Get in the dock!
If you’re planning on using a MacBook as a desktop replacement, you’re almost certainly going to need a dock. With only four USB-C ports on the latest MacBook Pro, for example – one of which will be taken up by your charger – you won’t have many options for plugging in peripherals and you’ll leave yourself in a jumble of wires if you don’t opt for a dock. The bad news is the Thunderbolt 3 docks are pricey. Here are two models I’ve tested with the new MacBook Pro 16in.
Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Dock SCORE
PRICE £250 (£300 inc VAT) from belkin.com
Belkin’s Thunderbolt 3 Dock looks like it could have been made by Apple itself. The lozengeshaped device is swaddled in the same space grey aluminium as the MacBook, with a black plastic front to match Apple’s keyboard.
It has a generous complement of ports. On the rear you’ll find four USB-A 3 ports, Gigabit Ethernet and two Thunderbolt 3 ports – one of which connects to the MacBook and the other to your external display. There’s a dedicated DisplayPort slot, too, if you’d prefer to use that.
On the front, there’s one USB-A 3.1 port, one USB-C 3.1 (Gen 2), an SD card reader and 3.5mm headphone socket with mic support. You couldn’t ask for much more in terms of connectivity.
Although the rear Thunderbolt 3 ports provide power throughput to charge your Mac, there’s bad news for 16in MacBook Pro owners like myself: it only provides a maximum of 85W, less than the 96W the Pro needs to charge. 16in Pro owners will still need the power adapter plugged in alongside.
Also note that the power brick that comes with the Belkin is enormous – it’s almost as big and much heavier than the dock itself.
OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock SCORE
PRICE £220 (£264 inc VAT) from scan.co.uk
OWC’s Thunderbolt Dock adopts the same aluminium/black plastic two-tone design as the Belkin, but in reverse: it uses the aluminium for the fascia and the black plastic for the top. As a result, it doesn’t look quite as classy on the desk. Unbelievably, its power brick is even bigger and our review unit didn’t even come with a UK plug!
Connectivity is very similar to Belkin’s, with a couple of bonus ports. A microSD slot sits on the front, alongside the full-size SD card slot you get with Belkin’s, which is a bonus for photographers. On the back, there’s an S/PDIF out while Belkin’s DisplayPort is substituted for a Mini DisplayPort. Otherwise it’s as you were.
Once again, power output is capped at 85W, so 16in MacBook Pro owners will need to keep their power charger handy.
There’s not a great deal to choose between the two docks. OWC’s has a couple of extra ports, Belkin’s looks nicer. Both perform fine, so choose the one that best meets your needs.