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Apple’s MacBook line is very popular among people who want a simple, powerful mobile computer with solid battery life and excellent build quality. While MacBooks are pretty good on their own, you can significantly improve their functionality and everyday experience with the right set of accessories. Anker, the mobile accessories brand, offers several products that work well with MacBooks, including its popular wall chargers and power banks. The company’s accessories portfolio includes gadgets such as USB-C hubs, Thunderbolt docks and Ethernet adapters, fully compatible with macOS.
Anker accessories are generally appreciated for their good build quality and reasonable price. The company also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for undamaged products purchased directly from it as well as a standard limited warranty. If you’re looking to expand your MacBook accessory arsenal, we’ve handpicked some of the best options from Anker, after carefully considering the feature set, buyer reviews, and expert opinion.
Anker 737 Power Bank
If you’re often away from wall outlets and need something to power your MacBook, Anker’s 737 power bank is worth considering. It comes with three USB ports, including two USB-C, which you can use to charge different devices, including your MacBook. The USB-C ports, when used individually, can deliver up to 140W of power, enough to charge every MacBook model, including the Pro versions, at maximum speed. The power bank also meets TSA battery restrictions for flights. Therefore, you can travel with it in your hand luggage without any problem.
You can also charge the power bank quite quickly, as it supports 140W charging; however, you will need a wall adapter of this power to take advantage of this feature. Additionally, you have a built-in screen that can tell you the remaining battery, charging speed of connected devices, battery status, etc. It is important to keep in mind that although the power bank has a marketed battery capacity of 24,000 mAh, the rated capacity is only 13,500 mAh. As a result, you’ll only have around 13,500mAh battery backup, which is enough to fully charge a MacBook Air.
The Anker 737 Power Bank costs $110 at list price and has received a good average rating of 4.4 out of 5 on Amazon. Buyers who own a MacBook are generally happy with it, liking its fast charging, smart display, and availability of multiple charging ports. However, buyers note that it’s bulky and heavy and stops charging if you connect a device to charge it.
Anker Prime TB5 Docking Station
If you want to upgrade your MacBook’s port selection or set everything up for a desktop experience, Anker’s Prime TB5 Dock can help. It’s quite powerful and comes with an excellent selection of ports, including two Thunderbolt 5 ports, two 10Gbps USB-C ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a DP 2.1 port. You also get a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port and three 10Gbps USB Type-A ports. Additionally, the dock can charge the connected MacBook and supports up to 140W charging. It is important to remember that this dock works best with Thunderbolt 5 ports. Although it will work with older Thunderbolt ports, functionality will decrease, as these ports have lower bandwidth.
Experts at Woozad, Apple Insider, and Tech Radar have good things to say about its solid build, excellent port selection, and power delivery support. However, its $400 price tag, slow SD card slot, and bulky design raise some concerns. Amazon shoppers also gave the dock a reasonable average rating of 4.1 out of 5. If the Anker TB5 dock isn’t in your budget, you can consider the Anker Nano dock as an alternative. However, since it’s not a Thunderbolt dock, it lacks some features, the main one being its inability to extend your MacBook’s display beyond an additional screen.
Anker Nano USB-C Hub
Whether you don’t want to invest in a huge docking station or just need something portable to expand your MacBook’s port selection on the go, the Anker Nano USB-C hub is worth considering. It adds seven ports to your MacBook; However, a USB-C port is limited to the power input, which can take up to 100W from a wall outlet and charge your MacBook at up to 85W. Other ports include a 5Gbps USB-C port, two 5Gbps USB Type-A ports, an HDMI port, and two card slots. It works with all MacBook models, including the Neo.
Another highlight of the USB-C hub is its sleek and compact aluminum chassis, which not only looks good but also helps with heat dissipation. The Anker Nano USB-C hub costs $36 at list price (available for $30 at the time of writing) and has an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 on Amazon. Buyers like its port selection, pricing, and build quality. However, some people complain about its reliability and faulty units.
Anker Charger (140W, 4 ports, PD 3.1)
With Apple’s support for USB Power Delivery (USB PD) on all MacBook models, you’re not limited to proprietary power supplies and can choose a charger that meets your needs. Anker offers a pretty decent option in its 140W power brick that contains four ports for powering multiple devices simultaneously. Additionally, as the name suggests, it can deliver up to 140W of power using a single port, which is enough to charge any MacBook at maximum speed. As for other features, there is also a USB Type-A port, which will be useful for charging accessories or peripherals.
Another notable feature of the Anker offering is the built-in smart display that provides information on the power sent to connected devices as well as the total power output of the adapter. The company also provides a USB cable in the box. Tech Radar and MacWorld experts also like the Anker wall adapter and its multiport fast charging.
The Anker 140W charger will cost you $80, and you can choose from two color options. Amazon shoppers gave it a 4.4 out of 5, highlighting its loading speeds, built-in smart display, and build quality. That said, a small selection of buyers are seeing faulty units and overheating issues.
Anker PowerExp USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
There are clear benefits to using an Ethernet connection over Wi-Fi on your MacBook, as you get a more reliable connection and lower latency. However, Apple does not include an Ethernet port on any of its current MacBooks. Fortunately, there is a simple solution to this problem. You can either opt for the Anker dock we mentioned or grab the Anker PowerExpand USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet adapter to simply convert the existing USB-C or Thunderbolt port to an Ethernet port as needed. It is easy to use, lightweight and compact. It also uses nylon braiding for better cable durability.
Unfortunately, because this is a Gigabit Ethernet adapter, you’re limited to 1Gbps or lower speeds, and if you have a faster connection and want to enjoy the same speeds on your MacBook, this will be a bottleneck. In such a case, you would be better off getting a faster adapter.
The Anker PowerExpand USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter is available on Amazon for $17. It also received an excellent average rating of 4.8 out of 5 from Amazon buyers, who highlight its functionality and reliability. However, some buyers complain that their devices broke down or stopped working within weeks or months of using them.
How We Selected These Anker MacBook Accessories
Anker offers a wide range of accessories that you can use with your MacBook. However, not all accessories offer the same experience or are equally compatible. When selecting our recommendations, we focused on accessories that work with all MacBook models and can be useful to the majority of users. We consulted buyer reviews and expert feedback, where available, to narrow down our selection. Finally, all of our recommendations received an average rating of at least 4 out of 5 on Amazon, indicating that they are generally well-received by users.
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