Here’s a sleek and pocketable 10-port hub (and is about the size of a normal 5-port hub) that extends, with connected devices, what your desktop and laptop (and smartphone) can do. The Rapoo XD200C Type C Multifunction Adapter has ten ports which lets you connect a lot of peripherals (external SSD/Spin and flash drives, SD/microSD card, wireless/wires mouse and keyboard, a device to charge, an external monitor, etc.), save for an audio port. It has a dark gray metallic color that matches Macbooks and most similarly colored Windows laptops.

The ports are:

  • 1 USB C Female that supports power delivery and power supply.
  • 2 USB 3.0 female
  • 2 USB 2.0 female ports
  • 1 HDMI port that supports 4Kx2k/30 Hz and supports dual screen simultaneous output
  • 1 RJ45 network port (gigabit) that automatically adapts to 10/100/100M Ethernet
  • 1 TF card slot (micro SD card slot)
  • 1 SD card slot
  • 1 VGA port 1920x1080p/60Hz, supports dual screen simultaneous output.

The XD200C is available at Silicon Valley and is priced at Php 3,450.

We tested the XD200C on a laptop (Lenovo IdeaPad 530s) and on several phones (because most phones now have a Type C port). Here’s what we found out.

Rapoo XD200C Type C Multifunction Adapter with various peripherals connected.

Hooked up to a laptop, we plugged in a lot (at the same time) and most of them work – External SSD, flash drive, cabled mouse, cabled keyboard, ethernet, SD card, micro SD card, a Type C to Type C cable for phone charging and file management, and a monitor (more on this below). None of the connected peripherals were “dropped” or disconnected. However, our “normal” 60Hz Acer display or our budget gaming 144Hz LG monitor could not be detected by either the HDMI or VGA port.

We found out later that our laptop could be the one to blame, as external monitors worked on other laptops as in this and this review.

Hooked up to a smartphone (we only tested on a Samsung A72, vivo S1 Pro, and Huawei Mate 10 Pro), most of the XD200C’s ports work (USB A, Type C, SD card, micro SD Card), so you can, for example, attach a wired keyboard and external drives and reverse charge a powerbank, a mirrorless camera (a Panasonic LX100 M2 was hooked up) or another smartphone. However, in 2 of the phones (Samsung A72 and Huawei Mate 10 Pro), when multiple storage devices are connected, adding a device to charge (phone charges the device) or adding a source of charge (power bank charges the phone), kicks out (unmounts) the storage devices. Only on the vivo S1 Pro are those unmounted storage devices re-mounted (most of the time).

Rapoo XD200C Type C Multifunction Adapter with various peripherals connected, a Samsung A72 is used.

The XD200C also could not mount an external SSD on any three of the phones tested. But when a dedicated USB C dongle was used on the phones (and not the XD200C), the external SSD was mounted and could be used.

Now, and this is probably a feature limited to Huawei smartphones, when the XD200C is hooked up to a Huawei phone (the Mate 10 Pro) and a monitor via HDMI (the 144hz 24-inch LG monitor), the phone’s contents can be mirrored on the monitor (or you can use the monitor like a desktop, same feature as Samsung Dex). The vivo and Samsung phone did not offer such functionality.

Rapoo XD200C Type C Multifunction Adapter hooked up to a Huawei phone and a monitor

Regardless of smartphone brand, if you want to check the contents of external drives or the pics and vids you took on your DLSR or mirrorless camera (for social media sharing for example), having a pocketable USB C hub like this with a full-sized SD card slot is handy.

The Verdict

If you have a Type C port and want to plug in more, the Rapoo XD200C has you covered. That said, it has limitations:

  • Because there are reviews out there showing that external monitors work on laptops via the XD200C, we’re pretty sure our laptop is the exception.
  • Connected to a smartphone, while multiple storage devices can be mounted, connecting either a device to charge (phone charges the device) or a power source (to charge the smartphone) often unmounts the storage devices.
  • It’s a slight bummer that a USB C hub like this can’t mount an external SSD when connected to smartphone.
Rapoo XD200C Type C Multifunction Adapter and ADAM Elements CASA Hub A01
Above: Rapoo XD200C Type C Multifunction Adapter and ADAM Elements CASA Hub A01

Here’s where the Rapoo XD200 delivers:

  • If you really need multiple Type A USB ports (two 2.0 and two 3.0), a full-sized SD card, and a micro SD card, to access files on your storage devices and extend what you can do (keyboard, mice, external drives, etc.), the Rapoo XD200 delivers.
  • If you need an ethernet port, for when your computer or laptop’s doesn’t work (or if your laptop doesn’t have one), the XD200 has you covered.
  • If you want a dongle connected to your phone so you can copy/moves files between your phone and a flash drive, SD card, micro SD card, the hub has you covered.
  • If you want to connect two monitors to you laptop (one via the laptop’s own HDMI port), this 10-port dongle has what you need. (We stand by the reviews we listed earlier, where external monitors work seamlessly, as those content creators are our techie friends.)

So, the bottom line – for a pocketable 10-port hub with a premium-build and is about the same size as other 5-port hubs, the Rapoo XD200C is a good purchase. It just makes everything you do easier (you get more things done) and plays into the needs of gamers, content creators (vloggers, streamers, digital artists, photographers, videographers), working professionals (dual screens for coders and spreadsheet maniacs), or anyone unhappy with their laptop’s limited ports.