Most of us rely on multiple devices to get through the day. These are great to stay productive, but things can often get a little messy on the connectivity side. Before you know, you’re dealing with a whole bunch of cables and adapters on your desk; not a good sight.
If you’re looking to make your workstation cleaner and more efficient, investing in a docking station can be a smart choice. These tiny but mighty devices serve as a connectivity hub, letting you add multiple external peripherals at the same time, plus charge your essentials as well. Today is a great time to pick a top-rated option, as Amazon’s early Black Friday sale has dropped the price of the 14-port Anker Prime Docking Station by 30%. It’s now available for just $210, after a whopping $90 discount. The deal applies to the gray color option and is open to all shoppers. The black version is going for $272 (down from $340), but the discount is exclusive to Prime members on that one. Note that most early deals wrap up before the event, which means this one is only around for a limited time. It’s best to grab it sooner rather than later.
Multiple Ports for Multiple Essentials
Anker has packed this docking station with 14 ports in total. You’re getting a 140W 10Gbps USB-C upstream port, two 100W 10Gbps USB-C ports, one 100W 5Gbps USB-C port, two HDMI ports, one DisplayPort, two 5Gbps USB-A ports, one 480Mbps USB-A port, a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port, a headphone and mic combo jack, and SD and TF card slots. That’s enough to add all your essentials without feeling limited. Think mouse, keyboard, laptop, external monitors, headphones, external storage, and more.
The three USB-C ports at the front support both charging and data transfer. You can juice your laptop up with up to 140W via the upstream port, and use the rest to charge other devices. The full 140W power can be achieved when you only have the laptop connected at the front. The two HDMI and DisplayPort let you add up to three external monitors to your setup simultaneously, including one in 8K.
The station is compatible with both macOS 13.5 or later and Windows 10/11, but you will need to install the latest DisplayLink driver if you want to add more screens to the setup. It’s not that complicated, as all that you need to do is head over to the Anker website, find the DisplayLink installer that matches your system, and proceed with the download. Just make sure to uninstall any older versions of the driver already on your system, and then follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process. macOS users will also need to enable screen recording and allow the driver to launch automatically after login to proceed.
The process shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, and once it’s done, you can enjoy multitasking on a bigger setup. Take video calls on one screen and present using the other. Or work on your main display, while having reference material and relevant documents open on the others! The possibilities are endless.
There’s also a smart display on the front, just above the USB-C ports. It provides real-time updates on charging power, display performance, and other settings. Anker has even included a built-in fan paired with ActiveShield 3.0 to keep things cool as the docking station works. The box comes with the docking station itself, USB-C to USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 cable for upstream port (3.3 ft, 10 Gbps), 6ft AC power cord, safety sheet with user manual, and a 24-month warranty for some extra peace of mind.
Get your orders in fast, before Amazon decides to shoot the price back up to the not-so-friendly $300.
