Best Macbook Air 13 Inch Docking Station Reviews
The best dock for MacBook Pro in 2022
With the best dock for MacBook Pro, yous can expand the utility of your powerful laptop in all sorts of ways. Docks provide you with lots more ports to attach other devices. These include fast connection ports designed to evangelize high volumes of data, equally well as specialised ports for specific functions.
So, a port might permit yous attach i or more monitors to mirror or extend the desktop of your MacBook Pro. Information technology'll give y'all more connections to apply external equipment like drawing tablets, or to connect to storage media such as external hard drives. Some docks come with 3.5mm sound jacks, both as inputs for mics and outputs for headphones, and many docks volition also give you an SD card reader, every bit well as providing a power source to charge your MacBook Pro.
The connexion ports themselves volition mostly offer a range of compatibilities, so as well equally the standard USB-A, you should likewise be able to make use of faster connections like USB-C, Thunderbolt iii and Thunderbolt 4. If you're using a newer MacBook Pro, such as those with Apple's powerful M1 chips, these can really come in handy.
We've reviewed a range of docks for use specifically with MacBook Pros, which take historically fallen somewhat short on the ports front. In the guide below, we've rated them co-ordinate to port connectivity, versatility and performance. Of course, a dock is no skillful without plenty of gear to plug into it, so cheque out our guide to the best 4K monitors for a truly dazzling brandish experience. We also have guides to the best MacBooks for video editing, and the best MacBook Pro accessories to farther kit out your computer. And if you lot're looking for storage solutions, come across our guide to the all-time external hard drives and SSDs.
The best dock for MacBook Pro
We rate the Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt four Docking Station as the best dock for the latest MacBooks, including the M1-chipped models from 2021 and beyond. It offers four Thunderbolt 4 ports (i upward; 3 downwardly), likewise as three fast USB-A ports, and a slower ane that provides 7.5W charging power. That's more than generous than many comparable docks nosotros've tested, and you also go an SD slot, Gigabit Ethernet and an sound jack. It'southward therefore safe to say that this dock offers pretty much anything you could want. The 180W power supply also means yous can power multiple devices at once.
Kensington has provided a three-year warranty, which is nice peace of mind on top of the fact that the dock's build feels solidly premium. Information technology also has Vesa mounting holes if you don't desire it sitting on the desk. It's undeniably expensive – in fact, it's the most expensive dock on this listing. But if you lot're already dropping serous dollar on a pinnacle-of-the-line Macbook Pro, information technology makes sense to become a dock that can keep upwardly with it.
Kensington besides offers this dock, which sports Thunderbolt three connections rather than Thunderbolt 4. And then, if you're using an older Macbook and want to save some greenbacks by getting a cheaper dock, and so the SD5200T Dual 4K docking station could be a good option (though exist enlightened that Thunderbolt iv is backwards compatible, so it is an pick to futurity-proof yourself past getting the more contempo dock).
And then what does the Kensington SD5200T offer? Well, the "Dual 4K" in its name refers to the fact that it allows you lot to attach two 4K monitors running at 60Hz via DisplayPort and the Thunderbolt iii port. In that location are plenty of other connections you tin run at the aforementioned time, and information technology tin also supply 85W of power to your MacBook Pro.
If y'all want to mount your Kensington SD5200T, yous tin buy a mounting plate to attach it to the back of any VESA-uniform external monitor. This is a good way to cut down on clutter and keep your desk tidy.
Some other swell dock for hooking up a pair of 4K monitors to your MacBook Pro, the Corsair TBT100 Thunderbolt 3 Dock offers a broad range of connections. It'southward got the usual Thunderbolt 3 and USB-A ports, as well equally the same HDMI ports for monitors, and a reader for a UHS-II SD card. There'south also Gigabit Ethernet and 85W charging – all the hits, essentially.
The Corsair TBT100 is still quite pricey, particularly for a Thunderbolt 3 dock. All the same, if you lot want to output your MacBook Pro to dual displays at 4K resolution in 60Hz HDR, there aren't a lot of options for doing and so. It'south a well-fabricated piece of kit with sleek pattern that will complement your MacBook Pro.
Want ThunderBolt 4 but not convinced past the toll of the Kensington dock at number 1 in our listing? Then the Anker PowerExpand v-in-ane Thunderbolt 4 Mini Dock is a good option at a more economical price, although that does mean sacrificing some features.
