Plugable, a brand known for producing well-made and competitively-priced docking stations, hubs, and more, unleashed its latest Thunderbolt 4/USB4 dock last week, and it’s time for some hands-on impressions. Its latest comes in the form of an 11-port hub complete with USB4 specs for Windows users, Thunderbolt 4 action, dual HDMI display support (more on this below), card readers, and just about everything else you might expect from something in this category. Alongside an ongoing launch price drop on Amazon, we have now had a chance to give the new Plugable USB-C Docking Station a run for its currently discounted money and we are now ready to hit you with the latest entry in the ongoing Tested with gadgetnewsonline series.
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Hands-on with Plugable’s new USB4 Dual Monitor Docking Station
The new metal Plugable USB4 dock features an 11-port setup, expanding your I/O options significantly via a single USB-C cable connected to your machine. It features a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports (dual 4K 120Hz on Windows, or single 4K/8K on Mac – full detailed breakdown right here), three USB-A ports, one downstream USB-C jack with 20W fast charging, 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, dual microSD/SD card readers, and a combo audio jack. It can also push 100W power passthrough action to your connected laptop or MacBook.
Native USB4 controller enables massive 40Gbps bandwidth for USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 systems. Connect your peripherals with 2x USB 10Gpbs ports, and 1x USB port 5Gbps. Connect to your network with a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port. Transfer data and images with SD and Micro SD card readers. Take advantage of the USB-C port with 10Gbps data and 20W fast charging for phones and tablets.
The new Plugable 11-in-1 USB4 Dual Monitor Docking Station (UD-4VPD) carries a $200 MSRP, and if you’re fast you can land one at $185 shipped via an ongoing launch discount on the official Amazon storefront.
Here’s a closer look at the specs:
- Dual 4K 120Hz displays
- 2x HDMI 2.1 ports for dual 4K 120Hz
- 100W charging
- 3x USB
- 1x USB Type C 10Gbps with 20W fast charging
- 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet
- SD card readers
- Combo audio jack
gadgetnewsonline’ Take
Plugable’s latest USB4 Dual Monitor Docking Station solution comes in with a nice silver metal build flanked with attractive black sides to house the I/O connection points, SD card readers (one for SD and one for microSD), and the power button. It’s not as much of a tank as some others I have tested, but it is definitely a solid build with smooth rounded corners and nice rubber feet along the bottom so it stays put. The overall design is a nice one, leaving a mostly clean silver box atop your work surface with minimal branding to ruin the vibes.
It also presents a relatively compact unit by comparison to some other 11-port models out there that can tend to be quite large and cumbersome for folks with minimal desktop real-estate. This new Plugable model has a small enough footprint to throw in a backpack if needed without taking up all that much space as well.
Plenty of folks asked me after my OWC review went live why its novel built-in power supply actually matters if you still have to plug it in anyway – the simple answer is the giant power brick that sits in between dock’s power jack and your wall outlet.
Plugable’s new 11-port model does require the quite large power brick that comes in the box, unlike the simple AC cable you need for the new OWC 11-port dock, but it’s also more than $150 less expensive and makes for a far smaller unit on your work surface. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a more then worthy trade-off, and I would presume it will be for others as well. The integrated power supply is certainly nice and you will need to find a place to hide the giant brick required with the Plugable variant, but you’re also scoring a very similar I/O expansion hub for significantly less cash – you can almost buy two Plugable 11-ports for the price of some brand’s options.
When it comes to I/O functionality, everything has worked perfectly in my testing. If you’re looking for a pair of 8K monitors, this isn’t the model for you – you’ll be hard-pressed to find one that can do that at this price and most folks don’t require that anyway. Just keep in mind, the docking station provides simple compatibility with Windows 10 or newer with 4K 120Hz video output requiring USB4 connections and, for those unfamiliar here, it can only support a single extended monitor on Mac systems as detailed in our launch coverage (up to 4K 60Hz, or 8K 60 Hz).
I think the Plugable USB4 Dual Monitor Docking Station’s real selling point here is the ability to score a fully-featured docking station that can sit next to the big brands in the space for a relatively competitive price tag. There are more affordable USB-C hubs out there with similar I/O for less, but Plugable is certainly presenting a well-made Thunderbolt 4/USB4 solution here with a solid metal build at a price lower than most of its closest competition.
On top of that, it is offering a nice $15 on-page coupon via Amazon during the launch phase, bringing the regular $200 11-port docking station down to $185 for a limited time as we mentioned above.
Buy the new Plugable UD-4VPD USB4 Dual HDMI Docking Station
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