All of the portable USB-C hubs reviewed here are compatible with the Mac’s Thunderbolt 3 and 4 ports, but most feature slower USB-C connections (5Gbps or 10Gbps) compared to Thunderbolt (40Gbps). Plugable has a much cheaper alternative, at about a third of the price. And it looks pretty identical. If you need to keep all your connected devices powered up at the same time as your laptop, the Echo 20’s 150W power supply should suffice but is nowhere near the TS4’s mighty 230W supply. Instead of 11 ports, the Blaze Hub has just five, but they are all state of the art, including one upstream and three downstream 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 ports and a front-mounted 10Gbps USB-A port for older devices.

Thunderbolt 4 | USB4 | Element Hub | CalDigit – CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 | USB4 | Element Hub | CalDigit – CalDigit

One of the TB4 ports is Upstream, for connection to your computer. The other three are Downstream, for connecting other devices.

Where once DisplayPort 1.4 was superior to HDMI, HDMI 2.1, as seen here, is as powerful if not more so than the top DisplayPort. Roman has covered technology since the early 1990s. His career started at MacUser, and he's worked for MacAddict, Mac|Life, and TechTV.

Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 hubs and docks - Tech Advisor Best Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 hubs and docks - Tech Advisor

Not that three downstream 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 10Gbps USB-A port (with 7.5W charging power) are all that humble. It sullies its Pro title, however, with a couple of the ports being rather average, and the power supply could do with being higher, but it is otherwise well equipped.If you're using a USB-C or Thunderbolt adapter to connect a display, the adapter must be compliant with DisplayPort Alt Mode, Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4.

Thunderbolt 2, Dual Monitor DP - Thunderbolt Docking Dock - Thunderbolt 2, Dual Monitor DP - Thunderbolt Docking

Some Windows PC manufacturers have decided to restrict functionality on their Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C ports such as charging and monitor compatibility. If you use Netboot/NetRestore then forget about the Belkin. It won’t work. The OWC works fine. I’m not sure about the others but if you need those services to work you better test before the return policy…… We would have preferred to swap one of the USB-A ports for a second USB-C, but appreciate the powerful 20W charging capability of that USB-C—enough to fast-charge a phone or other smaller device. Yes, you can. Please use a Thunderbolt 4 cable that provides 40Gb/s performance and 100W power delivery. Plugable’s Thunderbolt 4 Hub includes the maximum Thunderbolt 4 ports (one upstream to the computer, and three downstream for other devices) but nothing else.I have MacBook Air 13" with a Thunderbolt 2 port.....can anyone recommend a (mains powered preferably) Thunderbolt 2 USB hub which will plug into the Thunderbolt 2 port & has some USB 3 ports on the hub?

Thunderbolt Hub - Add Three More Thunderbolt (USB-C) Ports OWC Thunderbolt Hub - Add Three More Thunderbolt (USB-C) Ports

Apple and Intel’s Thunderbolt 2 standard has given Mac users — particularly professional Mac users — a premium, high-speed connector option for situations where bandwidth and speed are necessary: hooking up big, fast hard drives, high-resolution monitors, or even external graphics cards. The latest iMacs, Mac Pros, MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs all feature at least one Thunderbolt 2 port, a boon for expandability. While not certified as either USB4 or Thunderbolt 4, this compact and very portable 5-in-1 USB-C hub (AMS-5IN1E) offers 40Gbps data-transfer via its USB-C port, and is designed for the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros introduced in 2021, or MacBook Airs introduced in 2022. A smart cutout keeps access to those MacBooks’ MagSafe charger port.

DAISY CHAIN ADDITIONAL THUNDERBOLT DEVICES

That aside, the US-4VPD is a tempting offer, with 2.5Gb Ethernet future-proofing for fast wired network access as it becomes more mainstream. Use the Thunderbolt port of this adapter to connect your Mac to a display that uses a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 cable. For example, you can use this adapter to connect your Mac to an Apple Thunderbolt DisplayorLG Thunderbolt 2 display. The Thunderbolt ports in the current Mac Studio, 24-inch iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air work with USB-C devices, which have the same connector shape. If you want to use a USB-C device, you can just plug it into one of the Thunderbolt ports. No adapter is necessary. Satechi promises that this adapter can handle two 4K displays at 60Hz – most display-friendly USB-C hubs can handle 4K displays only at 30Hz, a lower frame rate that is fine for most tasks but not ideal for high-resolution gaming or broadcasts.