I've been using this dock for 2 years, and it's always worked near-perfectly. You can find lots of docks that look like this and appear to have a similar port selection, but when you look into the details, this one has lots to offer that its competitors don't measure up to:
- The Thunderbolt 3 port can actually do 4k resolution at 60 Hz refresh rate
- The TB3 and HDMI can both be simultaneously connected to screens (I don't think the HDMI does 4k@60Hz though; dual 4k@60 is a lot to ask)
- The non-TB3 USB-C port can be used for charging. This is SO important. So many other hubs use the same port for both power delivery and connecting an external monitor, as if no one ever wanted to connect a charger and a monitor at the same time! It's tragic how hard this is to find, but this dock has it. Admittedly, the 2nd port only charges at 60W, but who cares? It charges.
- All the USB ports are USB3. No guessing, they're all fast.
I leave this dock on my desk at home, connected to all my peripherals. When I come home, I just flop my Macbook on the desk and connect this one dock, and I'm fully connected to my desktop setup. It's fantastic. (Note: I do connect my speakers through the headphone jack on one of the USB hubs connected to this dock, since the dock doesn't have a headphone jack.)
That said, there are a few very minor hiccups I've encountered: First, the dock fits in fairly snugly, but if it gets pulled out a little bit, it loses its connection. With up to 5 cords pulling on the thing, this could happen fairly easily if you're not careful. So make sure to route all the cables you plug into it in such a way that they're not pulling it out of the Macbook.
Second, this dock has a tendency to momentarily disconnect and reconnect all USB devices on it when you plug in a power-hungry USB device. This isn't an issue for a mouse or keyboard, but if you have a USB hard drive plugged in and copying files, it's going to be an issue. So be careful of that.
Ultimately, these 2 downsides are very minor compared to the fantastic convenience of only having to plug in a single device to be fully connected to 2 monitors, speakers, keyboard, mouse, etc. Overall, this dock is really nice, and if I had to replace it today, I'd probably just buy another one of the same, since I haven't seen anything better on sale since it came out.
| Brand | Hyper |
|---|---|
| Series | HD28C-GRAY |
| Item model number | GN28B-GRAY |
| Operating System | Mac OS, Windows, Chrome OS |
| Item Weight | 1.6 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 1 x 1 x 4 inches |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 1 x 1 x 4 inches |
| Color | Gray |
| Batteries | 1 Product Specific batteries required. |
| Manufacturer | Sanho |
| ASIN | B01MUAEI7J |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | April 2, 2017 |
