Which USB-C dock for an M1 MacBook Pro?

[alexjholland]

Hey, I'm struggling to choose a USB-C dock for my incoming M1 MacBook Pro.

It needs to connect several hard drives, an audio interface, and a webcam - although I might group those all onto one USB 3 hub.

It needs to be portable-ish and work with my PixelBook Go, too.

So, those huge desk boxes are out of the picture.

Here are my conclusions:

• Most 'all-in-one' docks only do 4K @ 30Hz - NOT 60Hz.
• Thunderbolt docks MIGHT deliver the goods, but wouldn't work with my PixelBook Go.
• I could just connect the display directly, but then I've only got one port left for dock + power.

Three USB-C slots would be easy. One dock. One power. One hub for hard drives.

But with just two slots, I need to combine either my power or monitor output with the dock.

Here are my current solutions:

• Anker does one or two USB-C hubs with 4K @ 60Hz but recent reviews are flaky.
• A Hyperjuice HyperDrive Viper takes both USB-C slots over, but does everything-in-one...
  • However, I have to ship it from the US to the UK.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Polo2883]

I am debating on this one since it allows for dual monitors at 4k @ 60hz

Targus USB-C Universal DV4K Docking Station with 100W Power (DOCK190USZ)

Get the most of your workstation with two ultra-high-def. monitors. Plug them in with the USB-C Universal DV4K Docking Station with 100W Power, which is Thunderbolt 3 compatible and supports both DisplayPort and HDMI. It'll help keep your laptop, and your productivity, humming all day long as it ...

www.amazon.com

 

[jazz1]

OWC 11-Port Thunderbolt Dock for M1 and Intel Macs and Thunderbolt 4 (USB 4) PCs

Add three Thunderbolt ports, 4 USB ports, along with Ethernet, audio, and card reader functionality to your Thunderbolt-equipped Mac or Thunderbolt 4 PC.

eshop.macsales.com

I’ve pre-ordered one of these for my M1 MacMini. I don’t if it would meet most of your needs.

Edit: Ooops. Sorry the above isn’t really portable. Plugs in the wall. Sorry!

 

[alexjholland]

Yeah... That's not a travel dock.

It's a weapon.

You could club something to death with it.

 

[Polo2883]

Yeah... That's not a travel dock.

It's a weapon.

You could club something to death with it.

Sorry I misread your original post.

The travel one I have coming is this one:

AUKEY USB C Hub MacBook Pro 9-in-2, Triple Display with Dual 4K@60Hz HDMI, 1Gbps RJ45 Ethernet, 100W PD Charging, 2 USB 3.0 and SD/TF Card Reader, Thunderbolt 3 Type C Docking Station for MacBook Air

AUKEY USB C Hub MacBook Pro 9-in-2, Triple Display with Dual 4K@60Hz HDMI, 1Gbps RJ45 Ethernet, 100W PD Charging, 2 USB 3.0 and SD/TF Card Reader, Thunderbolt 3 Type C Docking Station for MacBook Air

www.amazon.com

 

[alexjholland]

Sorry I misread your original post.

The travel one I have coming is this one:

AUKEY USB C Hub MacBook Pro 9-in-2, Triple Display with Dual 4K@60Hz HDMI, 1Gbps RJ45 Ethernet, 100W PD Charging, 2 USB 3.0 and SD/TF Card Reader, Thunderbolt 3 Type C Docking Station for MacBook Air

AUKEY USB C Hub MacBook Pro 9-in-2, Triple Display with Dual 4K@60Hz HDMI, 1Gbps RJ45 Ethernet, 100W PD Charging, 2 USB 3.0 and SD/TF Card Reader, Thunderbolt 3 Type C Docking Station for MacBook Air

www.amazon.com

Hmm. That model's not available in the UK Amazon store and won't fit my Pixelbook...

But is the lesson here that dual USB-C hubs are the way to go?

Because if that's the case, then the Hyperjuice HyperDrive Viper seems perfect.

