The docks are heavy and bulky and have big power adapters. If you only use a laptop at home casually, like on the sofa or something, then you aren’t going to want a dock.
THUNDERBOLT DOCKING STATION FOR MAC LAPTOP PRO
The iMacs and Mac Pro feature a lot of onboard I/O, and you can just plug stuff in directly most of the time. If you don’t use a laptop, then I doubt you need a dock. When is a Thunderbolt 3 dock not the right choice? Some are so similar they literally have the exposed ports positioned in the same place, down to the centimetre. I’ve tested a fair few of them for review over the years and haven’t really noticed much between them in terms of reliability or performance. I’m pretty sure almost all of these docks have the same internal components and logic boards inside. If you compare the cost of the dock versus buying five different dongles, the cost difference isn’t that big. The one I personally use is the OWC 14-port dock, and that costs almost $300. There are occasions where I’ve had to unplug and replug, but I believe those were all bugs with macOS frameworks, and are the exact kind of issues any MacBook owner experiences from time to time, which happen regardless of how they connected the accessories to the computer. I cannot remember the last time I had any issue that was the fault of the dock. At least in my experience, those quirks have been worked out in the years since.
THUNDERBOLT DOCKING STATION FOR MAC LAPTOP FREE
(Don’t forget, you can still use the free USB-C ports on the laptop if you need even more connectivity.)Įarly on, Thunderbolt 3 docks got a poor reputation for being buggy or inconsistent. When that happens, my laptop starts charging, my external display lights up, my wired external keyboard and mouse are connected, my external Time Machine drive is mounted, and I have USB-A ports ready to use when I need them. I sit down to work for the day, and I only need to plug in one cable. I personally started using OWC dock a few weeks after I got the MacBook Pro in 2016, and haven’t stopped since. Most have an aux headphone jack, optical audio if you need that, and an SD card slot too. And rather than buy all these different dongles, these docks feature actual USB-A ports, actual HDMI and DisplayPort inputs, an Ethernet slot. The Thunderbolt 3 port has enough bandwidth to support external displays, USB peripherals, Gigabit Ethernet and power the machine at the same time. With a Thunderbolt 3 dock, you can plug in a single cable into your laptop that will charge it … and provide all of your I/O. Using a dock, you don’t need five different dongles. That means they are super-high bandwidth and can support displays, data transfer, and power over a single cable. Why does this work? Each of those USB-C ports in your laptop are also Thunderbolt 3 enabled. Here are some of your options for what dock to buy: If your daily routine involves sitting down at a desk and using a laptop, this is the best solution. They are not cheap, but they are so, so, worth it. The upside is, there is a very elegant solution for someone who uses their laptop at a desk, day in and day out. Even if you have three ports to spare, you don’t really want to be buying a dongle or adapter for every possible input device you own. If you are working from home all day, your laptop is going to be plugged in, and if you have a 13-inch MacBook Pro you are essentially working from a one-port machine.Įven if you have a Pro with four ports, the dongle problem quickly becomes annoying. Of course, that means you now have one less accessible port. On the positive side, you have the flexibility to plug in your charger to any of the ports on the machine. Now, this has its blessings and it has its curses. On the 15-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro, you get four USB-C ports - two on each side. On lower end 13-inch MacBook Pro models and the 2018 MacBook Air, you get two USB-C ports. Since 2016, Apple has transitioned the MacBook Pro to an all USB-C port chassis. There was a time when Apple’s laptops featured all different I/O, featuring USB ports, SD card slots, HDMI and more. I have been working from home for many years now, and if you have a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, I highly recommend investing in a Thunderbolt 3 dock.
With more of us working from home than ever in the current climate, that also means more of us than ever are facing the dongle problem.
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