Premium USB Hubs For Mac Explained: Make Or Break Details!

Just a small update here folks — if you're looking for the TS4 hub, and you're like "wtf, it's out of stock everywhere", CalDigit informed me that you should see stock back in a couple of weeks (mid-December)

Super informative and well researched video. I especially liked the objective and well structured presentation of the topic. Props!

👍

I needed this video. Saved me a lot of money. I don’t have anything needing the TS4.

For sale in the Apple Store. Enough said. Should I need a dock/hub, CalDigit is the way to go.

The problem I have is not enough usb-c ports. Don’t care about USB A need C. Even Ankers 13-1 don’t provide enough USB-C. I have connected to mine 3 external Hard drives, the other day my Mac-mini shut down two of the drives for drawing to much power. Could I take the Anker and plug a usb c hub into one of the USB-c ports and get around the power issue?

Hello, (sorry for bad english) i've wanted to know if it's possible to connect various (4) samsung 24' inch 2k monitors that connects to usb c instead of hdmi,
to a macbook m1 via thunderbolt or any usb c hub?
Thanks.

I like those light at the back of your studio, where did you get them from?

Outstanding video! It is packet with very useful information and covers these hubs end to end and then some. It must have taken weeks to write it.

Thanks for the great video. On the Element Hub, if I plug a USB device into the thunderbolt (USB-C) ports, what speed should I expect?

Hello, I have MBP MaxM1Silicon. Will this CallDigit TS4 render from M1 Max to 5k Monitor Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 G95SC 2023 49inch " Or I need a usb c to Display port also 🤔.

would these support 1440p @ 144Hz?

After hours of searching this is the more helpful video on these hubs. Thank you!

I just want to make sure I can have my MacBook Pro closed and use 2 monitors

I have a question that've been bugging me. There are docks stations that allow charging macbooks directly, without having to use the charger that came with the device. This docks, if I understand correctly, have faster speed (allowing to process bigger files faster), which is a plus. But is it dangerous to the MacBook's battery?

Dude, slickest sponsored video commercial transition ever. I need to steal that.

I recently purchased one of Corsair's TBT200 docks/hubs for use with both a MacBook Pro M2 Max and a PC that I switch between. I can't compare it to the Caldigit, since I don't have one, but it's quite a premium device and I'm quite happy with it. It does lack the displayport that the TS4 has but makes up for it with three TB4 ports (not including the host port). I drive two external monitors using TB4 to displayport for one and USB C to HDMI for another. And it's $200 CAD cheaper than the TS4 up here in Canada.

Okay Kyle, throwing a curve ball here. I'm coming from a PC-based situation with external monitors that can only connect via HDMI. I'm really trying to go after a suitable hub that's suited for Macbook Pro 14" w/ M2 Max chip, but can still handle that HDMI setup.

Excellent overview! Thanks for all the work and effort!

@Kyle Erickson

I'm so confused as to which one to get. My limit is £250. I need a powered dock for my music studio setup. I need to connect:

> 1 USB port for HDD ( I might switch to an SSD, from which I will need 10Gbps transfer speed)
> 1 USB Audio Interface (I could try switching to USB-C for this one if needed)
> 1 USB port for MIDI keyboard
> 1 USB port for powering my LED strips
> 1 USB-C for monitor DELL S2722DC (2K @ 75Hz)
> 1 USB-C for connecting my 2020 Macbook Pro 13"
> 2 Ethernet ports to connect my studio monitors (1 port would work too)
> maybe an extra USB-C port just in case?

Idk which Hub to get.
QUESTION: I have a monitor that sends 65W of power through it's cable. it connects via USB-C. If the USB Hub is gonna be powered, and the monitor is also sending 65W of power, do I need to be worried about anything for the macbook?

Kyle Question: will the CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub be a stable hub for USB external drives for transferring large amounts of data between them? Great video thanks

What an amazing amount of information! Great video.

What you didn't cover is that many drives won't perform like on their box in Macs.

@kyle I bought the MacBook Air m2 about 2 months ago and have been using one external monitor with it all fine, however I am looking to get a second external monitor and I’m really unsure on what to look at in terms of docks, you’re two videos have been very informative, perhaps too much so as I still don’t really know where to look for my needs, my budget isn’t too high I’m “a mac user just looking for something that works”

I know you're talking as I can hear sound, and your lips are moving, but the quantity of information you're giving exceeds my brain speed on a Sunday morning.

Kyle, Great info to follow up on your previous USB hub video! So these three Caldigit models do not use (or need) the Display Link S'ware. How then are they able to let me run my two Dell (5 Gbps I think) U2415 1920x1200 60hz monitors? What ports and cables would I use to connect my two monitors to: 1) The Element Hub? 2) The TS3 Plus? Thanks so much for your help with this confusing info.
Cheers, Dave

Great video! A wealth of valuable knowledge learned from a single video. Liked and sub'ed!

