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Anker's Latest USB-C Docking Station Brings Triple-Display Support to M1 Macs

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While Apple's early M1-based Macs can only officially support a single external display, there are ways around the limitation. Anker is launching a new 10-in-1 USB-C docking station today which delivers just that.

anker-563-dock-ports.jpg

The Anker 563 USB-C dock includes two HDMI ports and a DisplayPort port, and it leverages DisplayLink to carry multiple video signals over a single connection. Given that this hub operates over a single USB-C cable, there are bandwidth limitations that limit the quality of displays you can attach.

anker-563-dock-displays.jpg

If you want to add a single 4K display, you can do that from one of the HDMI ports, but it will only run at 30Hz. A second HDMI display and/or a DisplayPort display will be then limited to 2K resolution each at either 50Hz or 60Hz depending on configuration, so while this dock may be a solid solution for productivity setups where you don't necessarily need high resolutions and refresh rates, users should be aware of the limitations.


Beyond the display support, the Anker 563 dock includes a wealth of other ports, including a USB-C Power Delivery port that provides up to 100 watts to the host computer, and a pair of 5 Gbps downstream USB ports: one USB-C at up to 30 watts and one USB-A at up to 7.5 watts. Two additional USB-A 2.0 ports are good for peripherals like mice and keyboards, while a Gigabit Ethernet port and an AUX in/out port round out the setup.

anker-563-dock-charging.jpg

The Anker 563 measures in at a little under 7 inches by a little over 3 inches and just about an inch thick, although it's powered by a 180-watt external brick. It's priced at $249.99 and is available now from Anker and Amazon.

In other Anker news, several of the company's recently announced products are now available to ship, including the massive 757 Portable Power Station ($1399 at Anker and Amazon) and the Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K Projector ($2199 at Nebula and Amazon).

anker-may-2022-collage.jpg

The highly anticipated Anker 736 100-watt GaN charger that immediately sold out when it launched in black last month is also now available in white for $79.99 at Amazon. And finally, the AnkerMake M5 3D printer is in its final days on Kickstarter, where it has seen over 11,000 backers and is looking to hit its final stretch goal at $9 million in pledges.

Update May 20: This article was updated to note that the dock uses DisplayLink rather than Multi-Stream Transport to support multiple displays.

MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Anker and Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Article Link: Anker's Latest USB-C Docking Station Brings Triple-Display Support to M1 Macs
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/05/18/anker-usb-c-dock-triple-display/
Last edited:
Arsenikdote

Arsenikdote

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This dock is what I prefer. It has good connectivity options and has great ports on the front and back. Too many docks either try and hide all the ports in the back or put ports everywhere and make it look like a spider's web. Plus it doesn't hurt that Anker typically makes very solid products! The price is quite a bit, but compared to the CalDigit's, its not too bad.
 
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CoolSpot

CoolSpot

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Jan 6, 2004
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This thing seems kinda ******.

60hz is the bare minimum for monitors and the PC world is rapidly moving to 120+hz for everything. I think the OWC thunderbolt hubs/docks are supporting multiple 4K displays at 60hz so I don't know why they didn't do that here.

I would rather not use a monitor than use one at 30hz.

What am I missing?
 
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fwmireault

fwmireault

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MacRumors said:
If you want to add a single 4K display, you can do that from one of the HDMI ports, but it will only run at 30Hz. A second HDMI display and/or a DisplayPort display will be then limited to 2K resolution each at either 50Hz or 60Hz
Click to expand...
Thanks but no thanks. I prefer dual 4K 60Hz (or more) displays than triple low refresh rate and low resolution displays
 
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4jasontv

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CoolSpot said:
I think the OWC thunderbolt hubs/docks are supporting multiple 4K displays at 60hz so I don't know why they didn't do that here.
Click to expand...
Which OWC dock are you thinking about? I see this one, which I agree is more powerful for only $50 more, but it's still limited to two displays. And, per the tiny print only on Intel Macs.
 
CoolSpot

CoolSpot

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4jasontv said:
Which OWC dock are you thinking about? I see this one, which I agree is more powerful for only $50 more, but it's still limited to two displays. And, per the tiny print only on Intel Macs.
Click to expand...
I didn't see that fine print. That's pretty obnoxious.

So whats the actual solution for driving 2 external displays on an M1 macbook Air?
 
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crsh1976

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Jun 13, 2011
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4k @ 30 Hz certainly doesn't sound great, tho this sort of comprise makes sense given what they are circumventing - namely Apple's official limitation on first-gen M1 models that only support one external display.

I'm typing this on a 13-inch MBP M1, even outputting 2k @ 60 Hz over HDMI sometimes fails (DP is much more reliable) for some strange reason, hopyfully this dock is solid.
 
4jasontv

4jasontv

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CoolSpot said:
I didn't see that fine print. That's pretty obnoxious.

So whats the actual solution for driving 2 external displays on an M1 macbook Air?
Click to expand...
IDK. My understanding is you get one external on the M1, two on the Pro, and three on the Max. Otherwise, you are limited to a display over USB 3, which means sub-4K with low refresh rates.

But I am totally open to being corrected if someone can provide links.
 
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SeenJeen

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I bought a USB-C hub that does 4K60hz over HDMI and offers 2 X USB-A @ 5gbps , 1 X USB-C @ 5gbps and 1 X USB-C for power delivery (100W) for $40 on Amazon. The non-PD ports only deliver 5W each but I don't really care.

Are there real TB4 dock solutions yet that don't have astronomical prices?
 
Arsenikdote

Arsenikdote

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Sep 20, 2013
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SeenJeen said:
I bought a USB-C hub that does 4K60hz over HDMI and offers 2 X USB-A @ 5gbps , 1 X USB-C @ 5gbps and 1 X USB-C for power delivery (100W) for $40 on Amazon. The non-PD ports only deliver 5W each but I don't really care.

Are there real TB4 dock solutions yet that don't have astronomical prices?
Click to expand...

You can get practically any Chinese computer accessory on Amazon for cheap, but I am not sure how that relates to the problem this dock is trying to solve. This dock is meant to solve the issue of being able to use two or three displays on an M1 Mac.
 
D

danieldk

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Aug 28, 2009
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Greggers135 said:
okay I was a little thrown, it is using DisplayLink and requires the software to be installed to support the triple monitor. That is a little different than DisplayPort Multi-Stream Transport.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Avoid anything using DisplayLink like the plague. Also, I'd first check if this Dock has a Realtek ethernet NIC or a proper PCIe Intel or Broadcom NIC. The Realtek NICs use the generic USB CDC-ECM driver, which often only reaches ~700-900MBit/s and puts a pretty heavy load on a core while doing that.
 
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SeenJeen

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Arsenikdote said:
You can get practically any Chinese computer accessory on Amazon for cheap, but I am not sure how that relates to the problem this dock is trying to solve. This dock is meant to solve the issue of being able to use two or three displays on an M1 Mac.
Click to expand...
Yes but no 4K displays at 60hz? You'd still have to plug a primary display through another port.
 
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asdfjkl;

asdfjkl;

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Sep 24, 2015
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This is NOT MST. This dock has a Display Link adapter built in. This is how it provides 3 monitor support for M1 Macs. So everyone complaining that this just doesn't drive high enough resolution / refresh rates is ... well kind of right. The actual limitation is the M1. Display Link is the only way the base M1 is going to support multiple monitors. 2K monitors will be the max resolution @60Hz. For programmers and office workers this is just fine. If you are in the business of multi-media content creation then you need a Mac with an M1 Pro / Max / Ultra.
 
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