


It’s worth noting that Aukey, which makes two of our top picks, has been booted from Amazon because it was one of several vendors reported to have solicited positive user reviews for gift cards. Check with your computer manufacturer for what your laptop (or desktop) model supports before you buy a USB-C dock or adapter. Unfortunately, you can’t just look at the port and know exactly what you have. For instance, Thunderbolt 3 or 4 devices will only be fully supported by a computer with the corresponding Thunderbolt USB-C port. However, while the port might appear the same from device to device, not all USB-C ports are the same. The newer USB-C port is a small oval that uses a reversible connector so that you don’t need to flip it around to get the correct position. Sometimes called a standard or regular USB port, it is rectangular and requires you to plug in your cable with the right side up so tabs inside the connectors are properly aligned. The USB port most are familiar with is USB Type-A. And if you’re looking to charge your USB-C devices, here are the best options we’ve tested.Īlso see: The best USB-C PD chargers of 2021 Is a USB-C port the same as a USB port?
#Usb c hubs for mac update
We’ll continue to update this list as we find new models to recommend. Here are some of our favorite USB-C docking stations that we’ve tested.
#Usb c hubs for mac portable
Narrowing down your many options and finding the best USB-C hub comes down to knowing how portable you need it to be and exactly what connections you need. With a single USB-C connection to your laptop or desktop and a USB-C hub, you can hook up a monitor, keyboard, mouse and Ethernet as well as read and write to memory cards or other external drives. To help you decide, we've listed the exact ports that each model features above.A USB-C hub or docking station can save you from constantly swapping dongles and relying on Bluetooth. However, if you really only need a small selection of ports and you have at least two USB-C ports, then you might want to consider saving your cash and investing in a more affordable model instead. This is particularly useful if your laptop only has one USB-C slot, as otherwise you'd need to choose between charging your battery or using your USB hub (and if you're ever on a deadline, this will be a particularly frustrating choice to have to make!). This means that you can use the USB-C hub to charge your laptop at the same time as connecting your other devices. You'll also find that high end USB-C hubs will also feature passthrough charging. If you have a lot of different devices that you regularly use, then it'll likely be worth investing in a more expensive model. The best USB-C hubs can actually vary wildly in price – but what's the reason for this? Well, aside from a superior build quality, more expensive hubs will typically feature a wider variety of ports and more ports in total.
#Usb c hubs for mac movie
This means that if you want to upload images from your SD card, connect your laptop to an ethernet cable or stream a movie to your TV with a HDMI cable, you're extremely limited. For example, the Dell XPS 13 is an excellent laptop, but it has only two USB-C ports, a microSD slot, a headphone jack. While this is fantastic on a purely-aesthetic level, this has meant that the number of ports available on modern computers have dwindled over the years. USB-C hubs explained What is a USB-C hub?Īs technology progresses, the trend for ultra-thin and lightweight devices has followed at breakneck speed. So if 4K output and portability aren’t your main priorities, you’ll probably wish to head elsewhere. it supports only four ports: one USB 3.1 port, an HDMI port, a DisplayPort and an RJ45 Ethernet port. Which makes it very impressive that it can drive dual 4K displays at 60Hz simultaneously.īeyond that, though, there’s not much to shout about. At just over 100g, and with a handy tuck-away wire, it’s small enough to fit in your pocket.

If you want to output to two 4K displays, but don’t want something big and bulky, then the Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock could be the choice for you.