Holy crap, I just got a new MacBook and Studio Display. I need more ports on a dock that stays at the workstation. I was surprised to find out this was such a confusing topic.

Thanks!

@Kyle, you are a real gift to us. Thank you for your research and very well thought through videos and recommendations. Liked and subscribed, and looking forward to watching more of your thinking.

M2 mini + Crucial SSD!!!

Elements hub for sure on M2 Mini. Crucial SSD and all is well!

Great review. Spot on , on the differences between the CalDigit products. I am torn between the Element Hub and the TS4 . Leaning towards the Element Hub for portability and due the fact that I Run My Asus Pro Art display directly into my MacBook Pro M1 via USB-C* to power the MacBook and get full 4K at 60 FPS. I would be using the Hub on the other Thunderbolt port on the M-1 and was wondering which of the CalDigit Hubs/Docks would work best for that. Also was wondering if the Element Hub can be used without the brick plugged in for portability when using it with my M-2 iPad Pro. I will be connecting multiple SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD's and my Insta 360 X3 camera as well as from time to time one of my DJI Drones to download and edit video.

If you go on Amazon, you'll see that the TS4 only has a high, 5 star score of 65% and a low, 1 star score of 15%.
I have found that any product with these stats ends up being purchase with a 100% return rate from on the few that I have gambled on.
All of the 1 and 2 star reviews share the same complaints: global peripheral disconnect from the hub when in sleep mode and not able to be restored without rebooting the computer and non existent to extremely slow customer support.

Maybe a dumb question, but are there any docking stations out there with a power button that will initiate a boot up MacBooks (this is when MacBook has been shut down)?

I have a Lenovo dock that works really well with my work issued windows laptop. However, that same dock will not power on my MacBook when its fully off and in clamshell mode.

if the caldigit stuff doesnt have displaylink how do you run multiple monitors with macs?

I'm confused, will the calDigital do dual monitors with out software on MacBook Air M2? I have the Tobenone Dock and it uses instantViewer and the second monitor is way off color from the first. I need better.

If you are gonna get element just get the owc thunderbolt 4 dock. I got it on a sale for $200, and it has 4 usb A connections 3 thunderbolt, ethernet, sdcard slot with 150w power brick that supports 96w charging for laptop ethernet. I use 5120p x 1440p monitor on 120hz with this dock and bunch of peripherals connected to it. been great

"2 for 2!" Thx sir. You did it again. A couple of months ago I searched for a realistic review of a docking station for my wife's M2 Air - and you delivered. This time I looked at getting a Dock Station for my 14" M1 Pro. I did purchase another dock station from Orico. But wasn't feeling it. Then I saw the CalDigitTS4, but not feeling the price. Then thought, what does Kyle think? Saw your review and pulled the trigger. Still not feeling the price, but definitely feeling the docking station. Your review eased the "$" pain. Thanks again. We're well setup now.

nice review, the crazy thing I found with the TS4 is that you must plug it in after booting up on the MacBook M2max. Strangely if you boot with the caldigit connected to the MBP it will not be recognized well parts won't, you will not get those 3 external monitors only one and the ethernet will not work. At least this is what I found, no massive thing but it will drive you nuts if you don't know this. (Ask me how I know)

Hi @Kyle Erickson, I just wanted to say thanks for this video. I'm new and have actually just subscribed to the channel, because the info you provide is straight-to-the-point and is very practical. I use windows/linux laptops for work as a Sys Admin, but have an old MacBook for my personal setup. I'm thinking of getting a high end MacBook Pro, which will help me virtualize all the environments I work in, so that I can just use one laptop to "rule them all" with multiple screen setup

I got some burning screen problem due to the thunderbold (usb c) with my external monitor (hdmi) (mac m1)

hey man thanks for the vid. appreciate the depth on all your stuff. btw I am one of the people who tried to buy the TS3 from you XD

Hi Kyle,

What dp cable do you use? I got the orico hub, but can’t get 2 screen working at 60hz. Rn, I use a usb c and need a dp to hdmi cable at 60hz

Fantastic overview. I just purchased a CalDigit TS3 competitor [due to lack of supply where I am]. I was leaning to a TS4 [if it was available] but did a use case and went with a competitor. Thanks for making me a lot smarter on what I should be looking into. Cheers!

SUPER helpful. I watched the other video first and this one definitely gave me an added perspective I wouldn't have otherwise had. I went ahead and got the TS4. Looks like exactly what I need for the new setup. Thanks!

Great insight! I've been researching the Camlink 4K from Elgato, as I'd like to stream and record directly from my Sony camera to my Mac, and have noticed many mentions of issues with it connecting to Apple Silicon Macs via a Thunderbolt 4 dock (such as the TS4 you mentioned). Have you heard of any of these issues? Do you know if the TS3 would be a better option?

Can caldigit ts4 support 3 monitors with MacBook Air M2?

Thank you for showing me how ignorant am I hahahah. No man, really, this video is gold! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.