StarTech.com 4 Port USB 3.0 Hub - USB-A to 4x USB-A - SuperSpeed 5Gbps Portable USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A Hub - USB Bus Powered - Laptop/Desktop USB Hub with Long Cable 28cm & Cable Management~4 Port USB 3.0 Hub - USB-A to 4x USB-A - SuperSpeed 5Gbps Portable USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A Hub - USB Bus Powered - Laptop/Desktop USB Hub with Long Cable 28cm & Cable Management

Product Overview

AI-generated summary

For £21 ex-VAT, this StarTech 4‑port USB 3 hub is the kind of “just works” add-on I’d recommend if you’ve got a laptop with limited ports and you need a few peripherals at once. The main practical win here is the long lead (28cm) and the fact it’s bus-powered—so you can tidy it up on a desk without hunting for a nearby port. For normal office use (mouse, keyboard, headset dongle, card reader, small USB storage), you’ll likely see the benefit of USB 3 speeds without the faff of extra power bricks.

That said, I wouldn’t buy it if your expectation is “high-speed external drive station.” Bus-powered hubs can be tight on sustained power draw, and cheap hubs can get shaky with multiple hungry devices at once (external HDDs, some docking-adjacent accessories, high-speed capture devices). Also, it’s only a basic 4‑port splitter—no charging, no switches, no real management beyond the cable tidy—so if you need anything more “dock-like,” it’ll feel underpowered for the money.

**Buy it if:** you need a simple, reliable USB 3 expander for light peripherals on a desk, and you value the long cable for cleaner cable routing. **Skip it if:** you’re plugging in multiple power-hungry devices or expecting consistently fast performance with external storage under load.