Amazon’s Prime Day gross sales provide one of many yr’s greatest alternatives to attain offers on USB-C hubs and docks and their extra highly effective cousins, Thunderbolt docking stations. All provide vital, needed methods to increase your laptop computer’s ports and join legacy gadgets like printers and mice.
We’re now on the second day of Prime Day gross sales, which run from Tuesday, July 8, and can run by Friday, July 11. Although most of not the entire greatest gross sales we’ve discovered occur to be on Amazon, have been checking each Amazon and its chief rivals for the most effective offers.
I write, check, and suggest the best USB-C hubs and dongles, and do the identical for the best Thunderbolt docks. For the previous a number of years, I’ve been answerable for looking for out the most effective offers in each classes for Amazon’s Prime Days, Black Friday, and extra. I believe it’s honest to say that you simply’ll discover the most effective USB-C and Thunderbolt docking station offers proper right here.
Below, you’ll discover a checklist of offers, in addition to a listing of frequently-asked questions explaining what it’s best to search for. This is an attention-grabbing transitional interval! I don’t count on something uncommon by way of USB-C hub costs. Thunderbolt docks, nevertheless, are a special story: Thunderbolt 5 is arriving available in the market, and older Thunderbolt 3 merchandise (that are nonetheless considerably viable) are being phased out. And sure, there are tariffs, that are in flux — though some simply kicked in at present and extra might take impact on day 2 of Amazon’s Prime Day gross sales.
Best Prime Day offers on Thunderbolt docks
- StarTech USB4/Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station, 98W charging, $248.36 (25% off at Amazon)
- Ugreen Revodok Max 208 8-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock, 85W charging, $159.99 (36% off at Amazon)
- Plugable 16-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock (TBT4-UDZ), 100W charging, $269.95 (16% off at Amazon)
- Microsoft Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock, 96W charging, $199.99 (33% off at Amazon)
- Ugreen Revodok Max 2131 13-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock, 140W charging, $299.99 (25% off at Amazon)
- Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station, 90W charging, $158.99 (28% off at Amazon)
- CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock, 98W charging, $303.99 (32% off at Amazon)
- Anker Prime TB5 Docking Station, 14-in-1, 140W charging, $339.99 (15% off at Amazon)
Right now I’m not seeing any new offers for Prime Day, sadly. Amazon discounted these docks a day or so earlier than Prime Day began, and so they appear to be holding on.
I worth flexibility in my docking station selections, and proper now StarTech’s dock gives essentially the most port flexibility. (I reviewed an earlier StarTech dock, however not this one.) I actually like Ugreen’s {hardware} as nicely, but it surely’s extra of a hub, and also you’ll want to purchase show cables that take its USB-C video connections and translate them to HDMI. Those are about $20 per cable.
Weirdly, I nonetheless haven’t reviewed Microsoft’s Surface docking station. But I’ve both used these particular docks or one which’s very related, and I believe you’ll be pleased with each one on this checklist. Just be certain that they provide the ports you want on the value you need.
Best Prime Day offers on USB-C dongles and hubs
The variety of offers have expanded, so I’m separating out the normal “dongles” from the others, under. Anker and Ugreen are top-rated manufacturers that I’ve personally used, so simply choose no matter suits your price range.
Best Prime Day offers on USB-C docking stations
- Plugable 10-in-1 Dual HDMI docking station, $79.95 (38% off at Amazon)
- Baseus 11-in-1 Spacemate, $94.99 (27% off)
- Belkin 11-in-1 Pro GaN Dock, 150W charging, $159.99 (20% off at Amazon)
- Anker 13-in-1 USB-C Docking Station, 85W charging, $139.99 (30% off at Amazon)
- Belkin 15-in-1 Triple Display DisplayLink Dock, 85W charging, ($199.99, 20% off at Amazon)
- Kensington SD5900T DisplayLink Dock, 100W charging, $246.49 (15% off at Amazon)
These are extra conventional, chunkier docking stations in your desktop, and one thing you may want in case you’d like extra ports or in some instances devoted energy. Plugable’s 10-in-1 is a stable dock on a stable deal, but it surely’s a bit extra ungainly than the Baseus Spacemate.
I’ve reviewed the Baseus Spacemate 11-in-1 dock listed right here, and I relatively preferred it, although it felt somewhat unnecessarily over-engineered. Note that the value once I reviewed it was $199.99, so the low cost is somewhat deceiving — it’s nearer to half off the preliminary value. Note that the 11-in-1 provides its personal charger; the 9-in-1 hub doesn’t. Belkin’s dock gives a ton of charging energy.
The Belkin 15-in-1 Triple Display Dock and the Kensington SD5900T are each DisplayLink docking station, which signifies that you should use it with a laptop computer with a generic USB-C port. (The linked story has a fuller rationalization.) They’re basically extra highly effective variations of a generic USB-C docking station just like the Belkin 11-in-1 GaN dock.
