If you are using an Apple laptop you probably appreciate the great things about it. From
MacOS and iMessage to the amazing performance and battery life on the M1 MacBook Pro and
Air, there is a lot to love from an Apple user perspective. One thing that still bugs
a lot of people in the last few years is the sole reliance on a limited number of USB-C
or Thunderbolt ports. Sometimes you just need additional ports or different types of ports
and that is where companies like CalDigit come in. CalDigit makes a number of different
hubs and docks so which one should you get?
Hey, Im Jerry and I have been using my MacBook Pro M1 as my main device for months now. I
use it all by its self sometimes but I also use it in a desk setup where I need to connect
all kinds of things like displays, speakers, card readers, external drives….Sometimes
I need to go to my actual work office and I need to connect a different set of displays
or accessories. ……CalDigit makes different hubs and docks for different needs that can
help with a primary desk setup or an “in the bag for when you need it” setup.
Let me quickly explain the difference between a hub and a dock. For you the difference may
not matter but the most simple way for me to explain it is that a Hub creates additional
connections for a specific port type. For example a USB Hub will connect to a USB port
and maybe it gives you an additional 4 or 8 USB ports. A dock on the otherhand expands
the port types like going from Thunderbolt to, display, ethernet, audio, or other port
types. See, simple, right? A hub will give you more of one thing, usually, and a dock
will expand your connection options.
I also want to say that CalDigit did send me these docks to test but this video is not
sponsored by CalDigit and no one at CalDigit has reviewed the video before I posted it.
I made this video today because I actually use and like these products.
With that out of the way lets start with the Caldigit Small office/home office dock, or
SOHO. This is a Gen 2 USB-C dock which can handle transfer speeds up to 10gbps. This
compact dock does a majority of what normal computer users need with their MacBook. On
the front you get a USB-A port and a usb-C port, both capable of up to 10gbps, and dual
UHS II SD card readers. You can actually read and write to a full size and micro SD card
at the same time. …..On the back you have an HDMI and a DisplayPort connection. This
tiny little dock can output to 2 4k displays at the same time at 30hz or a single 4k display
at 60hz
And let me just say here that all display specs on the docs we are covering today are
dependent on the computer supporting them. For example, the MacBook Pro, Air, and Mac
Mini with M1 only support a single display through thunderbolt or USB-C so even if a
dock can support 2 displays the computer must also be compatible so be sure to check your
computer specs and the CalDigit website for more information.
The SOHO Dock can be used completely bus powered making this the perfect dock to have in your
bag and can be used for presentations using the display connections in a conference room
or to quickly transfer files using a USB drive or the SD card readers. This dock is also
capable of powering a USB-C SSD like the CalDigit Tuff Nano through bus power.
Now, if this SOHO dock provides everything you need and you want to use it at your desk
full time you can do that too and fully power your MacBook via the passthrough charging
in the Soho dock. You can use your existing MacBook charger to plug into the back of the
SOHO and that will allow full power passthrough to your MacBook. This even works with the
96w charger for the 16” MacBook Pro
Speaking of the 16” MacBook Pro if this is your workhorse computer and you need to
have multiple displays and ports, then the USB-C HDMI Dock may be perfect for you. First
off, this USB-C HDMI dock provides up to 94w of power to your MacBook pro so you can edit,
render, virtualize, or Game all you want and your laptop will stay fully charged up. On
the back you have 2 HDMI ports than can push dual 4k extended displays at 60hz, the thunderbolt
connection for your computer, 2 USB-A ports and an ethernet port.
On the front you have a USB-port, a 10gbps USB-C port, UHS II SD card reader and an audio
in/out jack……The dock is built to power your MacBook to its fullest and give you a
big bump in screen real-estate. If you like the idea of this USB-C HDMi dock but prefer
DisplayPort to HDMI then CalDigit also has the USB-C Pro Dock with all the same ports
except for DisplayPort connection instead of HDMI and a slightly lower max charge speed
of 85w.
Next up is the very popular Caldigit TS3 Plus dock and it has a lot to offer. This guy is
like the swiss army knife of thunderbolt docks with 15 ports…….15. On the front you have
an UHS II SD card slot, separate audio in and out jacks, 5gbps USB-C and a USB-A port.
This is really the front port allotment that I would think 99% of people would need. …..
