Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
With the Henge Stone you could plug into multiple gadget , plus Ethernet connection and displays , in one great - looking docking place . A fellow traveler Vertical Dock , also from Henge , make the Stone an ( almost ) consummate solution for today ’s MacBook substance abuser .
The Stone tying up post from Henge Docks ( I ’m guessing the name ’s an ironic nod to England ’s neolithic repository Stonehenge ) is a svelte tethered dock that look as gorgeous as the MacBooks that it is built to extend .
Resplendent in Apple - friendly Space Gray metal ( not stone ) body , it feature three old - school USB - A ( USB 3.1 ) larboard , Mini DisplayPort , audio recording / Mic , Gigabit Ethernet , power supplying , an Coyote State Card lector , and two USB - C connections ( one In , one Out ) .
Plug in all your equipment ( screen , keyboard , mouse , printer , hard drives , etc ) into the sorrel and then link it to your MacBook , MacBook Air or MacBook Pro . It ’s ( almost ) that simple . See our roundup of thebest MacBook docking stations .
The Stone dock costs € 200 ( about £ 195 ) or US$ 199 direct fromHenge Docks . We ’ve also find out it usable fromAmazon.com .
significantly , its 135W power provision ply the full 87W charging want by a 15 in MacBook Pro , so one connection will link your laptop to the external gadget and great power whatever USB - C MacBook you use .
An plain flagrant omission on the Stone pier is an HDMI port , which is one of the chief slot many ask for their new laptops , but Stone is n’t alone in overleap HDMI – and all is explicate below .
There is reasonableness to Henge ’s ( and other dock Almighty ’ ) decision to miss HDMI . There are many adapter choice to go from DisplayPort or Mini DisplayPort to HDMI , but going from HDMI to DisplayPort is a more dear proposition . And most purchasers of the new MacBook Pro model are elevate from older Macs that featured Mini DisplayPorts for video production . Those customers are facing the outcome of accommodate their be setups to the new MacBook .
Henge make up one’s mind that , regardless of the standard it chose , a declamatory portion of users would be forced to use an adapter anyway , and so it opt the connection that most of those citizenry already had .
No worries adding an extra single display
If you do n’t require two displays and the one you do have will run from DisplayPort , then the Stone Dock will work just okay . However , if your display uses HDMI , then you ’ll want either a “ DisplayPort to HDMI ” or “ USB - C to HDMI adapter ” .
Dual-display requires adapters
Can you run two monitors off of a single USB - degree centigrade association to a USB - C tying up station such as Stone ? unhappily , Macs currently support running only a single external display over each USB - degree Celsius connection .
So two displays intend two USB - C connection to the laptop : one dockage , one USB - C to HDMI or DisplayPort adapter . This is not the case with docks that boast 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 ports , such as theCalDigit TS3 Plus . Thunderbolt 3 , while identical in looks to USB - C , has enough power to black market two displays in Extended mode using just one cable connection to the laptop . The Stone bob uses slower 10Gbps USB - C 3.1 .
To get double - display support from a exclusive connecter , a Thunderbolt 3 bobtail or specialised adaptor would be needed . But Thunderbolt 3 has much high price points due to the complexness , certification costs , and superpower requirements of devices in that class .
Even the CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 3 Plus ( TS3 Plus ) that costs £ 265/$309 require an adapter for two displays from a MacBook Pro .
At £ 299/$349 , Belkin ’s Thunderbolt 3 Express Dock HD is also more expensive than the Henge Stone ( £ 195/$199/€220 ) – and again does n’t come with HDMI as a built - in option .
Sorry , but getting two screen to black market from a MacBook Pro using a USB - atomic number 6 moorage station will require at least one excess transcriber .
Henge sell a “ USB - C to 4 K HDMI ” transcriber for € 30/$30 ; to bestow a second international display to your MacBook if the first use the dock ’s DisplayPort .
For my dual - screen ( HDMI ) setup I had to add a “ DisplayPort - to - HDMI ” from the dock and a “ USB - C - to - HDMI ” adapter ( from the MacBook Pro ) , which rather polish off the benefit of an integrated do - it - all dock – but the trouble is with Apple rather than the pier manufacturer .
That read , once you ’ve setup the dock with the dongle , it ’s a childlike enough matter to come away and re - attach the laptop computer when you wish – and even well-off if you pair the Stone with Henge ’s Vertical Dock ( more on which later in this limited review ) .
Small but beautiful
Harlan F. Stone measures 8.2 cm x 17 cm ten 2.35 cm ( 3.22 in x 6.7 in x 0.93 in ) , and therefore is much more svelte than the Targus Dock410 USB - C bob – although that docking station does let in HDMI progress in . When I essay using the Targus sorrel , however , it did n’t manage to power the MacBook Pro as the Henge Stone does – so Stone beats Targus .
Two docks are better than one
Henge also sells a dock that turn brilliantly with Stone . you’re able to but slue your MacBook into the Henge Vertical Dock , and it connect the laptop computer ’s USB - C ports to its own , go up on one side . The Vertical Dock passes the connections straightaway from your MacBook through two USB - atomic number 6 ports at a full 40Gbps .
When you require to take your laptop computer away from the desk , you plainly lift it out – without birth to disconnect and then reconnect cables .
Of of course , while docked you ca n’t use the Touchbar on the MacBook Pro . We ’ll need to wait for Apple to release a keyboard with Touchbar for that luxury .
The Vertical Dock feature intake and exhaust fumes vents that move extra atmosphere to and from the MacBook ’s cooling organization .
It is available in unlike models for the 15 in MacBook Pro with Touchbar , 13 in MacBook Pro with Touchbar , and 13 in MacBook Pro with two Thunderbolt 3 ports ( € 189 / US$ 179 ) ; 13 in and 15 in MacBook Pro with Retina Display ( no Touchbar ) for $ 119 ; and 11 in and 13 in MacBook Air 2010 - 2017 for $ 65 .
The Henge Vertical Dock can be purchase direct fromHenge Docks . We ’ve also seen it available fromAmazon.com , but verify you choose the correct version that go with your model of MacBook .
The non - MBP Touchbar Vertical Dock option do n’t come out to be uncommitted outside the US .
Verdict
Although our configuration of two HDMI displays meant we had to add adaptor to the dock , the slim - visibility Henge Stone moorage place ably did its business and certainly looks the part in Apple - like Space Gray metal .
It has enough pizzaz to institutionalize even the 15 in MacBook Pro at full 87W , so you may connect just one cable to your laptop for charging and running an superfluous exhibit , plus wired Internet and four external USB equipment ( three of them the older USB - A criterion ) .
pair with the Henge Vertical Dock , it ’s a swell way to tie in multiple devices without have to connect and disconnect when you take your MacBook away with you .
