Plugable USBC-6950PDZ - docking station - USB-C / USB4 / Thunderbolt 3 / Thunderbolt 4 - 2 x HDMI - 1GbE

At first glance, you might think the USB-C Dual HDMI Docking Station (USBC-6950PDZ) is just a simple USB-C travel hub for adding a couple of ports. But the moment you start connecting to the 2x HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, USB ports with charging, or the SD slot, you might feel differently. Windows and Mac laptops get a full desktop experience that only comes from a docking station.

There's a lot of big talk about the dock's size, but the first feature to focus on should be its HDMI port, both of them. The HDMI hub extends your display across two monitors with resolutions up to 4K 60 Hz.

For this laptop docking station, Plugable used DisplayLink Technology. That means you can connect two monitors, no matter what full-featured USB-C-enabled laptop you're using, Windows or Mac - even an M1 or M2-powered MacBook Air or MacBook Pro.

A somewhat unique approach to powering a docking station, the USBC-6950PDZ doesn't have its own power supply. Instead, it uses the USB-C power cord that came with your laptop. The docking station takes advantage of USB-C pass-through charging, here's how it works: find your laptop's power cord, plug it into the marked port on the USBC-6950PDZ, and now plug the docking station into your laptop.

The dual HDMI adapter will support up to a 100 W power adapter, reserving up to 18 W for itself. So, if you have a 100 W adapter, your computer will receive 82 W of power. However, the computer may charge slower through the docking station than when directly connected to the power supply.

This particular unit is just a docking station with 2 HDMI ports that happens to be slim, and incredibly portable. For those who do need to take it with them, this USB hub is ready. Because it uses the laptop power adapter you're carrying, it saves the weight and space of a second power brick.