CalDigit USB-C Dock
An affordable expansion route
£174.99 FROM CalDigit, caldigit.com/uk FEATURES 1x USB-C, 3x USB-A, Gigabit Ethernet, DisplayPort, HDMI
You can save a lot on extra ports and make life with a modern MacBook less fussy without paying anywhere near £300 for a
Thunderbolt 3 dock. That’s because the ability to charge a computer over the same cable that carries data and video between it and your peripherals actually comes from USB-C, which the Thunderbolt 3 spec builds upon. Plain USB-C docks can be bought for less.
This dock’s front side has discreet 3.5mm microphone and headphone jacks, and a USB-A port with high-speed 10.5W charging. The back panel has two USB-A ports without fast charging, a 15W USB-C port (which is good for charging an iPad Pro, if you’ve bought the correct kind of Lightning cable), Gigabit Ethernet, a full-size DisplayPort 1.2a output, and an HDMI 2.0 port. CalDigit warns you can’t extend your desktop onto two connected displays at once, though.
CalDigit shows good consideration of how you’ll use the dock, with a menu bar utility that enables you to quickly eject one or all devices connected to the dock in a couple of clicks.
The dock’s drawback is that it supplies a maximum of 60W to a MacBook. That’s fine if you have a 13-inch Pro, but not for a 15-inch model that you subject to a heavy workload. The limitation isn’t unique to this dock, though; we’ve seen it on a few more costly Thunderbolt 3 docks, too.