Needs to filter whether it can show HDMI 4K at 30Hz or 60Hz. And related to that, for video, it’s possible to have 2 4K 60hz through or one or none.
Also filter whether it’s one USB-C connects to computer or two USB-C connects to computer. With two USB-C connected to computer, can pass through more types of USB to accessories.
Finally, it doesn’t show matches that I know are matches.
// I buy these to test, but don’t want to waste time testing duds, so spend time trying to figure out if/when the claimed stats are possible.
> Needs to filter whether it can show HDMI 4K at 30Hz or 60Hz. And related to that, for video, it’s possible to have 2 4K 60hz through or one or none.
I don't think they'd bother, because none of these docks can do it. USB-C 3.1 inherently can't support a 4k@60hz display, due to bandwidth limitations. And it certainly can't run two of them.
You'd have to jump up to a Thunderbolt 3 dock for that sort of thing.
The Thunderbolt capable docks on Amazon are still listed as USB-C because consumers seem to think it’s all about cable shape.
That said, there are plenty of dual USB-C connector, dual HDMI 4K@60hz port, dongles designed for Mac on Amazon. I think this is the most recent addition:
”Satechi Aluminum Type-C Dual HDMI Adapter 4K 60Hz with USB-C PD Charging — Stunning dual HDMI display with a convenient USB-C PD port to keep your setup up and running - all in 4K 60Hz resolution. ENGINEERED FOR 4K DUAL DISPLAY - features dual HDMI ports to connect two monitors for stunning, extended 4K 60Hz display. Requires a direct HDMI connection, will not work with VGA, DVI or Thunderbolt displays...”
By contrast, this is one HDMI 4K@60Hz and one HDMI 4K@30Hz:
Includes the two 4K HDMI ports of differing refresh rates, USB-C PD 3.0 charging, Gigabit Ethernet, micro/SD card readers, and USB 3.0 ports, and also will not work with Thunderbolt.
You can do 3840x2160@60Hz (and 24bpp/8bpc) over USB Type-C on newer displays. DisplayPort Alt Mode over USB-C using DisplayPort 1.3/1.4 can support 4K + USB 3 Gen2 on one cable.
Why are they making these so complicated when average people don't even make the difference between a VGA and DVI cable?
For a few years I didn't buy new hardware and recently I started seen "HDMI cables with / without ETHERNET" I thought it was some crappy marketing, wrong Chinese translation of just a "scam" like the HDMI to water tap adapter, but after looking on the internet I discovered it was real.
I think part of it is that vendors all through the supply chain have learned that churn caused by obfuscation is good for their bottom line.
If consumers could clearly understand what they needed and were able to select the right product for themselves, you would end up with a small number vendors selling solid, good quality gear. That would be bad for the chip vendors and resellers.
Monitor makers need to get their act together as well... do we really need VGA, DVI, HDMI, mini-HDMI, DP, mini-DP, thunderbolt, and USB-C all existing at the same time as ways to connect your monitor to a computer?
Businesses are buying laptops more often than desktops for the past 10 years and different manufacturers have been utilizing different approaches to minimize the number of cables needed per accessory.
The case of HDMI with ethernet net is the same. This way you can share your screen and internet connection from a mobile device with a single cable. It's only needed in specific circumstances, but as USB has become more advanced, more cables/ports are quietly just turning into differently shaped USB cables that limit which data channels are available.
For choosing the right product based on a list of spec requirements I can highly recommend the price comparison website Geizhals [1]. They offer an insane amount of filter options over a wide category of products. Want USB C hub with Power Delivery, Gigabit LAN, a card reader and at least 2 display options? Here are your options: [2]. Also works for Mainboards, TVs and a whole lot of other stuff
I‘d imagine that you could do price comparisons elsewhere once you have found the product meeting your requirements. And finding that product is where Geizhals actually shines due to their incredible attribute normalization and filtering options, which should be useful even for non-european users. Price comparison is just an additional bonus.
