While the Thunderbolt 5 Wokyis G7 dock certainly goes after the retro gaming nostalgia vote, it also happens to be a well-thought-out add-on for your Mac Studio or older Apple Silicon Mac mini.
I am not a stranger to Mac docks. I suspect between myself and the rest of the staff, we've done the most reviews of them out of anybody facing the internet over the last decade.
And, I'm not a stranger to nostalgia.
Previously, we looked at the Wokyis M5 Dock, which turned a Mac mini into a Snow White design ethos compact Mac thanks to a clever enclosure and a built-in display. One year later, we're looking at another similarly styled dock that aims for the same blend of utility and retro vibes.
The Wokysis G7 80Gbps is another dock designed to sit on top of your Mac. This time, on top of a Mac Studio or the older M1 and M2-era Mac mini.
But rather than resembling an old Mac, it instead plays on gaming themes. Specifically, that of the original Game Boy.
And, it does this while still trying to provide as much utility to modern users as possible.
Wokyis G7 review: Specifications
| Product | Wokyis G7 (80Gbps version) |
| Expected price | $369 retail |
| Interface | Thunderbolt 5, up to 80Gbps |
| Best paired with | Mac Studio and other Thunderbolt 5 Macs |
| Display | 7-inch flip-up, 1280 by 800 |
| Shortcut keys | 9 physical keys |
| Internal storage | M.2 NVMe SSD slot, up to 8TB |
| Peak SSD speed | Up to 7,000 MB/s (supported NVMe) |
| CFexpress | Type B, up to 1,000 MB/s |
| Card readers | SD 4.0 and microSD 4.0, up to 312 MB/s |
| Video out | HDMI, DisplayPort 8K at 60Hz |
| USB-C data ports | 2 x USB-C 10Gbps |
| USB-A data ports | 2 x USB-A 10Gbps |
| USB-A legacy ports | 2 x USB-A 2.0 |
| Power delivery | USB-C, 36W |
| Audio | 3.5mm jack |
| Host connection | USB-C host to Mac |
Wokyis G7 review: Design
Most docks hide under a monitor or behind a desk. The Wokyis G7 wants to sit out in the open, on top of a Mac Studio.
The device is designed to be a hat for the Mac Studio or the Mac mini with the same footprint. It connects to the back of the Mac using a supplied Thunderbolt 5 cable, that honestly, could be a little shorter.
I think that's the first time I've ever wished for a shorter Thunderbolt cable to come with a dock.
Wokyis G7 review: Beside a Mac Studio for scale
Like other docks, it's got ports on the front and rear, and there's a well-hidden slot for an M.2 SSD to be attached.
The styling mimics the original Game Boy. Obviously, it's only in homage to the console with enough changes to keep Nintendo's normally vicious lawyers at bay. Just ask Switch emulator developers how that goes.
There are also a series of buttons, which gives it the overall appearance of a stylized miniature arcade cabinet.
There is obviously a lot of novelty value here, but there's a lot more than just something that makes you think about games from the 1980's and 90's.
The build quality is solid. Think Star Wars toy plastic, not Lego, though.
This is not something that needs aluminum all over, but the SSD cover is metal to act as a heat sink. There are sticky heat sink pads in the box, and all you need to do is add your own M.2 drive.
Wokyis G7 review: The flip-up display and buttons
The main visual element is obviously the display on the dock itself.
The previous novelty dock from Wokyis, the M5, also had a display, and did a lot more to serve the styling of the peripheral than it does here.
At a resolution of 1,280 by 800, it's not intended for you to do work on.
Wokyis G7 review: The display can flip up to look like an arcade cabinet.
You could use it as a secondary display, though. It can also be employed as a digital photo frame, a clock, or a way to watch shows in the background instead of using your iPad.
There is the obvious temptation to use it for gaming due to the dock's styling. You certainly could try, but you can't and shouldn't rely on those buttons to control your actual gameplay.
A real game controller is always going to be better than this. And cheaper.
Those buttons are actually a selection of one-touch keyboard shortcuts, complete with little icons explaining what they do.
Wokyis G7 review: Screen is laid flat. Those buttons are actually usable.
The D-pad handles brightness, volume, and media playback. The two red buttons are copy and paste, and the middle two are for putting the Mac to sleep and taking a screenshot.
This is a fairly handy way to make the dock a little more useful, like a simpler form of a Stream Deck or other macro pad.
If the display is taking a bit too much vertical space or you need to store it, you can flip it down. It's not perfectly flat, but that's okay.
Wokyis G7 review: Thunderbolt 5 and connectivity
Speed is the G7's serious claim, thanks to its use of Thunderbolt 5. As the name implies, it can really use that 80Gbps of bandwidth.
The 80Gbps figure needs a Thunderbolt 5 Mac to reach that figure. For a high-end model like the Mac Studio that this is designed to sit on, it'll be fine.