It's dual USB C AND the cables can be split to plug into one USB C port (with less functionality - which is fine for my Pixelbook).

I don't actually want or need dual HDMI.

But I seem to find more dual 4K output hubs than I do single output hubs with 4k @ 60Hz?

 

[ruslan120]

You could club something to death with it.

Instant buy!

edit: I’ll show myself out

 

[dmccloud]

I'm actually using the USB-C dock I got for my iPad Pro. I use the extension cable because of the case on my iPad, so it only takes up the one port:

Best Buy: HyperDrive 6-Port USB-C Hub USB-C Docking Station for Apple iPad Pro Gray HD319B-GRAY

Shop HyperDrive 6-Port USB-C Hub USB-C Docking Station for Apple iPad Pro Gray at Best Buy. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up. Price Match Guarantee.

www.bestbuy.com

 

[alexjholland]

I have reached the horrible conclusion that I should just buy the official Apple USB-C AV adaptor.

• It's a 'proven' solution for both power and 4K/60Hz with one USB-C slot.
• If it breaks, I can take it straight to An Apple Store (instead of shipping it back to America).
• I can buy a cheapo Anker USB-C hub for my hard drives with no need to use its HDMI out.

Further considerations...

• Will the Apple USB-C AV adapter play nicely with my PixelBook Go?
• Does the Anker USB-C hub need a power supply given, it'll be connected to several hard drives?

 

[superamit]

@alexjholland be warned, the Apple adapter does not support Chroma 4:4:4

 

[alexjholland]

@alexjholland be warned, the Apple adapter does not support Chroma 4:4:4

Interesting. How big a deal is this? What does it mean, in practical terms?

And do other solutions support it?

 

[alexjholland]

So... the solution is anywhere I have a big, fancy 4K monitor... to also buy a Thunderbolt dock?

A Thunderbolt dock can handle 4k/60Hz/Chrome 4 4 4 from one USB-C port?

I can then use my second USB-C port for the power

 

[deeddawg]

Couple of big existing threads w.r.t. USBC docking... May find some answers in one of these:

Which USB 3.0 Hub? [MERGED]

Super Sticky Thread for USB-C Docks, Cables and Accessories [MERGED]

 

[alexjholland]

Couple of big existing threads w.r.t. USBC docking... May find some answers in one of these:

Which USB 3.0 Hub? [MERGED]

Super Sticky Thread for USB-C Docks, Cables and Accessories [MERGED]

Great! Thanks for the share.

 

[superamit]

Interesting. How big a deal is this? What does it mean, in practical terms?

And do other solutions support it?

It depends on how much you care about color accuracy/banding/etc on your display. It basically means there's going to be some slight additional signal compression between your laptop and the display. Most people probably wouldn't notice.

A thunderbolt dock will get around this, yep. Thunderbolt has more bandwidth than USB-C, so it can support the full Chroma 4:4:4 signal in addition to USB 3.0 and everything else.

For a more portable solution, I use a dedicated Choetech USB-C to HDMI cable with power-in, so I usually only have one port occupied. It's cheap and does chroma 4:4:4. I supplement with a lightweight USB-C hub that I use occasionally for USB 3.0, ethernet, card reader, etc.

 

[alexjholland]

It depends on how much you care about color accuracy/banding/etc on your display. It basically means there's going to be some slight additional signal compression between your laptop and the display. Most people probably wouldn't notice.

A thunderbolt dock will get around this, yep. Thunderbolt has more bandwidth than USB-C, so it can support the full Chroma 4:4:4 signal in addition to USB 3.0 and everything else.

For a more portable solution, I use a dedicated Choetech USB-C to HDMI cable with power-in, so I usually only have one port occupied. It's cheap and does chroma 4:4:4. I supplement with a lightweight USB-C hub that I use occasionally for USB 3.0, ethernet, card reader, etc.

The issue is that new M1 MacBook Pros only have two USB-C ports, but three obvious needs.

