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A MacBook is a great laptop that is missing half a desk. HDMI, Ethernet, USB-A, an SD slot, and a charger that still works while all of that is plugged in: that is the real shopping list. I do not need eighteen ports. I need the ones that stop me from carrying a pouch of dongles.

The Anker 555 USB-C Hub (8-in-1) is the one that stays on my desk for that job. Mid-ticket, usually $35–$50. Model A8383, Amazon ASIN B087QZVQJX. This is a buying note from an engineer who uses a Mac, not a lab report. Specs below are from Anker's product page and the Amazon listing.

Check the Anker 555 on Amazon →

What a MacBook actually needs on a desk

Apple ships thin laptops. The ports you lose are the ones a desk still uses:

• One decent display. HDMI that can do 4K. On a normal USB-C hub, that is one monitor, not two. Anker lists the 555's HDMI as 4K@60Hz when the host USB-C port supports DisplayPort 1.4 (4K@30Hz if the host is only DP 1.2). Current MacBooks are in the first camp.
• Power while everything is plugged in. You should not have to choose between the hub and the charger. Anker's page says the PD-in port takes up to 100W and passes through about 85W to the laptop (they subtract ~15W for the hub). The Amazon title currently says "85W Max PD." That is enough for a MacBook Air and most 14-inch MacBook Pro days. A 16-inch MacBook Pro can take more than 85W at the wall; this hub will still charge it, just not at the brick's full rating. Charger is not included.
• Ethernet. Café Wi-Fi is a coin flip. Gigabit on the hub is the boring fix. Anker lists 1 Gbps.
• USB-A leftovers. Keyboards, receivers, and cheap accessories that never moved to USB-C. Two USB-A data ports, listed at 10 Gbps. Data only, not chargers.
• SD. Camera cards, Pi images, the occasional dump from a phone. SD and microSD, UHS-I according to Anker. Fine for a desk. Not a UHS-II workflow tool.

There is also a USB-C data port, listed at 10 Gbps. Anker is explicit: that port does not do video and does not charge. Video is HDMI only.

The honest Apple silicon limit

If you have an M-series Mac and a normal USB-C hub — this one included — you get one external display. That is Apple's DisplayPort-over-USB-C limit on the chips that only drive one extra screen, not Anker hiding a second HDMI. The 555 has one HDMI. It cannot magic a second 4K@60 panel onto a base M1/M2/M3/M4 Mac.

Skip this hub if you need dual 4K@60 on Apple silicon. You are shopping for a Thunderbolt 4 dock (on a Pro/Max machine that actually has the extra display engines) or a DisplayLink dock (third-party driver, extra CPU work, different failure modes). I am not going to pretend a $40 hub is a CalDigit. It is not.

Also skip it if you need downstream Thunderbolt, 2.5 GbE, or daisy-chained storage. Those are dock features. This is a hub.

If you have one 4K monitor, a keyboard dongle, an Ethernet drop, and an SD card, stay. That is the job.

Anker 555 on Amazon (B087QZVQJX) →

What I actually do with it

A walkthrough of the same 8-in-1 layout (HDMI, Ethernet, USB-A, SD, PD-in):

If you want the wider dock-versus-hub comparison (CalDigit TS4, Plugable, UGREEN), I already wrote that roundup: USB-C hubs and docking stations for a Mac desk.

I keep it on the desk, not in a travel pouch. MacBook opens, hub cable goes in, HDMI and Ethernet stay put. USB-A is for the leftovers that still exist in 2026. SD is there when I need it. I did not A/B twelve hubs and I did not run a three-month thermal lab. I bought a hub that matched the port list above, and this is the one that stayed.

Anker notes the hub can get warm under load — they quote about 122°F / 50°C as normal when it is fully loaded or on a PD adapter. Warm is expected. If yours is too hot to keep on a closed MacBook, put it on the desk, not on the chassis.

You still need a USB-C charger that supports Power Delivery if you want the laptop to charge through the hub. Plug the charger into the hub's PD-in port, not into the data USB-C.

Who this is for — and who should skip it

Buy it for a MacBook Air or 14-inch MacBook Pro, one external display, mixed USB-A junk, maybe Ethernet. Or if you are replacing a pile of single-port dongles with one brick.

Skip it for dual 4K@60 on M-series (Thunderbolt 4 or DisplayLink). Skip it if you need two HDMI ports, DisplayPort, or a downstream TB4 port. Skip it if you own a 16-inch MacBook Pro and care about hitting the full charger wattage: 85W to the laptop is Anker's number, not "100W at the machine."

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See the Anker 555 (8-in-1) on Amazon →