Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
Plugable ’s Thunderbolt 3 Dock ( TBT3 - UDV ) is a capable dual - display Thunderbolt 3 docking station that will delight many with its power to endure upright or lie horizontally .
moorage stations tally a bunch of embrasure to laptops that often have just one or more USB - vitamin C or Thunderbolt 3 port – give you the power to add one or more extraneous displays , Ethernet wire cyberspace memory access , and old - style USB - A devices .
Laptops with Thunderbolt 3 ( TB3 ) interface get 40Gbps bandwidth ( compared to USB - C ’s 5 - 10GBps ) , and are therefore more able and merit a dedicated TB3 moorage station .
TB3 laptop can useUSB - C docks , but they will drop off most of their bandwidth vantage by doing so – dipping from 40Gbps to as downcast as 5Gbps .
Plugable ’s Thunderbolt 3 Dock ( TBT3 - UDV ) is a thoroughly - looking , tall and slender 40Gbps tail when sitting upright in its grievous outdoor stage , or svelte when lying horizontally . We like the fact that you could orient it in the way that suit your desk apparatus .
Plugable Thunderbolt 3 Dock (TBT3-UDV) features
All of Apple ’s Thunderbolt 3 MacBooks – MacBook Pro 2016 or later and MacBook Air 2018 or subsequently – work with this wharfage , and can expend it to plug in one or two external displays .
The dock has one DisplayPort ( a DisplayPort - to - HDMI adaptor is included ) , and also a second Thunderbolt 3 ( TB3 ) port that can be used with an adapter for HDMI , DVI or VGA display .
4096×2160 resoluteness is supported at full 60Hz .
The number of USB - A ports is generous , but only the front - face one put up BC 1.2 charging for earphone .
The four at the back are really or data point only but do offer 5W power , and are a little stuffy together , which can mean some storage sticks will parry the other port wine . It ’s no trouble when connecting devices via a USB cable .
The same would be dependable of connecting some card readers , which is a shame as there ’s no SD or Micro SD Card lector include on this dock . These can be handy for adding inexpensive and portable reliever storage .
The dock comes with a 135W might supply but the power to the legion laptop is just 60W – fine for a MacBook Air or 13 in MacBook Pro , but a little underpowered for a 15 in ( 87W ) or 16 in ( 96W ) MacBook Pro .
These larger laptop will be charged by the dock , but slower than they would be using their supplied bulwark battery charger . However , if you are really pushing a larger Pro ’s work load , it ’s potential the 60W input might not be enough to keep the laptop charged all day – but it should be fine for most .
If you desire a tying up station with more exponent , considerCaldigit ’s 87W TS3 Plusor see our roundup of thebest Thunderbolt 3 docking stations for MacBooks .
Verdict
At 60W , it ’s a little underpowered for Apple ’s expectant 15 in and 16 in MacBook Pro laptop computer , but hunky-dory for the 13 in MacBook Pro or Air .
