The Anker 3 Monitor Laptop Docking Station may be the place to start clearing up the mess in your laptop setup. You usually only have one or two ports on your laptop, which have to handle a monitor, a mouse, storage, wired internet, headphones, etc. This docking station pulls all these connections into a single compact unit that can reside on your desktop and give your laptop a more full-featured home base. Rather than having to plug and unplug a bunch of accessories every time you sit down, you simply connect one cable and get more screen real estate, more ports, and a cleaner workspace overall.
You can buy it now at Amazon for $49, which is a savings of $21 or 30% off the normal $70.
A device to easily manage multiple connections simultaneously
If you are using your laptop screen to fit too many tasks onto a single screen, then triple-display capability is probably the number one reason to consider this dock. With this dock, you get two 4K HDMI connectors and one 1080p VGA connector, allowing you to spread your work across three displays instead of piling windows on top of each other. However, on a Mac, the external displays show a mirrored version of the same image rather than extending independently. So the benefits of a multi-screen setup with this dock are greater on Windows-based systems.
In addition to the video out ports, there are five USB-A connectors, one 5 Gbps USB-C data connector, a 1 Gbps Ethernet connector, two memory card slots (for SD and MicroSD), and an AUX port for wired audio. You can transfer files to external drives or memory cards via the USB ports at up to 5 Gbps, which should significantly speed up transfers. When Wi-Fi connectivity is spotty, slow, or unreliable, the wired Ethernet connection is also very useful for file downloads, video calls, and larger file uploads.
Pass-through charging offers yet another level of convenience, since the dock can provide up to 80W to a connected laptop while powering the rest of your gear on your desk. Note, however, that you will need to use your own wall charger, as none is included. The dock supports USB-C, USB4, and Thunderbolt connections and works with: MacBook models running macOS 12 or later; Windows 10 and 11 laptops; and Chrome OS devices that support DisplayPort Alt Mode and Power Delivery. Unfortunately, it does not support Linux.
The Anker 3 Monitor Laptop Docking Station is a cheap way to improve your laptop’s desk experience. You receive the dock, a welcome guide, and an 18-month warranty, and the port mix will handle most of what you would expect from this type of product. At a discounted price of $49 instead of the $70 list price, it is a great way to expand your screen space, increase your available connections, and reduce your cable clutter.