• One upstream Thunderbolt 4 port (40Gbps, 90W)
• One downstream Thunderbolt 4 port (40Gbps, 15W)
• One USB-C port (10Gbps, 20W)
• Two USB-A ports (10Gbps, 4.5W)
• Two USB-A ports (480MBps, 4.5W)
• Two HDMI 2.0 ports (4K at 60Hz)
• Gigabit Ethernet
• UHS-II SD Card reader (312MBps)
• 3.5mm audio jack
• 120W power supply
The Anker Apex Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station is a great choice if you need to connect more than one external display to a Windows laptop—less so for Mac users.
Other Thunderbolt 4 docks we’ve tested rely solely on the TB4 ports for display connections. This means that if you want two external screens, you lose two of the three downstream TB4 ports, plus you will need HDMI or DisplayPort adapters unless the displays have a USB-C connection.
Anker’s inclusion of two HDMI ports means you don’t need any adapters to connect displays. There’s just one downstream TB4 port, but that’s all you’d have left if you connected two displays to one of the other docks or hubs.
There’s a snag for Mac users, however. They can use only one of the HDMI ports, so having two on the dock rather than another TB4 port is just a waste of space. Windows users can use both, and, indeed, the spare TB4 port to connect up to three displays.
If you aren’t planning on adding two screens, this dock is less flexible than other hubs and docks where the TB4 ports can be used for display or whatever else you desire.
The sole downstream TB4 port can also be used to connect an external monitor, so it’s possible for owners of Thunderbolt 4 Windows laptops to have as many as three displays running out of the dock: two HDMI and one TB4. Mac owners will need to add third-party DisplayLink software to achieve three displays.
If you need to power devices via the USB-A ports, look for a dock with superior charging specs as these ports are really for data only, and even then two of them are slow USB 2.0.
An extra mark for adding a power button on the front so that your laptop isn’t receiving a potential charge when it’s not needed, and keeping the dock’s temperature down at night.
