Unlike laptops of the past, laptops these days do not have much ports. This is especially so when you have a smaller and thinner laptop, such as the new Apple MacBook Air or Dell XPS 13.
While there are many USB-C docks out there to solve this issue, there is nothing quite like the Belkin Connect USB-C 11-in-1 Multiport Dock. Quite literally, this USB-C dock is exactly like what its name suggests.
- Price: S$149, get it at Shopee and Lazada
- Ports: 1 x 3.5mm jack, 1 x VGA, 1 x SD card reader, 1 x microSD card reader, 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x 4K HDMI, 1 x 4K DisplayPort, 1 x Ethernet, 1 x USB-C 100W PD
- Weight: 430g
It is a USB-C dock that has a USB-C cable, which connects to your USB-C laptop to give you 11 ports. These include a USB-C 100W Power Delivery (PD) port, a 3.5mm audio jack, a VGA port, a 4K DisplayPort, a 4K HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, an SD card reader, a microSD card reader and a Gigabit Ethernet port.
Instead of a big chunky box, this USB-C dock comes in the form of an aluminium slab that works as a laptop stand. It is angled at 10 degrees with a line of rubber on top to prevent your laptop from moving. To prevent the dock itself to move about, there are two rubber feet at the bottom.
As such, you can place your laptop on the dock securely to prop it up for a more comfortable typing angle. And with its 100W PD port, it charges your laptop at the same time while giving all the ports you need.
Not to mention, it also saves space on your table top as you practically just put your laptop on top of it. No need to leave precious table top space to place a USB-C dock.
| PROS | CONS |
| Gives you 11 ports from a single USB-C connection | Not cheap |
| Doubles as laptop stand | Ports sited at the rear |
| Supports multi-screen natively for Windows machine | |
| Charges your laptop via 100W PD USB-C port |
Due to macOS’ lack of support for Multi-Stream Transport (MST), Mac machines can only support mirroring if you connect multiple monitors via this dock. Only Windows machines support MST natively. So, you will be able to have multiple displays via this dock when you connect it with a Windows laptop. I was able to get a Huawei MateBook to work with two full high-definition (HD) monitors, via this dock’s HDMI port and VGA port.
However, if you have a MacBook Pro with a HDMI port, you can still get a dual screen with a video connection via a dock and another via the MacBook’s HDMI dock. For example, I could connect a 14-inch M1 MacBook Pro to two full HD monitors without mirroring in this manner. In other words, I have three screens to work with, which helps immensely in terms of productivity.
It is important to note that while the dock can support three displays, it is will only be at a resolution of 1,280 x 720 at 60Hz in MST for Windows machines. But it supports mirroring of up to three full HD monitors at 60Hz for Mac machines. Otherwise, all the ports work as advertised.
However, at S$149, this dock is not exactly cheap. But convenience comes at a price, I guess.
In addition, all ports are sited at the rear. As such, it is a minor hassle when you need to plug in your USB thumb drive or insert your SD card. But this is a minor quirk compared to having no way to plug in a USB 3.0 hard drive or transfer photos via an SD card.
VERDICT: The Belkin Connect USB-C 11-in-1 Multiport Dock is probably the only USB-C dock you will ever need if you have a USB-C laptop. It offers plenty of ports while doubling as a laptop stand.