CalDigitThunderbolt 4 Element Hub - Universal Multi-Port Hub, 4X Thunderbolt 4/USB4 Ports, 4X USB 3.2 Gen2 10Gb/s Ports, Single display up to 8K or Dual 4K 60Hz Displays, 60W Charging with 0.8m Cable

I use a Dell XPS laptop for work and a M2 MacBook Pro 16” for personal tasks. So it’s really important for me to be able to unplug the Thunderbolt lead from one laptop and plug it into the other and everything ‘just works’.I bought this based on YouTube reviews. Connected to the dock I have:- A 4k monitor (I have a USB C to Displayport cable)- A 2.5 GB Ethernet cable (using a UGreen USB C to Ethernet adaptor)- A keyboard and mouse USB A receiver- A 1080P Logitech USB A webcam- Occasionally a Thunderbolt Crucial removable SSD (for offline backups etc)I’ve been working like this for about a year now so this is a long term review. I had the old M1 MacBook Pro for the first 6 months and now the M2 as described above.On the positive side, it’s exceptionally stable and works exactly as I’d hoped. I can swap my MacBook and Dell laptop and everything just works flawlessly. If you are either a Dell XPS user or a MacBook user then this is perfect - clearly the swapping is specific to me but to use it with either of these products alone it would be ideal. I have never had any speed problems when everything is connected and running.In terms of cons, I have twice had my webcam crash during calls (twice in 12 months remember) and unplugging it from the dock and plugging it back in resolved this. I’m not 100% certain whether this is the dock’s fault or the webcam so I won’t deduct a star. Furthermore, the power brick is bigger than the dock itself and the cables come out at 3 angles - if you had this whole arrangement on top of your desk it would be hideous. I bought a cheap shelf to screw to the underside of my desk to hide everything instead which works great.One neutral point is that it charges at 65W, whereas some competing products offer a faster charge. Both my Dell and my Mac can charge at 100W, so they charge slower than their potential with this. For me, I actually like this since I believe that super fast charging degrades battery longevity, but this might be an issue to others so please think carefully about this.In summary, it’s perfect for me and has worked flawlessly for 12 months now.

My iMac set-up had become an untidy tangle of cables on my desk with a mixture of USB A, USB C, Firewire and others. Initially I was reluctant to pay the price of the CalDigit just to tidy up my desk, but it has proved a good investment. It works reliably and provides enough USB 4 and USB A ports for all my needs. My desk is much tidier and productive.

There was only one disappointment: I have a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2, to Firewire 800 to Firewire 400 chain to an old Focusrite audio interface which does not require high levels of power via the Firewire cable. I had hoped that the Element Hub would run on host power, but it appears to require the chunky power supply. This would be essential, anyway, for some high power Thunderbolt devices.The great news is that the above chain works very well with a Dell XPS 15 laptop. A USB Type C external SSD worked well in another Thunderbolt port with one more port still available. This is very handy for multiple Thunderbolt devices lacking the second 'chaining' Thunderbolt port.The Element Hub is compact, but has a heavy metal case with plastic 'runners' to avoid damage to tables. This is a real benefit as it resists the heavy Firewire 400 cable's attempt to pull it to the floor.It's taken a while for a product of this sort to appear and its support of Thunderbolt 4 makes it good value.

The hub is small, sturdy, looks good and works very well. The power brick is big and heavy, but this was not a problem for me.All ports are being used and all external devices work very well while plugged into it. My monitor is still on HDMI, but I bought an aditional adaptor HDMI -> USB C adapter (also from Caldigit for 4k@60HZ)One important thing to mention is that the laptop needs to be on the latest OS software version. In my case, I had to update to Big Sur for it to work and didn't experience any other issues afterwards. It also had a bit of a noise initially, but I can't notice it now anymore.Also, I would have liked the main power output to be higher than 60W. It's fine for my current equipment and I hope it's going to be ok for new 16" M2 Macbooks.

Perfect companion to my MBP and Studio Monitor as it has three useable Thunderbolt 4 ports plus 4 x USB-A ports. Would have liked to have seen the Thunderbolt 4 upstream port on the same side as the downstream ports (there is room) to limit the number of cable angles.Having the Thunderbolt specification means that it pushes this little hub into quite expensive territory but if you need that kind of connectivity then it is decent value in this respect.Very well made with a pleasing reversible design which allows the option to make the cables trail in the best way to suit your needs. The unit only gets warm to the touch.Note that due to Apple Mac OS specifications (from Big Sur onwards) 3rd party USB devices are limited in their current draw as a safety feature ie. performing a major iOS phone update connected by way of the hub, rather than directly with the computer caused a Mac alert that the USB device was requesting more power (than the specs would allow) and to disconnect the USB device (this is despite the MBP being plugged into mains power).All things considered it's a useful and very compact hub but expensive if you don't really require Thunderbolt 4 connectivity.