1. Power
2. Monitor
3. Peripherals

Two of those have to be combined in any desk setup... and we already know that plain USB-C hubs can't handle peripherals AND an HDMI output that's worth using.

I'm leaning towards splashing the cashing on a Thunderbolt Hub.

Although... I'll need one in each apartment. Or to carry one everywhere I go?

However, I've recently heard unpleasant things about Power Delivery hubs killing M1 MacBooks!

 

[jdb8167]

The issue is that new M1 MacBook Pros only have two USB-C ports, but three obvious needs.

1. Power
2. Monitor
3. Peripherals

Two of those have to be combined in any desk setup... and we already know that plain USB-C hubs can't handle peripherals AND an HDMI output that's worth using.

I'm leaning towards splashing the cashing on a Thunderbolt Hub.

Although... I'll need one in each apartment. Or to carry one everywhere I go?

However, I've recently heard unpleasant things about Power Delivery hubs killing M1 MacBooks!

If you go with Anker, Caldigit, or OWC you can be pretty sure that they will support their products. It is very unlikely that a reputable vendor will sell a dock that will kill a MacBook.

 

[SeaDaddytheRed]

However, I've recently heard unpleasant things about Power Delivery hubs killing M1 MacBooks!

I have a new MBA M1 and just ordered the Lention CB-D55 hub which has power delivery. Should I not use it to charge my M1? It would suck to have to have a nice hub to hook everything up but not be able to charge the laptop while in use. Am I putting myself at risk by using a hub!?

 

[Marty_Macfly]

However, I've recently heard unpleasant things about Power Delivery hubs killing M1 MacBooks!

Hi Alex,

That sounds rubbish.

Can you supply the sources for this please ?

It would be a really helpful thing to put on this forum for us all to look at and criteque our own H/W setups etc.

For me:
I have a Dell USB-C hub from work, that I have been happily plugging into the M1 MBA. Monitor, keyboard and Mouse works fine, same as my work Laptop, so have not thought anymore about it for the last week or so.


Regards
Martin

 

[Zorori]

With the MacBook 12, I found the best solution was to just buy a monitor with USB-C support. Like the UltraFine monitors or the one of the cheaper, but still great, Dell offerings. Then just plug things into the monitor.

Then for travel, I'd just carry the Apple HDMI, USB, and Power dongle.

 

[GiantKiwi]

OP - If you can find it in stock, this works for M1. 4K60 works etc.

It's basically as good as it gets before you need to resort to one with an external power supply.

Caldigit USB-C SOHO Dock review

The Caldigit SOHO Dock features the fastest possible USB ports, includes both HDMI and DisplayPorts, and can run 4K displays at 60Hz

www.techadvisor.co.uk

Also be warned, a lot of the cheap PD capable ones on Amazon have a cheeky requirement not listed on any spec sheet, they often require a minimum of a 65W power adapter to even work.

 

[deeddawg]

However, I've recently heard unpleasant things about Power Delivery hubs killing M1 MacBooks!

Citation for this claim?

As a Caldigit TS3+ owner, I'm gonna call BS.

 

[GiantKiwi]

Citation for this claim?

As a Caldigit TS3+ owner, I'm gonna call BS.

I've looked for a few hours, I can only find references to this thread and a reddit post by a single person with extremely negative karma.

Think it's fairly safe to say it's complete and utter BS.

 

[deeddawg]

I've looked for a few hours, I can only find references to this thread and a reddit post by a single person with extremely negative karma.

... but it's posted on the Internet, it must be true!!!

Think it's fairly safe to say it's complete and utter BS.

Thanks for doing the research. I figured it was BS - I've had the Caldigit TS3+ for two years.

 

[digitalbreak]

People using docks - do you all use HDMI to connect to your monitor even if it’s USB-C? I have a USB-C monitor that can drive both display and power when connected to my M1 MBA. However, I am finding it hard to find a dock/hub that does the same. Anybody have recommendations?