Anker Laptop Docking Station Dual Monitor, 8-in-1 USB C Hub with 4K HDMI

What I like

Plug-and-play. One USB-C cable in, several ports out. No drivers, no setup, no configuration.

HDMI output for plugging into a hotel-room TV or conference projector without an adapter.

SD card reader for moving photos off a camera. The microSD reader is a bonus.

Two USB-A ports are enough for a mouse, a USB stick, or a card reader I already own.

85 W pass-through charging means I can keep my laptop charged through the hub when I have a USB-C charger handy.

Lives in the laptop bag and is ready when I travel. It is the kind of accessory that pays for itself the first time you really need it.

Compact and light. I forget it is in the bag until I need it.

What annoys me

Not a daily driver on my home desk. My home computers already have the ports I need, so the hub sits in the bag most of the time.

Bus-powered. No battery, no separate power input. I am not trying to power a hungry external device through it, so this is fine, but it is not a “real docking station” with its own power supply.

One HDMI output. If I wanted to drive two external monitors, I would need a different hub or a dock with display-multiplication support. The transcript says “second HDMI port,” and this hub gives me one, not two.

No Ethernet port. Wireless works almost everywhere I travel, but a wired Ethernet jack would be a real bonus on hotel networks that block Wi-Fi or charge for it.

I do not actually use it on my Mac mini. It would work, but I have not built the habit of plugging the mini through the hub. That is a me problem, not an Anker problem.

Who it is for, and who should skip it

If you travel with a laptop and need HDMI, an SD card reader, extra USB-A, and the option to charge the laptop through a single cable, this is the right tool. It is small enough to leave in the bag and useful enough to justify its weight.

Skip it if you want a full desktop dock with its own power supply, multiple display outputs, Ethernet, and the ability to drive a multi-monitor workstation. That is a different product class, and a single USB-C hub with bus power will not do that job.

Skip it if your laptop already has every port you need. The hub is solving a missing-port problem, and if you do not have one, it will just sit in your bag.

Verdict

The Anker USB-C 7-in-1 hub is a small, useful travel accessory that lives in my laptop bag and earns its place every time I take a trip. It is not exciting. It is not a daily driver. It is the kind of thing that disappears into your workflow and then you are grateful for it when you need it.

Grade: A—if you want a single-cable travel dock for a laptop or Mac mini. Buy the linked listing if your use case matches mine.

(3 years now I have had this and today is July 12th 2025. I literally love this thing so much I came back yet again to tell you after 3 years it works just as good as the day I originally got it. It is scuffed and scratched, has the remnants of tape and stickers i applied over the years, it has seen much wear, tear, and abuse by me, and works perfectly! ANKER makes great products, but especially nowadays when there is so much cheap garbage out there, everything i have brought by ANKER just works everytime. The only time I have had an issue? Is when I broke something, or dropped it under a car wheel (I actually did this with the first one I bought, not from Amazon, but a few months beforehand, it still worked until I started messing with it to see if it still functions lol), because I tend to be extremely irresponsible with my portable electronics. If you do buy this, and you forget to order a power supply, I bought a 100w power supply from Walmart for it, that is also three years old and works great as well. If it makes it 5 years, I'll be back to tell you about it. Now, keep reading to see the first review i left awhile ago)

