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I have been using the Sabrent HB-BUP7, the nearly-identical 7-port sibling to the HB-B7C3, as my daily driver for more than a year, and having these buttons is a real game changer. Changing default audio devices in Windows is a royal pain, requiring one to go into the control panel to, for example, make sound come out of your headset instead of your speakers. But with the power switches, I just turn off my USB speaker and turn on the wireless headphone dongle, or vice versa. Last but not least, we have Satechi’s Multi-Port Adapter. This one is the most expensive one on the list, but you can rest assured that it offers a solid performance. Plus, this one brings a premium look to the table with its flat design and low-profile design. Again, it’s not the one for you if you plan to run a 4K display at 60Hz. There are two 5Gbps USB-A ports, one pass-through USB-C PD port (100W), HDMI 2.0, an SD Card reader (fast UHS-II), and Gigabit Ethernet for wired Internet access.
Upstream connection (Type-A or Type-C?): USB hubs have multiple downstream ports to connect to your devices but only one upstream connector, which could be a port but is often a built-in wire that connects to your computer. Many laptops, including a lot of the best Ultrabooks, only have USB-C ports, so your hub's upstream connector would have to be Type-C. The HDMI port supports a variety of resolutions up to 4K@30Hz and 1080p@60Hz, including 1080p, 1080i, 720p, and 480p. Look for hubs that offer passthrough charging, so you can charge your laptop even though you are using up one of the laptop’s USB-C ports for the hub itself. Most don’t ship with a charger, so you’ll need to add your own, and remember that it needs to be a 100W charger to give 85W and above charging if offered by the hub. Lower wattage chargers are fine but will limit the hub’s charging potential. But for its price, there are some limitations. For one, there are no extra USB-C ports for high-speed transfers. Instead, you will have to make do with the three USB 3.0 ports.
Apple has a range of adapters, too, but at a (high) price. We have tested them here, but other gadget makers offer more budget-friendly alternatives, along with a range of other USB-C cables, chargers and accessories–and we present the best ones below. Some USB-C hubs go further by incorporating USB-PD passthrough. Here the idea isn’t so much to power the connected devices as to power the laptop the hub connects to, so that you just connect the laptop to the hub, and it charges as you use it without the charger taking up the spare USB-C port. The key thing here is how much power the hub can supply. Most will deliver 80W or more when used with a 100W charger, which should more than cover any laptop. However, with some you’re looking at 50W or less, which might mean missing out on fast-charging modes on some of those laptops that support them. Access 5 Gbps data transfer speeds with the 3 USB ports, or connect to the HDMI port to stream videos in crystal-clear 4K at 30Hz.
Here we have tested and reviewed the premium USB-C hubs and adapters. There are many much cheaper versions out there, but we recommend these for quality and robustness. Which extra ports do you need Sabrent's HB-U3CR looks like it was built for MacBooks, thanks to a gunmetal gray aluminum chassis and a stylish, slanted design that will prop it up at an insertion-friendly angle on any table. However, it's an equally strong choice for use with a PC laptop that has USB-C ports and needs a few USB Type-A connections. Note that the USB-C cable that connects to your computer is quite short (15cm) so it will have to sit right next to the host. Of course, the ports can accept any length of cable for the required devices and accessories. That’s a great set of ports, but it’s not it’s biggest plus for users of Apple’s original M1/M2-based MacBooks.
What is the difference between a USB-C hub, docking station and an adapter?
Do note that this Satechi hub doesn’t play well with the new 2020 Macbook Pro. Enter the Flexibility Unlike cheaper hubs, it supports a full 60Hz refresh rate over HDMI, while there’s a Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45 port for when you need a physical network connection. The Type-C and Type-A connections could be faster, with our SSD speeds limited to around 458MB/sec, but this is a great fully featured hub that’s still affordable and – most importantly – just works. You get 8 ports to add to your laptop with Baseus’s good-looking 8-in-1 USB-C Hub. It features excellent PD USB-C pass-through charging (up to 100W) so you don’t lose a valuable USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 port on the laptop if you need to charge or sync. There are three USB-A ports pushing data at 5Gbps but a little underwhelming on device charging at 7.5W each. Even though two USB-C hubs may have wildly different brand names, you may sometimes find that they’re otherwise identical or just very similar.
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