That’s plenty of ports for your peripherals, and you can also extend your display onto a second screen in 4K (or 6K with Apple’s Pro Display XDR). Not only does the Element Hub have three 40Gb/s Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 ports on hand, but it also has four SuperSpeed USB-A 3.2 ports with 10Gb/s throughput. The CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub is a fantastic solution for expanding the ports on your MacBook, especially if you’re using the latest M1 revision. The TS3 Plus also features CalDigit’s custom driver for full SuperDrive support, meaning you won’t have to juggle your ports around when looking to handle physical media.

This is great if you want to hook up to your amplifier or home theater system, and squeeze the best sound possible out of your MacBook. There are also analog ports for audio-in and audio-out, and if you’re a bit of an audiophile, there’s a Digital Optical Audio (S/PDIF) port for high-quality audio playback. However, this isn’t much of an issue for M1 MacBook users who can currently only use a single external display, anyway. While there’s only a single DisplayPort, an adapter can be used for multiple 4K displays. That additional Thunderbolt 3 port can be used to access external storage at a speedy 40Gb/s, or it can be used to daisy chain another Thunderbolt dock or hub to your setup. After connecting the dock to a Thunderbolt 3 port, you can take advantage of five USB-A 3.1 ports, two USB-C ports (10Gb/s & 5Gb/s), a single DisplayPort, an SD Card reader, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and an additional Thunderbolt 3 input. CalDigit’s TS3 Plus is a port powerhouse that makes for a fantastic workstation solution for both Intel and M1 MacBooks alike.

When it comes to ports, you can never have too many. Those with M1 Pro or M1 Max (and the inevitable M2 upgrades) get dual monitor support, but both M1 and M2 chips can run multiple displays with DisplayLink adapters. We’ve focused on docks that make the most of the limited number of ports found on Apple’s MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, though a number of these devices work great with the iPad Pro and numerous Thunderbolt 3-compatible Windows machines.įor MacBook owners, M1- or M2-equipped, it’s important to note that they only support a single external display. Some even have advanced features, such as onboard storage or wireless charging.Īt Laptop Mag, we’ve scoured the net and pulled from our reviewed products to bring you our selection of the best docking stations for MacBook.

The best Macbook docking stations will also save you space, keep your workspace organized, and breathe life back into your pre-Thunderbolt legacy devices. With the potential to add additional monitors, peripherals, or external storage, a good dock can overhaul how you make use of your MacBook.

Apple macbook pro monitor stand