CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4

A powerhouse dock for all kinds of users

Anker’s 777 is an excellent all-round dock that has a wide selection of ports and an attractive price point but the fact that it doesn’t work with Apple silicon Macs is going to strike it off some people’s lists.

The Kensington and Belkin docks offer a solid selection of ports and a good level of power for the kinds of things most of us will need to do, and the Plugable model is a reasonable option if you need to hook up peripherals that are little older to your newer Mac, thanks to its preponderance of USB-A ports.

Ultimately the CalDigit TS4 has the edge. Despite lacking an HDMI port it covers almost all the bases and has that bit more of everything – separate audio in and out, dual card slots, multiple USB-C and Thunderbolt 4 ports and four USB-A ports. You have a couple of every option, and that’s a nice feeling.

Throw in the 98W of laptop charging and respectable power to the other USB ports and it can handle most any situation. That it costs less than some of the other models that have fewer ports and less flexibility only sweetens the deal.