Any USBC hub adds a number of extra ports to your device, so the main thing to consider is how many you need and what you’ll be connecting. The price varies a lot depending on what you need and the various data transfer speeds from the USBs. That’s why you’ll find options in this roundup go from around £20 up to over £100.
Below, we’ve run through the key points you’ll want to keep in mind when shopping around:
USBA ports
This is probably the key slot that you used to have on a laptop and now isn’t available on newer models. We’re sure that, like us, you’ve got loads of cables for connecting your phone, camera, external hard drive or headphones for recharging over USBA.
You don’t have to go out and shop for new USBC cables if you have a hub, and these USBA ports can be ideal for data transfer too. It’s worth looking for highspeed 5 gigabits per second (Gbps) transfer speeds. Technically, USBA maxes out at 10Gbps, but most cables won’t support that high of a speed.
USBC ports and passthrough charging
While any current laptop will come with at least a couple of USBC ports, you’ve got to remember that one will be in use to connect the hub itself. So it can help if it adds an extra or two, especially if one of those supports fast transfer for data.
We think it’s also worth looking for passthrough charging, which will allow you to charge your device through the hub without having to disconnect it; most USBC hubs with a USBC port should offer this.
HDMI ports
We’re sure you’re used to checking how many HDMI ports are on the back of the best TVs, but they’re also crucial for connecting your laptop’s display to external devices like a TV, projector or external monitor.
For hybrid workers, this is an essential port, and even if you’re not connecting to a highend 4K display, we reckon it’s worth finding a hub that offers up to 4K as it’s more futureproof and available even in lowercost options.
Card readers
Photographers and videographers despaired when Apple removed the SD card slot from the side of its MacBook Pro lineup. It has since added the port back, but there’s an entire generation of Intel Macs without a port for transferring photo and video files straight from your camera, and there’s no MacBook Air or iPad with a fullsize SD slot.
Hubs, then, are essential for adding this functionality to your device. We regularly use a hub or just a dedicated SD card dongle to get our photos onto tablets, computers or smartphones.
Headphone jack
You’ll know if you can benefit from some wired headphones or if you’ve fully made the leap into the wireless world of AirPods, wireless earbuds and noisecancelling headphones.
It’s a shame that many tablets now don’t come with handy 3.5mm audio ports, so it’s beneficial when a hub has this, especially if you want to do some gaming or video editing without worrying about latency.
Other ports
There are a couple of lessused ports that may still be essential within your workflow. So keep in mind whether you might need to connect to your monitor via DisplayPort, and look out for that on hubs.
Another important one might be Ethernet – it’s been a long time since this was available on laptops, but it’s still the best and most reliable way to get highspeed internet right to your device without worrying about wifi signal.
We don’t think most people need this, but if you have a display that uses a VGA cable, you’ll need a USBC hub with a VGA adapter to connect it. These are a bit rarer than DisplayPort or HDMI connectors.