This thing is so awesome. I had to come back and write another review first off. You will need a 100 watt power supply to go with it separately just get that out-of-the-way. You can get one at Walmart for fairly cheap. That’s what I did and after about six months, I actually glued the hub permanently to the power supply so they would never be separated now let me tell you how versatile this thing is you can take your iPad plug it into the little USB-C sticking out of the end of it then you could take an HDMI cord from the hub and plug it into your TV. If you have a splitter, you can do it into several TVs or several monitors. It has a microSD card for all your pictures. It has a not as micro a little bigger memory card can’t remember what they’re called but they go in like cameras and stuff SD cards? It reads those two it’s got a USB-C out so you can charge your phone if you have an iPhone and an iPad like I do it connects your iPhone into your iPad together so you can play video games on your phone on your giant screen of your iPad running an HDMI cord to your TV now you’re playing on your phone on your monitor and your TV and your iPad all at the same time and see how awesome I’m saying this is you can plug a keyboard into it and a microphone and a mouse and now your live streaming your gaming on your iPad your monitor your TV your projector I’ve even hooked mine to a projector! I’ve literally spent hours trying to see how many items I could plug into this thing and run at the same time just so I could put it on my YouTube channel and show off and have people give me no props, shake their heads, and say I’ve got way too much free time on my hands. Doesn’t that sound amazing? That could be you. One guy who made fun of me relentlessly in the comment section a week later asked me where I could get one and guess what I told him I could get one for twice the amount that I paid for it and he paid me so I win guess what I do with the money? I bought a midi cord that I plugged into my MPC so I could play music on GarageBand on my phone. Had another cord going from the hub to a monitor where I could watch OBS for studio live streaming as a third cord projected the entire image on a wall, 6 feet across while I produce this music a microphone that I also had plugged it into the hub was recording me freestyle horribly because I cant rap, but all of those magic moments captured on a small SD card also plugged into the hub at the time I just left in the hub and when I was done, all I had to do was unplugged the USB-C from my phone into my computer and transfer all the information over i’ve plugged my GoPro into it from my GoPro. I was able to power a light and a microphone this thing is endless possibilities. Do yourself a favor and get one anchor products are amazing and guess what I’ve stepped on this thing countless times my dog thrown it across the room. It’s fallen downstairs. I dropped a puddle of water put it in a bowl of rice it still works. I should be selling these things man they’re incredible.

I was finally looking for a “docking station” that I could plug my HDMI monitors into and be able to extend the screen from my laptop. NOT MIRROR. And FINALLY I found the one!!! And I love that I didn’t have to download a software to use it! Small so it won’t take up a ton of room which is awesome. This does EXACTLY what I needed it to do. Def would recommend and it didn’t break the bank.

I’ve used this Anker PowerExpand 8-in-1 USB-C hub since February 2023 — about three and a half years — and I’m still pretty happy with it. What I like most is having all these ports coming off one USB-C. Otherwise everything works great and it’s still going.

The listing pitches dual HDMI, Ethernet, USB-A, SD/microSD, and USB-C Power Delivery pass-through charging up to about 85W (with a suitable high-watt charger and cable). The port expansion side of that has been solid for me. The power-delivery side has not. My laptop should have been able to charge through the hub, and it did not. In my experience the power numbers they claim are false for actual charging.

Four stars instead of five because of that PD/charging mismatch. Not lower, because the ports still do what I bought it for and I’m still using it.

Works as advertised. I unplugged the usb-c power cable and plugged it back in to the USB-C PD-IN Charging Port. Then, for best results, unplug docking station from laptop (if you have plugged it in), wait a few seconds and plug it back in (where the power cable was). Once I did that my Windows 11 started charging again. I also think it requires the laptop to be set up to charge with the USB-C power supply before it will work properly. I have an old HP that I can try to verify this if it has a USB-C port. I did find out that both my monitors still work even without the USB-C power supply plugged into the docking station, so required power can go both ways. This is great for power outages lasting less than one hour since I have my monitors plugged into a UPS battery backup.

This is a very easy to use and convenient multiport hub. I needed more ports since my Macbook Air has only USB-C on it and this hub is perfect for my use. Just plug in and you’re all set! It reads my SD cards and USB sticks with no problem and no issues with compatibility. I was a little concerned after seeing the sticky residue when I peeled the sticker off the top, but I just rubbed over it a little with my fingers and the sticky residue came right off (see pics). So overall, I’m very happy with this hub!

Works as it should. The build is good. I used it for with Samsung 26 ultra in Dex mode to edit photos from sd card.

I bought this to use with my MacBook for work, and it’s been a really useful all-in-one hub. One of the biggest advantages is not having to carry separate adapters for HDMI, USB devices, and SD cards. It makes it much easier to connect everything I need at my desk or when working away from home.

The HDMI connection worked well with an external monitor, and the USB ports have been useful for keyboard/mouse and flash drives. The pass-through charging is also a big plus since it lets me keep my MacBook powered while still expanding the number of ports available. That makes a big difference if your MacBook already has limited ports to begin with.

I also like that it’s compact and easy to keep in a laptop bag, so it works well for both a desk setup and travel. It can get a little warm during longer use, but that seems pretty normal for a small hub doing multiple things at once. Overall, this has been a helpful and convenient accessory for turning a MacBook into a more practical work setup.