'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?
ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.
ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.
Is this $69 USB-C docking station the ultimate mobile accessory?
ZDNET Recommends
Shoppers for multi-port USB hubs and monitor adapters may be familiar with Plugable, the computer accessories maker behind some of the best docking stations we've tested at ZDNET.
Today, the company is expanding its lineup with its first "for mobile" docking station, one that can extend the contents of your phone or tablet onto a monitor as high-resolution as 4K, while giving your device a bevy of essential ports and 100W pass-through charging.
Also: This clever laptop mount turns your phone into a second screen
The dock typically sells for $69, but for a limited time, Plugable is offering a $20 discount to early-bird shoppers, bringing the multi-functional hub down to $49.
Such docking stations are not new by any means; a generic Amazon search presents me with a series of alternatives that function similarly but are missing a feature or two that Plugable's offers.
The standout feature to me is the tilt-adjustable stand (see image below), which turns an otherwise docked and forgotten phone or tablet into a secondary display that can actually be interacted with.
Plugable says the docking station is compatible with most phones and tablets, including the latest Samsung Galaxy S22 (and tomorrow's S23 series, I'd suppose), the iPad Pro, and the Microsoft Surface Pro 9 -- devices that ZDNET's review team has found to be more than capable of running solo for work and play.
Also: This discreet dock transforms my laptop into a fully featured desktop PC
For the best pairing, I'd suggest any device that has a mobile-to-desktop feature like Samsung's DeX or Motorola's Ready For, services that can take full advantage of an external monitor for productivity.
Other specs of the Plugable Docking Station include a series of ports: two USB 3.0 (5Gbps), SD and microSD ports, an audio jack that supports input and output, and an HDMI port that can extend up to a 4K 30Hz monitor. There's also 100W USB-C pass-through charging to keep your phone topped up while it's docked, besting the 30-60W ratings of the alternatives listed earlier.