Docking station wanted for MacBook Air M4

[Sameroney]

Hello everyone,
I bought a MacBook Air and I’m thrilled. 🙂
(APPLE MacBook Air 15" M4, 10-Core CPU, 10-Core GPU, 16/256 GB, Midnight, MW1L3D/A)
I come from Windows and I feel that the device is high-quality, fast, has no annoying fan, and simply brings joy.
Over 1000 euros is a lot of money for me, but so far it has really been worth it.
I want to use the MacBook both stationary and on the go, because the performance is absolutely sufficient for my needs.
My current desktop PC is an old box, so I’m planning to buy a docking station.
The goal is to connect all peripheral devices to the dock and use only a single cable between the MacBook and the dock.
According to ChatGPT, this should work – meaning power supply, HDMI, mouse/keyboard, audio, etc. via one Thunderbolt USB-C cable.
For mobile use, I would then only have to unplug this one cable, which would be great since I want to use the MacBook regularly on the go.
Unplugging one cable is more convenient than 2 or 3.
I want a docking station that really fits, so I worked out my requirements with ChatGPT:
Connection via only one cable (USB-C/Thunderbolt) for:
Power supply, monitor/HDMI, audio, USB devices, Ethernet


Power Delivery at least 65 W, preferably 85–100 W


One external monitor is enough, so 1× HDMI 4K@60 Hz


USB ports: at least 2–3 (USB-C or USB-A), more would be nice
→ important for audio interface, mouse/keyboard, etc.


Audio interface will be connected via USB
→ 3.5 mm jack as an extra for occasional use


Gigabit Ethernet is sufficient (50 Mbit connection)


macOS compatible, plug & play


An elegant, minimalist setup is important to me
→ Option A: compact dock with external power supply or
→ Option B: larger dock with integrated power supply
Now I’m curious which docking station you use or can recommend. 🙂
I would prefer not to spend several hundred euros, since there are also many expensive docks.
Because at a certain price point, I could instead think about a Mac mini as a stationary computer and use the MacBook only on the go.
So I would love a great price-performance model – but of course it still has to meet the necessary requirements.
The MacBook should basically remain in standby.
There is no power button on docks for Macs, which is okay for me.
I would then wake it up via mouse or keyboard.
ChatGPT recommended disabling Wake-on-LAN and Wake-on-Bluetooth to avoid unwanted wake-ups.
As you can see: I have many questions, but I’m an absolute beginner in this field.
I’m simply looking for a reasonable dock that meets my requirements – so that I can use a quiet device both stationary and mobile, and preferably with just one USB-C cable as the connection.
Thank you very much in advance for your tips and advice,
Johannes

 

[raythompsontn]

Check the OWC docking stations. They have devices with 11 ports that would satisfy your needs. A single cable to your machine. I have a couple and they work really well with no issue. Be prepared to spend some money to get a good docking station that will satisfy your needs.

 

[JayKay514]

Most docking stations that provide power delivery have external power supplies - there's no way around it in terms of the size of the transformer required, particularly for Thunderbolt hubs.

I have owned the CalDigit TS3 which ticks all your boxes, and the newer TS4 and TS5 are worth looking at as well.

If you don't need that many ports, the CalDigit Element 4 or Element 5 hubs give you a good number of ports (3 downstream Thunderbolt, 2 USB-C, and 3 USB-A ports), so if you needed HDMI out you could use a USB-to-HDMI or Thunderbolt-to-HDMI adaptor.

A lot of the cheaper docking stations do not provide the same level of compatibility with Macs or operate only via USB-C, so be careful about the specs!

 

[JPack]

The good thing is you only need one HDMI output, so it should be cheap (under $100). But then you asked for 3.5mm output which makes it expensive again.

Charging docks with a built in power supply are rare. Lenovo makes one called the X9. But it only has a couple of USB ports, one HDMI, and card reader.