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Add too many devices to one of these docks and you may well experience power issues, as USB-C can handle just 7.5W bus-device power while Thunderbolt can pass back 15W.
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More portable hubs are usually rated at lower power.Ĭharging the docked devices: Some docks don’t feature an external power supply but actually use your laptop to draw power from. If you own a larger MacBook Pro, buy a dock with a PD (Power Delivery) potential of at least 90W if you can. A larger MacBook with a heavy workload might start fading on a lower wattage charger and not last all day even when plugged into a power source.
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Mac mini (2018 and later) and iMac (2017 and later) owners may also consider expanding their ports with a Thunderbolt docking station.Īn 85W/96W MacBook Pro can be charged by a 30W or 60W charger, but slower than it would be with its native charger. For more non-Thunderbolt USB-C-only docks check out Tech Advisor’s roundup of the Here we concentrate on Thunderbolt docks, but also include cheaper USB-C docks – which Thunderbolt MacBooks can use, but at the cost of reduced bandwidth and display limitations. There are many cheap adapters that let you add more devices to a USB-C or Thunderbolt MacBook (see our roundup of theīest USB-C adapters for Macs), but for maximum flexibility check out these docking stations that take care of all your extra port requirements, and allow you to simply attach it to your laptop with just one cable when you get to the office or come home. You need one Thunderbolt port for charging (although the 14/16in MacBooks can also power via the MagSafe port), and likely at least another to attach further devices (memory sticks, hard drives, Ethernet, external display).
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This means that when using any docking station, M1 MacBook users cannot extend their desktop over two or more displays, and will be limited to either dual Mirrored displays or one external display – although there is software workaround toĪdd more than one external monitor to an M1 MacBook. While Apple’s MacBooks featuring the company’s own M1 Silicon chip are super speedy compared to the models sporting Intel processors, early models come with an incredible limitation: they don’t support more than one external display in Extended Mode even via their Thunderbolt 3 ports.

Natively over USB-C, Macs can only connect to one external display in Extended mode (where the screen extends beyond what you can see on the laptop screen, as opposed to Mirrored mode that replicates exactly what you get on the laptop screen) but you’ll get two Extended mode screens over a Thunderbolt connection. If you want to connect more than one external display to your MacBook you’ll need a Thunderbolt dock, rather than a USB-C dock. You can turn that 13in laptop screen into an iMac-sized 27in or even larger monitor by adding an extra display – or connect two large screens to extend your screen across your whole desk. If you use your laptop as your principal computer, you would do well to consider attaching at least one larger display to create a hybrid desktop/laptop setup (with a keyboard, mouse and printer all available via a single connection to your MacBook). We have included some cheaper USB-C docks – if you don’t require the ultimate bandwidth for the fastest data transfer and best screen frame rates or resolutions, a USB-C dock might suit your purposes and save you money.
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That said, there are still some great TB3 docks available, and most Apple users won’t see much difference between TB3 and TB4 – the Thunderbolt 4 standard was mainly about getting Windows laptops up to speed, although there are technical benefits for MacBook Pro users, such as smarter daisy-chaining and faster PCI hard-drive connections. If your MacBook is equipped with Thunderbolt 4, then you really should buy a TB4 dock if you need more ports than those 14/16in laptops already possess.īuying a Thunderbolt 4 dock is a wise decision based on future-proofing even for owners of TB3 Macs as the standard is backwards compatible with TB3 and USB-C.
