![]() ![]() That’s a very cheap way of adding half a terabyte of portable storage. We found a 512GB Samsung Evo microSD card on Amazon for around $100 in the US and under £100 in the UK. It’s a convenient and affordable way to add storage to your laptop setup. The inclusion of an SD or microSD card reader isn’t just for camera buffs. Mac mini (2018 and later) and iMac (2017 and later) owners may also consider expanding their ports with a Thunderbolt docking station. Tech Advisor also reviews all the available Thunderbolt 4 docks.ĭocks aren’t just for MacBooks. For more non-Thunderbolt USB-C-only docks check out Tech Advisor’s roundup of the best USB-C docking stations for laptops. We’ve also included our favorite Thunderbolt hubs for smaller and cheaper alternatives. Here we concentrate on Thunderbolt docks, but also include cheaper USB-C docks-which Thunderbolt MacBooks can use, but at the cost of reduced bandwidth and display limitations. There are many inexpensive USB-C dongles/hubs that let you add more devices to a MacBook (see our roundup of the best USB-C adapters for Macs) or a Thunderbolt hub offering a few extra ports might be all your need, but for maximum flexibility check out a docking station that takes care of all your extra port requirements, and allows you to simply attach it to your laptop with just one cable when you get to the office or come home. Although this is rated as UHS-II (312MBps), Apple has pegged it back at 250MBps, so for the fastest speeds (and a microSD slot if you need one), a dock will likely be a better choice for memory-card use if it is rated at UHS-II rather than UHS-I (104MBps). MacBook Pros also have an SD card reader. See below our list of recommended docking stations for more detail on the external display options with each recent MacBook. With three TB4 and an HDMI port, a MacBook with a Max chip could connect to up to four external displays without the need for a dock, although such a power user would likely require extra Thunderbolt ports for other devices to make up for using all the laptop ports for multiple monitors. Below the list of our recommended Mac docks is a detailed look at the ports that each recent MacBook includes as standard. Do I need a docking station?Īll the latest MacBook Pro models boast a wider range of built-in ports, so lighter users might not need a docking station at all. Below our list of the best MacBook docking stations, we’ve listed the native external display options for each MacBook. Thankfully, the superior M1/M2/M3 Pro and M1/M2/M3 Max MacBook Pro models can support multiple displays. Follow that link for our roundup of the best USB-C DisplayLink docks, and we’ve included our favorite in our roundup below. ![]() This means that when using any docking station, M1/M2/M3 MacBook users cannot extend their desktop over two or more displays, and will be limited to either dual Mirrored displays or one external display-although adding third-party DisplayLink or InstantView software to the Mac and connecting to a dedicated USB-C dock will allow you to add more than one external monitor to an M1 or M2 MacBook. While Apple’s MacBooks featuring the company’s own M1 or M2 Silicon chip are super speedy compared to the models sporting Intel processors, models with plain (non-Pro or Max) M1, M2 and M3 chips come with an incredible limitation: they don’t support more than one external display in Extended Mode even via their Thunderbolt 3 ports. Natively over USB-C, Macs can only connect to one external display in Extended mode (where the screen extends beyond what you can see on the laptop screen, as opposed to Mirrored mode that replicates exactly what you get on the laptop screen) but you’ll get two Extended mode screens over a Thunderbolt connection. If you want to connect more than one external display to your MacBook without adding third-party software you’ll need a Thunderbolt dock, rather than a USB-C dock. Take a look at our recommended best monitors and displays for Mac. You can turn that 13in laptop’s screen real-estate into an iMac-sized 27in or even larger monitor by adding an extra display-or connect two large screens to extend your screen across your whole desk. ![]() If you use your laptop as your principal computer, you would do well to consider attaching at least one larger display to create a hybrid desktop/laptop setup (with a keyboard, mouse and printer all available via a single connection to your MacBook).
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