I often hear from Chromebook owners that their device doesn’t have enough ports for them. I can sympathize, having bought a USB-C hub myself that I use daily with my Chromebook. You now have more choices that offer guaranteed compatibility as Hyper has 3 “Works with Chromebook” USB-C that were recently certified. All of the new hubs will be available in August.
Hyper, which earlier this week was acquired by Targus, has previously offered USB-C hubs for Chromebooks, as well as other computers. But these are the first to be certified specifically for Chromebooks through Google’s standard.
If you just need a faster internet connection and you can have an Ethernet port available, the HyperDrive USB-C 2.5Gbps Ethernet Adapter will do the job. It has an MSRP of $49.99 and supports connections speeds up to 2.5 Gbps.
If you don’t mind a slower Ethernet connection and want additional ports, the $79.99 HyperDrive 5-port USB-C Hub for Chromebook fits the bill. You’ll have a 1 Gbps wired connection as well as a pair of USB Type-A ports, an HDMI output at HDMI 4K30Hz, and one USB-C with 60W of power delivery.
And for the person that attaches a dozen (or more!) peripherals to their Chromebook, the $239.99 HyperDrive 14-port USB-C Docking Station for Chromebook is for you. I can’t see much left out of this hub, although its definitely meant for desk work while the prior two models are easier to tote around.
Here’s what you get:
- Supports dual 4K 60Hz or triple 4K 30Hz video output
- Triple USB-A 10Gbps and dual USB-C 10Gbps ports
- 85W USB-C Power Delivery to Chromebook
- Kensington lock
- Optional vertical stand and VEGA mount
- Ports: 2 x HDMI 4K60Hz, 2 x DP 4K60Hz, USB-C 4K60Hz 10Gbps, USB-C 10Gbps, USB-C Upstream PD 65W, 3 x USB-A 10Gbps, 2 x USB-A 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm Audio Jack, DC 135W
Yeah, that’s quite an array of ports and features.
I may order the 5-in-1 model and give it a try as I only use one external monitor. I find that handy when I’m coding on my Chromebook or doing a bunch of research where I need a ton of open tabs visible at the same time. My current hub doesn’t have an Ethernet port either, and I could easily tap into my mesh WiFi access point in the home office with this model from Hyper.
3 Comments
I’ve looked at Hyper’s docks and the problem is that most do not come with power supplies. If you are using a dock to leave on a desk you will want it charge your Chromebook while in use. Their current 12 port dock is appealing at $149 but if you have to by a 100W USB-charger for power then you are adding cost equivalent to competitors. I need a new dock since I upgraded to a 4K monitor.
@Kevin:
This is progress. I guess you start to get good hardware like this targeting ChromeOS by outselling macOS for 4 straight quarters.
Any word on when we will ever get a Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4 Chromebook with at least an Intel Core i5 or equivalent AMD CPU? Or a ChromeOS kernel that actually supports eGPUs? That is going to have to happen for ChromeOS to be a productivity platform. Not just for the video game programmers and content creators. GPUs are necessary for data science/ML/AI programmers too. The combination of GPU+ARM GPU would be ideal, but I guess we are still a couple of years off from having that proposed MediaTek CPU + Nvidia GPU SOC in a Chromebox.
The “Works with Chromebook” badge and trademark may cut both ways, so to speak. It can act as leverage with owners of Chromebooks who may be swayed to prefer products that use the branding. On the other hand, it may incorrectly suggest to potential Chromebook buyers that, peripheral devices that aren’t specifically made to work with Chromebooks probably worn’t work with Chromebooks. In reality, of the 3.8 sextillion different USB hubs offered by Amazon.com, probably all but 2 work just as well with a Chromebook as with a Mac/PC.