A few weeks ago, I received a 2019 MacBook Air as a graduation gift (thank you Mom!). Soon after setting up my MacBook, I decided to do something about the lack of USB-A ports. I ended up buying a UGREEN 6 in 1 USB-C Hub off of Amazon, but was extremely disappointed in its performance. I noticed that the UGREEN Hub got very hot during use, and also required a driver installation for the ethernet port to function. I returned it and decided to buy the uni USB-C 8 in 1 Hub. I bought the package directly from the manufacturer, which meant it took a while to ship. Here's a picture of the listing:
And here's what it looked like in real life:
The hub looks and feels fantastic! To keep it short, here is a summary of why I think the uni Hub is superior to the UGREEN Hub:
- Soft Silicone Exterior
- Detachable USB-C Cable
- 100W Power Delivery
- Driverless Gigabit Ethernet
- A USB 2.0 Port
And of course, an explanation of each of the benefits:
- The soft exterior helps prevent the hub from scratching the laptop, a problem I actually experienced with the previous UGREEN Hub.
- The detachable cable means I can use any cable between the hub and the laptop. Even my Apple USB-C Charge cable works, although the HDMI doesn't function. This is useful if the cable breaks, frays, etc.
- The fact that the uni Hub has a 100W power rating means that it has good thermal design and will not overheat as much.
- Since there are no drivers required for the ethernet adapter, this adapter will work with virtually any computer I encounter.
- The computer sends both USB 3.1 and DisplayPort signals over the USB-C cable, allocating 2 data lanes each. Most hubs leave the USB 2.0 lane unused, but the uni Hub will tap into that unused bandwidth! For a diagram showing how all this works, check out the AnandTech guide on DisplayPort Alternate Mode.
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