If you’ve bought a laptop within the past couple of years, especially a thin and light unit, you probably noticed the lack of ports. Most only come with USB-C ports now and if you’re lucky, a regular USB-A port as well. Most no longer have multiple ports or even regular HDMI ports anymore. The latter is important because if you want to use multiple displays with your laptop or want to use an external as a main display, you need an HDMI port, which is where an adapter comes in. Something like the Plugable USB-C Multiport Adapter is a cheap and simple way to give you that HDMI port whether at home or on the go.
The Plugable USB-C Multiport Adapter is a very simple device with only three ports on it. One is an HDMI port (4k@30Hz resolution), one is a USB-A 3.0 port, and one is a USB-C pass-through port for power. You’re mainly using this to connect to an external monitor or TV and to add an additional regular USB port if all you have are USB-C ports on your laptop. The adapter is small and easily packed away in your bag and works as advertised.
As a bonus, the Plugable USB-C Multiport Adapter isn’t just for laptops. This works perfectly with Samsung Dex enabled smartphones, Android smartphones with desktop mode, and also works great if you want to mirror your smartphone screen to a display.
So would I pick this over other adapters? Depends. If you really just want something to connect to an external monitor or display, this is perfect. The extra USB port is handy if you need to add a USB adapter for a mouse or keyboard. If you need more USB ports, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Aside from that, this just might be for you. It’s not as fancy looking as some of Plugables aluminum bodies hubs and adapters, but it works and it’s inexpensive.
You can find the Plugable USB-C Multiport Adapter on Amazon for around $15 right now.
