While I’m sad to lose MagSafe, one benefit of using USB-C for power is that you can connect just about any external battery-pack to your MacBook or 2016 MacBook Pro if you need a boost to get through the day. An Indiegogo campaign which just got fully-funded has a particularly interesting-looking one which is specifically pitched at Apple’s laptops – starting at $149.
The Line Dock takes the form of an aluminum base unit designed to sit directly underneath your Mac. Available in 12-, 13- and 15-inch sizes to match the dimensions of Apple’s machines, it offers roughly 15 hours of additional battery-life. And for those mourning the loss of ports, it also offers 3 x USB 3.0 sockets alongside HDMI, MiniDisplay Port and an SD card reader …
There’s also an active cooling system.
There’s the option of an integrated SSD with up to 1TB of additional storage. Storage tiers available are nothing, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB. And there are four wireless charging pads too, which may or may not be useful for future iPhones.
Line Dock is the first device offering active cooling on the market. Rather than simply blowing air at the laptop like traditional external cooling pads, Line Dock’s patented technology generates real cold, 20°F below room temperature. The unique thermoelectric cooling actively sucks heat from the bottom of the laptop, allowing it to perform better, when it matters.
It will be available in a choice of three colors: Silver, Space Gray and Matte Black. Pricing ranges from $149 for the basic model without SSD up to $599 for the 1TB model.
The bad news is that it isn’t expected to be available for quite some time yet: the team is aiming for pre-production in February, full production in March and shipping in June. If you can’t wait that long, a wide range of USB-C battery-packs already on the market, with prices starting from around $40.