Unfortunately this doesn't fix any of the confusing bullshit around USB versions and specs and port shapes. And it muddies the issue by mixing "3" and "2" with "C", which describe entirely different things. My first search looking for 3 USB-C ports brought up this behemoth: https://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Adapter-VEOOVE-Samsung-Unive...
2 of the USB-C ports are USB 2.0? WTF is that. Nobody wants that.
And the third is just PD, no data. Searching for 2 ports is no better - they’re all one data plus one PD (with the exception of one that’s macbook-specific, so it can pass-thru two ports because it’s using 2 on the host).
It seems like it’d be more realistic to have a tick-box for “a usb-c port” and a tick-box for “a PD port”.
Not only for macs... I have 4 raspberry pi4 powered through an USB hub and spent quite a bit of time looking for one that had at least 4 ports and that every port could deliver a minimum of 5V-3A. The US amazon had a few, but trying to find them (or similar) in several european Amazons was quite difficult.
> and that every port could deliver a minimum of 5V-3A.
For the pi, “at the same time” is what most hubs seem to miss - often they can supply 3A per port, but not ports * 3A overall. (60W on 6-10 ports is a typical config, so you can pull 12-15W per port, but not 6 * 12+ overall.
Good HDMI capable usb-c hubs below 20 USD? Hmm, I cannot find anything similar priced in NL. I would prefer to have one that can do 2x HDMI as not all workplaces I sit have usb-c capable monitors. When I was checking a while back it seems to have a weird pricing gap between ones that have 1 or 2 HDMI outputs. More than twice the price.
I was so pissed a year and a half ago when I realized that none of the hubs had a Thunderbolt pass-through.
The new Anker 7 in 1 has a 'USB-C data' port. Given there's no claim or picture of video out, I'll bet that's all it does.
And the tail on these. It's almost always too short to make it useful to plug it into the back of a thunderbolt display.
I think the Thunderbolt 3 monitor I got recently is my last planned Thunderbolt 3 purchase. I'm not sure if I can hold out long enough for USB-4 to land, where hubs are expected to be hubs again. But barring lost or damaged equipment, I'm going to try.
CalDigit sells a thunderbolt hub that has thunderbolt pass-through, though not if you want to run dual 4K displays @ 60hz (the one thunderbolt port becomes the second DisplayPort).
If you're only after a power adapter for your X1C6 + iPhoneX then this Anker device will certainly work.
I would however wonder if you really need 100W power, 75W would seem sufficient.
Edit: if you plan to use a USB to lightning connector for your iPhone X then indeed the 100W is needed as apparently this device splits power evenly (50W+50W) between the two USB C. A comment however says it's not fast charging the iPhoneX when they are both used, so now I understand your dilemma.
Power Delivery is already implemented, but you have to choose that the hub has to have at least one usb-c port. It it possible to have power delivery without having an usb-c(likw) port?
Thunderbolt 3 support is on my todo list:)
I'd suggest to avoid anything DisplayLink at all costs, it's laggy on Windows and the Linux driver support is pretty bad (Ubuntu only, doesn't support the latest version, not open source).
I just use another USB-C to DisplayPort cable even though it should be unnecessary.
I would prefer if it had less products but actually reviewed them, there is so much crap on Amazon you really need to try something out, disassemble it, sometimes even measure it to figure out if it's crap or not.
SEO Spam really ruined product search / reviews.
Just last week I tried hard but couldn't find a good review of USB-C Power Adaptors, just page after page of SEO optimized spam without actual content.
Thanks so much people, I really appreciate all your feedback. I read all comments, already answered to some them. I will try to respond to every one, but can't promise that.
I noted down all the feedback and ideas for improvement and will tackle those points:
* better filters (video resolution, displayPort, card readers, power delivery) and sorting by price, "no-feature" search
* Better and cleaner design
* Moar data: definitely Thunderbolt 3 hubs and usb-c hubs of higher quality (anker?)
* implement reviewmeta to check the reviews of each product
> * Moar data: definitely Thunderbolt 3 hubs and usb-c hubs of higher quality (anker?)