Information technology has a premium, very meaty design that takes upwardly little room on a desk, and information technology offers 85W ability delivery and support for a unmarried 8K monitor or dual 4K. The downside is that in that location's simply one USB-A port and no SD card reader or HDMI. Notwithstanding, it's a worth companion to give the M1 MacBook Pro the extra ports you demand, high transfer speeds, charging and the ability to connect external monitors with only i port.
For a highly portable dock for your MacBook Pro, Belkin has the perfect selection in the class of the Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core. This dinky piece of kit delivers 40W of charging power and it doesn't skimp on connectivity despite its compact size.
With its assorted ports yous tin attach up to two 4K monitors at 60Hz via DisplayPort and HDMI two.0, and for other devices at that place's a pair of USB-A ports and a Thunderbolt 3/USB-C port for fast data speeds. We're not then keen on the tethered Thunderbolt 3-cable – if that breaks then that'south your dock ruined – only apart from that this is a great little dock.
The CalDigit Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock is a not bad, meaty MacBook Pro dock that'south similar in appearance to the Belkin Thunderbolt iii Dock Cadre mentioned earlier (even down to the tethered Thunderbolt iii cable, which you'll really desire to ensure doesn't get damaged).
This dock offers some other lightweight and portable solution to get more ports out of your MacBook Pro, giving you a USB-3.0 and USB-2.0 port and Gigabit Ethernet as well as a pair of video ports – you can cull between HDMI and DisplayPort. Information technology's bus-powered so it won't charge your MacBook Pro, but it's platonic for attaching a pair of 4K displays and gaining some extra connectivity while you're at information technology.
The reality of having 1 of the best docks for MacBook Pro will be that you stop upwardly using it to charge nigh of your portable devices. Just why plug them in if you can accuse them wirelessly? The Moshi Symbus Q has a Qi-EPP-certified wireless charging pad congenital into information technology, then if y'all want to keep your iPhone or AirPods Pro charged without running cables all over your desk-bound, y'all can simply pop them on peak of it. That keeps things a lot neater, and the Symbus Q will besides accuse your MacBook Pro at 40W. It features a pair of USB-A ports, Gigabit Ethernet and an HDMI port that supports 4K HDR too.
The sleek Plugable Thunderbolt 3 Dock isn't quite as chock full of ports every bit some of the other docks on this list, but information technology still offers impressive connectivity with five standard USB 3.0 ports and a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports, which should allow you to connect pretty much everything you might desire to. With a DisplayPort output thrown in for expert mensurate, you'll exist able to aggrandize your desktop with a pair of 4K monitors (at that place's a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter included likewise), and it'll accuse your MacBook Pro with a steady 60W of power.
If you're the proud owner of a shiny new 16-inch MacBook Pro and want to plug literally everything into it, the monster CalDigit TS3 Plus is only the answer. It comes with 15 ports in total, seven of which are USB, which means that you ought to exist able to attach everything your design studio needs. Dual 4K monitors? A stack of USB hard drives? Graphics tablet? Digital audio devices? A load of files on SD card? It'll accept all of that with room to spare too, and information technology'll keep your MacBook Pro topped upwards with 87W of power in the process.
Another affair to be enlightened of is that CalDigit has announced an update to this dock in the grade of the seriously impressive CalDigit TS4, an eighteen-in-1 hub with Thunderbolt 4 compatibility. Equally of March 2022, it's experiencing serious stock issues globally and is in short supply, but once it's easier to go hold of, information technology'll no doubt find a place on this list.
How to cull the best dock for MacBook Pro
The best dock for MacBook Pro will depend somewhat on the model you have and what you want to do with it. If charging is a priority, wait for at least 90W for charging at a decent rate. What you nigh need to consider, nevertheless, is what connections you want. Do you want to hook up multiple monitors? And do you need Thunderbolt 3 or 4?
The latest MacBook Pros (the 14in and 16in M1 Pro and M1 Max model released in October 2021) have Thunderbolt 4 ports rather than Thunderbolt 3, and even if you have an before model, you might still want a Thunderbolt four dock since the TB4 is backwards compatible. Functionally, there's non a huge difference, only TB4 docks tin accept up to four, rather than two, Thunderbolt ports, including the upstream port that connects to your laptop.
There's likewise an comeback when it comes to daisy-chaining devices since with Thunderbolt 3, a device chain tin can be disrupted when any simply the final device is removed. Notation that the M1 13in MacBook can simply connect to i external display, while the 14in and 16in can back up multiple displays.
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Source: https://www.creativebloq.com/buying-guides/best-dock-for-macbook-pro
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