's aluminum is noticeable if you are very picky.

For the user who wants to have a desktop with personality, who enjoys retro aesthetics and needs to expand their Mac's storage without paying Apple's abusive prices, getting a very catchy auxiliary screen as a gift. If you like what you see in the photos, I assure you it looks better in person. I, for one, can no longer imagine my Mac Mini "naked" without its little retro suit.

The official price on Amazon is 149.99 euros. Here is the link:

Ver producto en

Puedes leer la versión en español aquí

https://www.htcmania.com/showthread.php?t=1744886