On an older Thunderbolt 4 Mac, it runs slower. Speeds drop to a 40Gbps ceiling, which is still fast, if not 80Gbps. Monitor support drops to just 4K on Thunderbolt 4 hosts, though.
The front of the dock has a CFexpress Type B slot. Wokyis rates that slot at up to a gigabyte per second, making it handy for offloading footage from high-end cameras. We got about 600 megabytes per second in actual testing, which is close enough.
Wokyis G7 review: Front ports are good enough for direct usage.
There are also SD and microSD 4.0 ports that work at up to 312 megabytes per second, and a pair of USB-A ports operating at 10Gbps. You also get a pair of USB-C ports running at 10Gbps too.
This is more than enough ports and memory card slots facing the user, both for charging and data offload uses.
The ports selection around the back is a little more long-term-connectivity based, but not by much.
You have the USB Type-C connection to the host, as well as two USB-A 2.0 ports for peripherals not needing speed, like keyboards and USB microphones. A headphone jack rounds it all out.
External monitor connectivity is handled by HDMI and DisplayPort, with the latter supporting 8K at 60Hz on a Thunderbolt 5 system.
Wokyis G7 review: The rear ports.
The remaining ports are one more USB-C port with 36 watts of power delivery, and a screen switch.
This isn't the only model available. There's a G7 10Gbps, which is less expensive, works using USB-C instead of Thunderbolt, and has a fairly sizable selection of ports, too. They're just bandwidth-constrained.
The use of Thunderbolt 5 on this 80Gbps version means there's plenty of bandwidth available for all of the ports, as well as displays. The host connection is not going to be a bottleneck here.
Wokyis G7 review: Storage
While the Thunderbolt 5 connection can drive all of the ports, connected displays, and the included screen without breaking a sweat, it's not all that the G7 can do. There's an included SSD slot, too.
Underneath the display in a screwed-down hatch is a slot for installing an M.2 NVMe SSD. The space can take M and B&M Key connectors, as well as M.2 sizes from 2230 to 2280.
Wokyis says it can take up to an 8-terabyte M.2 NVMe stick. The real benefit is thanks to the use of Thunderbolt 5, as it can transfer at up to 7,000MB/s under the right conditions.
Wokyis G7 review: Install an M.2 NVMe drive here.
We are not made of money, and do not have a 8TB M.2 drive to test with. We do have PCI-E 5.0 smaller drives, and saw about 6,200 megabytes per second read, and 5,100 megabytes per second write speeds, with a 4K 120Hz monitor connected. Given overhead, this is close enough.
This is very handy for anyone who wants more storage for their Mac but doesn't necessarily want an extra external drive littering the desk. Since it's incorporated into the dock, it's all built-in and doesn't need to occupy an extra port.
It's also probably the real selling point of this model over the 10Gbps version. Sure, the ports are nice, but that high-speed storage capability will be extremely useful for anyone who needs it.
Wokyis G7 review: A crowdfunding project with retro gaming charm
Wokyis has a habit of launching products on Kickstarter, and it's doing the same thing here with the G7.
Crowdfunding carries the usual risks. Delivery can slip, and specs can change before shipping.
That said, the Wokyis G7 is an unusually fun take on a Mac dock. Its retro shell and flip-up screen give it character, though you're not going to seriously consider it to be a gaming device.
Underneath, the specs are serious for creatives. Thunderbolt 5, CFexpress, and an SSD bay all matter to that audience, and a little extra digital screen estate doesn't hurt too.
The open questions are price and delivery. It is a pre-launch crowdfunding product, so caution applies.
For Mac Studio owners who want personality, it is a crowdfunding project worth watching. The 80Gbps speed needs a Thunderbolt 5 Mac to shine, as well as the chunky casing to sit on. .
Wokyis G7 Pros
- Retro gamer styling with a flip-up screen
- Thunderbolt 5 speed with an internal SSD bay
- CFexpress plus dual SD card readers
Wokyis G7 Cons
- Pre-launch crowdfunding product, not yet shipping
- Buttons are not suited for gaming
- Final pricing not yet confirmed
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
The Wokyis, even after early-bird pricing, is competitively priced with other docks without screens. The screen opens up some interesting scenarios with monitoring, or even using the Home app on a small display.
Personally, it's good during the workday to have a baseball game on, or similarly passive media.
It's not as squarely aimed at the classic Mac nostalgia crowd, and I'm not as endeared to the original Nintendo Game Boy as many are. That said, I like what Wokyis has here.
But even if you're in the same boat as I am, it's still a nice piece of hardware, a good-performing dock, and attractive on your desk.
Where to buy the Wokyis G7
The Kickstarter page for the Wokyis G7 80Gbps lists multiple prices, including a limited Super Early Bird of $219 and an Early Bird of $229. The MSRP is listed at $369.
The 10Gbps versions are also listed, with the G7 10Gbps at $109 or $199, with an MSRP of $199, but as with the earlier review, we think that's bandwidth challenged.
