I'm looking to use a MacBook Air as a portable desktop, so I'm looking for a desktop hub to expand the I/O of the laptop. The CalDigit TS3+ seems to be undisputed king of this space, though it looks like they rarely go below $400. On the other end of the spectrum, there's mountains of cheap docks on Amazon and eBay but I wouldn't feel overly comfortable using those. I'm after a middle ground, if one exists. Something under $300 would be great, though obviously the lower the better (this is OzBargain after all).
My requirements are pretty straight forward:
- Passthrough power
- Preferably DisplayPort out for my monitor, though could settle for HDMI.
- The more USB-A ports, the better.
- A full size SD card reader.
- Does NOT need to be portable. I'll likely get a separate travel dock, so I'm fine with a decent footprint.
Bonus:
- Ethernet port (not needed now but would like to have the option in future).
- USB-C ports for future proofing would be nice, though I think the days of everything being USB-C are still some time away.
Bought this ADG 100W 9-in-1 GaN Charger USB-C Power Hub from the last Ozb deal for my M1 MBA + Dell S3422DW 34", received within a week (metro Syd). So far so good, I like how compact it is. Looks like the current sale is even cheaper than the last deal.
If you have M1 mac and need dual screens, the cheapest DisplayLink dock with PD that I can find is Wavlink UG69PD2. My wife has been using it for over 2 weeks now and no complaints.