Are you talking about adding hubs that aren't available on Amazon? When I started to use my 13" mbp as a desktop station I was surprised how hard it was to find a decent hub, and I couldn't find anything on Amazon that worked. I tried several hubs that seemed to work, but they interfered with wifi.
I ended up with a CalDigit TS3 Plus, and it's been really good so far. I would not have found that on a site that only reviews Amazon products, but I would have really appreciated an actual recommendation rather than just a large set of products to compare.
This is great. I always wonder why amazon itself is so useless in this space. The only thing you can go is price and reviews there, without any good comparisons between products.
I like wirecutter for this. Their picks are rarely the most expensive and they try to recommend things that last long. I am happy they can make a dollar or two of my referral link pick for the research work they do.
I feel like they’ve been slipping recently in order to maximize referral income. There’s been a number of things they’ve suggested that are simply no where near the best. I’d use them as a guide but not a definitive answer - that should go for any site with affiliate links.
As a heads-up, this means that if the best product isn't available on Amazon and the other site isn't willing to pay a commission to them, then you won't hear about it.
I've had very bad experiences trusting reviews of the wirecutter for some products that were obviously inferior to alternatives after returning and purchasing alternatives.
I like them, but they're really inconsistent. I bought a bedding set they recommended (from Brooklinen), and it felt so cheap and thin, I couldn't believe this was their top choice. Brooklinen is a new brand, so I suspect some back room shenanigans; they have since been passed over in newer reviews.
Yep, Amazon is utter garbage at category filtering. They have some different filters depending on category but ultimately just stop short by a few miles.
It's silly too because other online vendors have no problem implementing it.
Just a word of caution, I believe it is against the affiliate agreement that you show prices. I mean, two of the first four now have the wrong price -- the price probably changed on amazon's side. I believe that's why Amazon doesn't want affiliates to show prices.
Readit News
Also filter whether it’s one USB-C connects to computer or two USB-C connects to computer. With two USB-C connected to computer, can pass through more types of USB to accessories.
Finally, it doesn’t show matches that I know are matches.
// I buy these to test, but don’t want to waste time testing duds, so spend time trying to figure out if/when the claimed stats are possible.
101 Intro: https://www.howtogeek.com/211843/usb-type-c-explained-what-i...
301 Deep dive: https://www.bigmessowires.com/2019/05/19/explaining-4k-60hz-...
I don't think they'd bother, because none of these docks can do it. USB-C 3.1 inherently can't support a 4k@60hz display, due to bandwidth limitations. And it certainly can't run two of them.
You'd have to jump up to a Thunderbolt 3 dock for that sort of thing.
That said, there are plenty of dual USB-C connector, dual HDMI 4K@60hz port, dongles designed for Mac on Amazon. I think this is the most recent addition:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RH9HF4R/
”Satechi Aluminum Type-C Dual HDMI Adapter 4K 60Hz with USB-C PD Charging — Stunning dual HDMI display with a convenient USB-C PD port to keep your setup up and running - all in 4K 60Hz resolution. ENGINEERED FOR 4K DUAL DISPLAY - features dual HDMI ports to connect two monitors for stunning, extended 4K 60Hz display. Requires a direct HDMI connection, will not work with VGA, DVI or Thunderbolt displays...”
By contrast, this is one HDMI 4K@60Hz and one HDMI 4K@30Hz:
https://smile.amazon.com/Satechi-Multimedia-Adapter-Gigabit-...
Includes the two 4K HDMI ports of differing refresh rates, USB-C PD 3.0 charging, Gigabit Ethernet, micro/SD card readers, and USB 3.0 ports, and also will not work with Thunderbolt.
Deleted Comment
https://www.amazon.com/UPTab-10Gbps-60hz-Power-Delivery/dp/B... is an example
For a few years I didn't buy new hardware and recently I started seen "HDMI cables with / without ETHERNET" I thought it was some crappy marketing, wrong Chinese translation of just a "scam" like the HDMI to water tap adapter, but after looking on the internet I discovered it was real.
I think part of it is that vendors all through the supply chain have learned that churn caused by obfuscation is good for their bottom line.