On the back you get 4 more USB-A ports, thunderbolt in and out, a 10gbps USB-C port, a displayport
connection, 1gbps Ethernet, and an optical audio out. And this TS3 Plus will also power
your macbook at up to 87w. See what I mean about the swiss army knife
of docks? If you were a computer boy scout this is like the one tool you would always
have on hand that could do it all.
This dock can lay horizontally or sit vertically and you can just load it up with USB, Audio,
display, and thunderbolt connections.
These 3 docks, the SOHOdock , USB-C HDMI dock, and the TS3 Plus dock all have good port options
for whatever use case you have. If you only need a couple of ports or something to toss
in your bag for work or travel, the SOHO has you covered. If you have a 16” MacBook Pro
that you push hard and need multiple displays, the USB-C HDMI dock can be a powerful companion.
If you want the swiss army knife of docks that has all kinds of port options than the
TS3 plus can do anything you throw at it………But, what it you don’t know what ports you might
need or if you know you need multiple displays and multiple card readers in a single dock?
Well, the brand new caldigit element hub may be the solution.
The Element Hub is a thunderbolt4/usb4 hub with 8 ports that can give you up to 40gbps
of transfer speed like the other thunderbolt docks. Its fully powered and can provide all
the power for whatever accessories you have connected and up to 60w of power to your macbook
in this tiny little package. …..Actually, the element hub can even act as a standalone
charger even when your laptop is not connected
On the front there are 4 10gbps usb-a ports that can run most external USB SSDs at full
speed or they can be used for thumb drives, mouse dongles, SD card readers, phone or watch
chargers, USB coffee warmers or whatever usb devices.
On the back you have 3 Thunderbolt 4/usb4 ports for connecting displays either directly
using usb-c and thunderbolt, or using an adapter like the Caldigit HDMI or Displayport adapters.
Caldigit even makes newer versions that match the aluminum enclosure and you can find links
in the description below.
Because these are thunderbolt ports on the back you can also connect even faster storage
like this NVME drive from Samsung and get over 2500 MBps, or using an intel based macbook
you can connect an eGPU and up your graphics game.
The power of the Element hub, in my opinion, is that it can become the ports you need.
If you need to connect 3 audio interfaces and 2 displays and a thunderbolt array and
a thumb drive, and you have no need for an SD card reader or ethernet, The element hub
can do that.
Now what if you find yourself in a position where no one of these docks will provide exactly
what you need? Maybe you like the versatility of the ts3 plus but still find you need more
USB or thunderbnolt ports? Or maybe you are a pro photographer or videographer with the
usb-c hdmi dock but you need another SD card slot? You can totally mix and match these
docks to get exactly what you need.
As an example, my daily setup at my desk is using my M1 MacBook Pro with a TS3 Plus which
is connected to my speakers, display and ssd drive. When I am editing these videos I like
to use multiple SD cards at the same time so I also have the SOHO connected to my ts3
+ and now I can import media from both of my cameras and my audio recorder all at the
same time.
So, which CalDigit Dock should you get for your MacBook? Well, my recommendation for
most people is the TS3+. It’s the all on one solution that offers the widest variety
of ports for most people. Displayport- check…usba and usb-c?...check……..thunderbolt, sd,
Ethernet, audio and 87w of charging power? Check check!!! ……………
If you have a 16” MacBook pro and need really push it, the 94w of charging power on the
usb-c hdmi dock will fully power your mac and give you the option of 2 hdmi displays
at 60hz extended.………….. For the bag, on the go, and work meetings,
the SOHO has you covered. Im not sure what else you would need in a more mobile type
setup then display out and a couple of USB ports. If you use cameras the SOHO is a no
brainer for mobile work with the dual SD card readers …………….
None of those do exactly what you want? Get the Element Hub and give it the ports that
you need for your workflow or add it to one of the others to add even more flexibility
to your setup.
Those are kind of my broad recommendations, but I want to know what you think…..Do you
have one of these caldigit docks and does it do everything that you need it to or are
you looking to pick one of these up and are still trying to decide which one to get? Lets
talk below. ……. If you are interested in more information
about the brand new caldigit element hub that we talked about, you can see more about it
in my Element hub review, right over here…….hit the thumbs up button if you liked it, hit
subscribe if you want and Ill see you next time.