Your laptop computer by no means has sufficient ports–particularly if it is the Macbook Air this information was written on. That forces you to hold an array of dongles so you may plug all the things in. Fortuitously, there’s a greater approach. USB hubs can develop the quantity and form of ports accessible, and USB docks allow you to flip a laptop computer right into a full-blown workstation with one plug. After testing a number of USB hubs and docks, these are one of the best we have discovered for various wants.
On the lookout for different home-office gizmos and devices? We have various guides that may assist, like our Best Work-From-Home Gear, Best USB Flash Drive, and Best Portable External Storage Drives roundups.
Replace November 2023: We added the Satechi Twin Dock Stand, Plugable Twin 4K Show Horizontal Docking Station, Plugable USB-C Triple Show Docking Station 13-in-1, Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Media Professional Dock, and OWC Thunderbolt Go Dock. We additionally added Honorable Mentions part with Plugable UD-3900C, Plugable USB-C Triple Show Docking Station, Satechi Triple 4K Show Docking Station, and Plugable Twin Monitor Horizontal Docking Station.
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Do You Want a Hub or a Dock?
There is a grey space between USB hubs and docks as a result of they do (largely) the identical factor: add extra ports and connectors to your laptop. Nonetheless, there are some slight variations, and it is value understanding them before you purchase one.
USB hubs are smaller, cheaper dongles that may add further USB ports, SD card readers, show outputs, or a headphone jack. These typically do not provide further energy, so that you could be unable to cost devices plugged into them. They’re additionally moveable sufficient to throw in your laptop computer bag to make use of on the go.
USB docks are sometimes bigger and costlier and are designed to spend most of their time in your desk. They typically include their very own energy provide, to allow them to cost different gadgets, and have a number of monitor outputs and Ethernet connections. When you often use your laptop computer at a desk, a dock can allow you to rapidly join it to a keyboard, mouse, screens, and every other peripherals concurrently.