If consumers could clearly understand what they needed and were able to select the right product for themselves, you would end up with a small number vendors selling solid, good quality gear. That would be bad for the chip vendors and resellers.
Monitor makers need to get their act together as well... do we really need VGA, DVI, HDMI, mini-HDMI, DP, mini-DP, thunderbolt, and USB-C all existing at the same time as ways to connect your monitor to a computer?
Businesses are buying laptops more often than desktops for the past 10 years and different manufacturers have been utilizing different approaches to minimize the number of cables needed per accessory.
The case of HDMI with ethernet net is the same. This way you can share your screen and internet connection from a mobile device with a single cable. It's only needed in specific circumstances, but as USB has become more advanced, more cables/ports are quietly just turning into differently shaped USB cables that limit which data channels are available.
[1] https://geizhals.eu/?cat=nbdock [2] https://geizhals.eu/?cat=nbdock&xf=5206_2%7E5207_DisplayPort...
https://www.productchart.com
It has an awesome interface and covers the US and the UK.
2 of the USB-C ports are USB 2.0? WTF is that. Nobody wants that.
It seems like it’d be more realistic to have a tick-box for “a usb-c port” and a tick-box for “a PD port”.
- Thunderbolt 3 support filter
- Power delivery capability (usually 60W-100W if at all)
Both of those are valuable for mac shoppers.
For the pi, “at the same time” is what most hubs seem to miss - often they can supply 3A per port, but not ports * 3A overall. (60W on 6-10 ports is a typical config, so you can pull 12-15W per port, but not 6 * 12+ overall.
And the tail on these. It's almost always too short to make it useful to plug it into the back of a thunderbolt display.
I think the Thunderbolt 3 monitor I got recently is my last planned Thunderbolt 3 purchase. I'm not sure if I can hold out long enough for USB-4 to land, where hubs are expected to be hubs again. But barring lost or damaged equipment, I'm going to try.
If someone happens to have experience with this, share your thoughts please!
Edit: if you plan to use a USB to lightning connector for your iPhone X then indeed the 100W is needed as apparently this device splits power evenly (50W+50W) between the two USB C. A comment however says it's not fast charging the iPhoneX when they are both used, so now I understand your dilemma.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hyperjuice-world-s-first-...
Waiting for it to arrive.
I got something from cable matters but think it is faulty and cuts out on PD at times. I am looking for a replacement.
I'd suggest to avoid anything DisplayLink at all costs, it's laggy on Windows and the Linux driver support is pretty bad (Ubuntu only, doesn't support the latest version, not open source).
I just use another USB-C to DisplayPort cable even though it should be unnecessary.
https://www.displaylink.com/
The two "hubs" that supported all the stuff that I wanted were effectively docking stations:
- https://hengedocks.com/products/stone-pro
- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VL675DT
I also bought one of these (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hypershop/hyperjuice-wo...), but waiting on delivery. It's not a hub, however.
SEO Spam really ruined product search / reviews.
Just last week I tried hard but couldn't find a good review of USB-C Power Adaptors, just page after page of SEO optimized spam without actual content.
I noted down all the feedback and ideas for improvement and will tackle those points:
* better filters (video resolution, displayPort, card readers, power delivery) and sorting by price, "no-feature" search
* Better and cleaner design
* Moar data: definitely Thunderbolt 3 hubs and usb-c hubs of higher quality (anker?)
* implement reviewmeta to check the reviews of each product
* better quality of product data/prices and so on
Are you talking about adding hubs that aren't available on Amazon? When I started to use my 13" mbp as a desktop station I was surprised how hard it was to find a decent hub, and I couldn't find anything on Amazon that worked. I tried several hubs that seemed to work, but they interfered with wifi.
I ended up with a CalDigit TS3 Plus, and it's been really good so far. I would not have found that on a site that only reviews Amazon products, but I would have really appreciated an actual recommendation rather than just a large set of products to compare.
An example of that is nextdesk: https://www.reddit.com/r/StandingDesk/comments/69npx4/drama_...