Keep in mind that if you have the newest MBA, it’s Thunderbolt 4 and most USB hubs don’t support it. So be sure to search for Thunderbolt 4 hub if you want to get full speed from your ports. Might not be a big deal if you’re just connecting a keyboard or a thumb drive. But if you’re connecting a TB4 external SSD, you’ll want Thunderbolt 4 speeds.

(M1 through M3 MBAs are Thunderbolt 3)

EDIT: upon further research, it appears that the speed of the ports for all MBAs is the same, 40 Gb/s. Lots of USB-C hubs only support 10 Gb/s.

Anything by plugable or anker Or caldigit

They dominate the dock market for a damn good reason

I think what you’re looking for is a usb hub. Try the ugreen hub you can choose as they have wide variety of options of which you select the one that suits your needs . Anker is also good

I think Kingston one is cheapest one with good brand name.

I use the Microsoft surface thunderbolt 4 dock. Works great and you can get it cheaper open box on Amazon

https://a.co/d/eiqeHr4

Full Plug and Play and no extra drivers needed

Pm sent

Hey, I'm the CalDigit Community Manager.

I'll avoid offering a recommendation, but I do have some important info for you.

The M2 Air only supports a single external monitor at a time over Thunderbolt. So you will have to use DisplayLink in some way to get a second monitor. You can do this with either a dock with DisplayLink built in, or by getting a USB DisplayLink adapter and connecting it to any USB-C or Thunderbolt dock, though there might not be enough bandwidth over a USB-C dock for it to work well.

Same here. What dock did you choose?

Monitor is my laptop power source and dock via one Usb C cable. External devices get plugged into the monitor. Keyboard and mouse are wireless. Tidy setup.

Been using an Anker 565 hub for years and it’s been brilliant.

This just in, 1 cable is less than 4.

ChatGPT has infiltrated this sub too :(

I like Anker hubs

Dell D6000

Get a Mac compatible usb c hub, and a separate thunderbolt to display port (if your monitor has it) or hdmi 2.0+ adapter, both combined should be less than $80

the startech thunderbolt 4 docks work absolutely amazing. they are the standard now for windows and mac os users here.

I use a Thinkpad dock with my M4 MacBook air. It works fine except it only does one monitor from it, not including the screen. I haven't tried closing it to see if it can do two externals if the main screen is off.

I equipped my office at work with dell docks specifically for their multi OS support. It's compatible with Windows, and both Intel and M Apple devices. They will also charge your laptop too and they make for a great phone charger too if you're in a pinch lol

They aren't cheap, but they work really well, and out of the 20 that I ordered, I only had to retire 1 of them due to a bad fan and cooling issues, and the fans are so quiet, that I didn't even know they had them until one broke lol.

Here's a link to them for ya: https://www.dell.com/en-ca/shop/dell-pro-dock-wd25/...

Note that it doesn't advertise that it's compatible with macs, it still works. You may not have the same level of success, try at your own risk

Hi, I build my dual monitor setup with iVANKY Docking Station Pro. It outputs dual 4K@60Hz via HDMI. It also provides 96W charging power, which is within the first tier of the market AFAIK.

If you have both your MacBook Pro and Air with two USB-C ports, this dock works with them both.

I use this one. It has HDMI and USB C which will connect you to a display and power the Mac. Then it has 4 USB ports. Quite a basic dock but enables you to use one cable to power your whole setup.

It might be helpful if you explained what you need from this dock.

I've been using the CalDigit Element Hub and have been quite happy with it, but all I need is extra USB including external display via USB-C.

CalDigit TS4 is the best, but pricey. Having gone through many cheaper docks it's now the only one I recommend.

The one that works the best for me is the CalDigit Element Hub: https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-4-element-hub/.

It has enough ports and performance for whatever I need.

For travelling, I'm interested in getting this one from Satechi: https://satechi.net/products/pro-hub-mini?variant=39702395682904.

It seems ultra-portable and stylish, but I haven't tested it yet.

I’ve used the same Pluggable USB 3.0 dock every day for over five years. Still going strong after a few computer changes. It’s currently connected to an M1 Mac Mini, and the DisplayLink driver lets me use three monitors. When/if this one ever craps out, I think I’ll have to replace it with the same brand. Five years and zero problems is a stellar record for me.

Get the anker dick, it works well

At work we're fans of plugables and wavlink for displaylink (more than 1 monitor and power delivery)

I had similar issues with this dock until I updated the firmware using a windows laptop. I’d recommend trying that if you have access to a windows device.

I am considering the huge Seagate FireCuda Gaming Dock 4TB, which has good opinions. Anybody can confirm that it works well with M1?

I’ve been considering the Bridge Stone Pro TB4. The M1/M2 laptops have issues with multiple displays. This offers good port options, Thunderbolt 4, and will work with my other systems. Pricey, but all the “good” Thunderbolt 4 docks are.

I’ve been using the Anker but the Ethernet never works and the dock disconnects and does not reconnect after the mac sleeps.