ORICO MG7 Review — A Compact Dock That Punches Above Its Size

Unboxing the ORICO MG7

The ORICO MG7 arrives in a simple blue box with a product illustration on the front and a full specifications rundown on the rear. It is functional packaging rather than premium, but it sets appropriate expectations for a product at this price point. Inside the box you get the dock itself, a short USB-C to USB-C 20Gbps cable, and documentation. Our unit is Silver, one of three colour options alongside Blue and Orange.

The first thing that strikes you when you take the MG7 out of the box is just how small it is. At 64 x 64 x 12mm, it sits comfortably in the palm of your hand and disappears into a bag pocket without any effort. For something that promises to serve as a full docking station, the size is genuinely impressive.

Walkaround

The MG7 is built from a combination of aluminum alloy and ABS plastic, and the balance between the two works well. The aluminum gives it a solid, premium feel in hand without making it unnecessarily heavy, while the ABS keeps the weight down and the cost manageable. The Silver finish on our unit is clean and understated, and the overall build quality feels well above what the price suggests.

The defining design feature of the MG7 is its magnetic M.2 2230 NVMe SSD enclosure. The SSD module attaches to the underside of the dock magnetically, and in practice the connection feels remarkably secure. On an iPhone, the magnetic attachment is firm enough that it will not drop off on its own under normal use, which was a genuine concern before testing. The magnet does its job without drama.

Port placement is practical. A single USB-C input on one edge handles both data and 100W Power Delivery, while the output ports are distributed across the remaining edges, giving you access to USB-A 10Gbps, USB-C 10Gbps, TF and SD card slots, HDMI, and a 3.5mm headset jack without them feeling cramped. The layout makes sense for both desktop and mobile use scenarios.

The one design note worth flagging before anything else is the included cable. At 13cm, it is genuinely very short. On an iPhone or tablet where the dock sits directly adjacent to the device, it works fine. For laptop use where you want the dock sitting on a desk surface at some distance from the machine, 13cm is not enough. You will almost certainly need to source a longer USB-C cable for that use case, which is a mild but real inconvenience.

Specifications

The Good

Remarkable Feature Density for the Size and Price

The MG7 packs USB-A, USB-C, HDMI 4K60Hz, SD and TF card slots, a 3.5mm audio jack, 100W Power Delivery passthrough, and a magnetic NVMe SSD enclosure into a 64 x 64 x 12mm footprint at USD $54.99. Getting all of that in a single accessory at this price point is genuinely difficult to argue with. For mobile content creators, remote workers, or anyone who wants to reduce cable clutter, the value proposition is immediately obvious.

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Magnetic SSD Attachment That Actually Works

The magnetic M.2 2230 NVMe enclosure is the MG7’s headline feature and it delivers in practice. The attachment is secure enough for confident everyday use, detaches cleanly when you want it to, and the concept itself is clever. The ability to swap or remove the SSD module without tools while keeping the dock fully functional adds a flexibility that a fixed-storage dock cannot offer. Installing a 2230 NVMe SSD also effectively transforms the MG7 into a high-speed portable drive with a full suite of additional connectivity features, making it significantly more versatile than a standalone SSD enclosure at a comparable price.

Card Reader Performance Is Solid

In testing with SD and TF cards, the MG7’s card reader delivered read speeds of around 170 MB/s, with write speeds ranging from approximately 100 MB/s depending on the card used. These are respectable figures that will not bottleneck capable cards, and for transferring footage from action cameras or mirrorless cameras, it gets the job done without frustration.

The SD card we used for this test is the SanDisk Extreme Pro, with UHS Speed Class 3, Video Speed Classs 30 (V30) and A2 App Performance.

HDMI Output Is Stable and Reliable

The 4K60Hz HDMI output performed without issue throughout testing. No sudden cuts, no frame stuttering, no inconsistency across extended sessions. For a dock at this price, a clean and reliable display output is not something you can take for granted, and the MG7 earns its marks here. It also stays within a comfortable temperature range during use, getting slightly warm under load but never uncomfortably hot.

An Unexpected Win With the DJI Action 6

This is worth calling out specifically because it was a genuine surprise. Using a UVC to HDMI adapter, the DJI Pocket 3 can be turned into an HDMI-capable camera for use with a video switcher like the ATEM Mini Pro. The DJI Action 6, however, does not support this workflow through the adapter. Interestingly, connecting the DJI Action 6 to the ORICO MG7 and using its HDMI output works without any issues, despite DJI never officially claiming HDMI support for the Action 6 over a USB-C hub. It is an undocumented capability that content creators using the Action 6 in a studio or streaming setup will find genuinely useful.

Works Across All Major Platforms and Device Types

Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS compatibility means the MG7 is not locked to any single ecosystem. It works on phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop setups without requiring drivers or software configuration. For someone who moves between devices and operating systems regularly, this versatility is a meaningful practical advantage.

The Bad

The Included Cable Is Too Short for Laptop Use

At 13cm, the included USB-C cable is only practical when the dock is sitting directly next to the connected device, which is fine for iPhone or tablet use but restrictive for any kind of laptop desk setup. Most users who plan to use the MG7 as a proper laptop dock will need to source a longer cable separately, ideally one that matches the 20Gbps capability of the included cable. It is a small but avoidable frustration that a slightly longer cable would have resolved entirely.

M.2 2230 Only Limits SSD Compatibility

The magnetic SSD enclosure only accepts the M.2 2230 form factor, which is shorter and less commonly stocked than the more widely available M.2 2280. If you already have a spare 2280 drive, it will not fit here. The 2230 limitation is understandable given the MG7’s compact dimensions, but it does mean you may need to purchase a specific drive rather than repurpose one you already own. That adds to the effective cost of getting the most out of the dock’s storage feature.

No Thunderbolt Support

The MG7 operates over USB 3.2 Gen 2 at 10Gbps, which is capable and sufficient for most tasks. However, the absence of Thunderbolt support is a limitation worth acknowledging, particularly for users who work with Thunderbolt-specific peripherals or who need the higher bandwidth ceiling that Thunderbolt 4 or 5 provides. The Thunderbolt name carries significant weight in professional and prosumer circles, and its absence may give some buyers pause when comparing options in this category.

Shared Bandwidth Across Ports

As with every USB-C hub and dock at this price point, the bandwidth is shared across all active ports. Running multiple high-demand peripherals simultaneously, such as an external SSD, a 4K display, and a card reader at once, will result in reduced throughput across those connections compared to using them individually. This is not unique to the MG7, but it is a real-world constraint that users should understand before expecting peak performance from every port simultaneously.

ORICO MG7 Verdict

The ORICO MG7 is a compact, well-built, and impressively versatile dock that delivers more functionality than most of its competition at this price point. The magnetic SSD concept works better in practice than it might sound on paper, the HDMI output is stable and reliable, the card reader performance is solid, and the multi-platform compatibility makes it genuinely useful across a wide range of devices and workflows.

The short included cable is a genuine inconvenience for laptop users, the 2230-only SSD limitation requires a specific purchase if you want to use the storage feature, and the absence of Thunderbolt support places a ceiling on its appeal for more demanding professional workflows. These are real limitations, but none of them undermine the MG7’s core proposition at its asking price. As such, we are award the ORICO MG7 with our Silver Pokdeward.

Big thanks to ORICO for sending us this dock for the purpose of this review.