What, I'm sure you're wondering, is it which I'm referring to as "confusing" about this device?
Well, first off, there are ten mostly identical USB ports on it, and only seven are "device connection" ports, with the remaining three being "charging only" power ports. That's not a bad thing, except that you have to be looking at the hub, in good lighting, to tell which ports are which. If this is in a dimly lit location, or worse, you have to do things behind a desk, by feel... it's not nearly as convenient. No, this is designed pretty much solely for use on a tabletop, in a well-lit area.
Secondly, the unit has "USB 3.1" printed on the front surface, above the seven "device controlling" ports. And yet, the text description refers to these as "USB 3.2 Gen 2."
This is because the "USB standards committee" has gotten things BADLY confused. They've been "renaming" existing standards in... really weird... ways. For example, the original release of USB 3, once known as "USB 3.0," is now referred to as "USB 3.1 Gen 1." Kingston Technology has a series of really good articles explaining how this all works now, and CNET also has a series of articles which are very critical of just how confusing all this has become. Suffice it to say, the device slots marked as "USB 3.1" are, without any changes whatsoever, also now considered to be "one of the versions of USB 3.2." (sigh)
So... what you get here is what I'll continue to refer to as USB 3.1 ports... seven of them... and three ports which provide no data connection but DO provide some pretty decent charging capabilities.
But even that is confusing, as the first plug on the left is ONLY "Qualcom Quickcharge 3" compatible, while the next two are both "Qualcom" compatible AND can also support non-quickcharge devices using the vendor's proprietary technology. And I'm still not entirely clear what, exactly, this proprietary technology actually IS.
Interestingly, the same vendor has multiple product pages for this exact same device. I actually have bought one each from two of these pages, and I can assure you, they are the EXACT same device... not even the tiniest revision between the two. And only one of the two pages still shows the item as available for sale, while the other does not. I really don't understand why vendors do this, but that is definitely the case here.
Oh, and while this CAN operate solely from port-supplied power, you'll really, really want to use this with the provided external power supply, unless all you're connecting are very low-powered devices.
So... if you want a nice desktop hub, for up to seven data-transmitting devices... and also want to be able to charge, but not data-link, three more devices... this is a really nice choice. But be sure that you're ready to use it in a very visible location, as "working by touch" is largely a non-starter for this device. For well-illuminated desktop use only, in my view.