Other nice Prime Day offers
These aren’t the one Prime Day offers being tracked by the PCWorld crew. If you’re seeking to supercharge your own home setup with the juiciest tech gross sales, hit the hyperlinks for less than the most effective expert-curated picks we’ve discovered.
FAQ
Why ought to I purchase a USB-C hub or Thunderbolt docking station?
Laptops have usually begun changing the entire legacy ports (the boxy USB-A plug, HDMI, SD card slots, and extra) with generic USB-C ports. That’s effective, however what when you have a wired printer or mouse or exterior SSD? You’ll want to attach it to your laptop computer, and also you may want the fitting bodily port connector.
If you have got a quick exterior SSD or arduous drive, the exterior throughput will definitely assist you get essentially the most out of your peripheral. And if you wish to join a number of shows, you’ll want a USB-C hub (and ideally a docking station) with help for 2 show connectors.
How do I do know whether or not to purchase a USB-C hub or a Thunderbolt docking station?
USB-C hubs and Thunderbolt docks use the identical bodily USB-C connection. A USB-C port (and USB-C hub or dongle) use a primary 10Gbps connection, whereas a Thunderbolt port will increase the throughput to 40Gbps. Ideally, it’s best to see a small “lightning bolt” icon sign a Thunderbolt port, whereas an unmarked port could also be only a generic USB-C port.
Manufacturers, although, aren’t compelled to label their ports. Your greatest wager is to haul out your laptop computer’s guide and verify.
Thunderbolt docks will solely work with a Thunderbolt connection. You should purchase a USB-C hub or dongle and join it to a Thunderbolt port, however it can solely run on the 10Gbps pace.
USB-C hubs, dongles, and docking stations: what’s the distinction?
I take advantage of hubs and dongles interchangeably to explain the small gadgets that dangle off your USB-C port with a brief cable. A docking station is mostly massive and heavy sufficient that it’s going to stay in your desk. Virtually all Thunderbolt gadgets are massive sufficient to be thought-about docking stations.
You should purchase USB-C docking stations that lack Thunderbolt connections, however these are a bit rarer. A docking station additionally normally features a charger so you should use it as an alternative of your laptop computer charger.
My laptop computer has USB4, not Thunderbolt. Can I take advantage of a Thunderbolt dock?
USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 are functionally the identical. Intel refuses to certify non-Intel platforms like AMD’s Ryzen for Thunderbolt, and the brand new Copilot+ PCs from Microsoft powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chips are in the identical boat.
USB-C hubs work with mainly something with a USB-C port on it. Don’t fear about these in any respect.
How do I do know whether or not to purchase Thunderbolt 3, 4, or 5?
Thunderbolt is backwards-compatible, so you possibly can personal a laptop computer with Thunderbolt 4 and join it to a Thunderbolt 4 or Thunderbolt 3 dock with out fear. It’s not forward-compatible, nevertheless. While Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 each switch 40Gbps, you’re most likely greatest to play it protected and match the specs of your port to the specs of the system.
How will tariffs have an effect on the costs of Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs throughout Prime Day gross sales?
This is the large wild card. The United States has paused its reciprocal tariffs on overseas items till July 9, the second day of Amazon’s Prime Day offers. At that time, it’s anybody’s guess what’s going to occur.
Many hubs and docks are made in China, which has been a primary tariff goal for this administration. On the opposite hand, dock makers like Plugable have particularly informed me that they’ve moved manufacturing out of China, too. But contemplate: CalDigit announced its TS4 docking station in 2022 for $359.95. Its present checklist value: $449.95, and it’s “on sale” at Amazon for $379.
Unfortunately, it’s turn out to be much more difficult, virtually in a single day. Some dock and hub makers have moved their manufacturing out of China and Taiwan to Vietnam, and the Trump administration simply set a 20 % tariff on items imported from Vietnam, and 40 % on items routed by the nation. It’s simply not clear precisely which firm makes its merchandise in Vietnam or China, nevertheless.
There’s most likely one certain reply to keep away from tariffs: purchase early to keep away from paying the potential of additional import tax.
Some of those docks have had dangerous evaluations on purchasing websites. Why?
While Macs adopted Thunderbolt first, a few of the Apple M1 silicon couldn’t sustain with Intel Thunderbolt controllers utilized by Windows PCs, and the Apple MacOS expertise suffered consequently. If you see a damaging remark, attempt to decide if it’s a Windows consumer making it. The expertise could also be completely totally different.
Are the most effective Thunderbolt dock and USB-C dongle offers at Amazon?
Historically, sure. I verify different websites, however over the previous few years Amazon has constantly provided the most effective offers on these two product classes. Thats not all the time the case; Best Buy, for instance, is commonly very aggressive in Chromebooks.