Anker 675 USB-C 12-in-1 review: Stylish docking station and stand combo

Macworld

At a glance
ProsStylish Stand/Hub comboRaises monitor heightFast USB portsWireless phone chargingHDMI 4K at 60HzConsStand not height adjustableOur VerdictThe Anker 675 USB-C 12-in-1 Docking Station and Monitor Stand gets you a top-end hub as part of a good-looking ergonomic screen stand.

The Anker 675 USB-C 12-in-1 Docking Station and Monitor Stand solves several of your laptop’s limitations in one user-friendly, stylish, friendly and functional product.

A laptop is a wonderful device but it comes up lacking in a few areas because of its portability.

First, the screen is small and cramped for opening multiple files and applications. You can end up squinting at tiny text and having to keep open multiple tabs and layers of documents.

Second, using a laptop is not great for your posture, neck, back, shoulders, eyes… basically, it’s not good for your body. Stooping over that small screen with hunched shoulders is not great for your neck, back or arms.

Thirdly, many laptops lack connections and extension ports to attach other devices, such as storage, displays, and wired internet access.

You can solve the first limitation with one or more larger external displays in a more traditional desktop setup that can make work and play so much more comfortable. The second can be solved by raising the laptop with an adjustable stand, or by placing the larger monitor on a stand, so that the screen you are looking at is on the same level as your eyes. That will help your posture, neck, shoulders and back.

To solve the third issue you need to connect your laptop to a hub or docking station to add extra ports: from multiple USB ports to Gigabit Ethernet, storage card readers, and display ports for adding the extra monitors. Apple’s MacBooks rely mainly on Thunderbolt ports for attaching devices, but the Pro models do feature HDMI for adding an external display.

The Anker 675 is a combination laptop or monitor stand and docking station that solves all of these issues: it can raise your screen viewing angle into something more comfortable and ergonomic, and add the ports that transform the laptop into a functioning desktop workstation.

Design

While it looks like a simple aluminum alloy bench—21.26 inches long, 8.66 inches deep and 3.54 inches high—close up it wows with a stylish curved edge design and a bank of fast ports at one end, plus built-in cable management tucked on the underside that will keep messy cables out of the way and out of sight.

When you are finished working, the stand leaves you space to tidily store your keyboard and mouse under the bench.

While it’s high enough as a monitor stand, if you just want a laptop stand you’ll find more adjustable options in our roundup of the best laptop stand for MacBook.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Ports

1x USB-C to host (100W PD)

2x USB-C ports (10Gbps, with shared 45W charging)

3x USB-A ports (10Gbps; one with 7.5W charging, one with 4.5W)

HDMI (4K at 60Hz)

Gigabit Ethernet

SD card reader (104MBps)

MicroSD card reader (104MBps)

Qi wireless charging pad on top (10W max, 7.5W iPhone)

3.5mm Audio jack

180W power supply

The Anker 675 comes with a meaty 180W power supply that will charge your laptop at up to 100W when connected via the underside upstream USB-C to host port. This is compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and 4 laptops as well as straight USB-C.

The remaining power can charge connected peripherals, with the two downstream USB-C ports offering a total 45W. Two of the three USB-A ports can also charge devices: one at 7.5W and another at a slower 4.5W.

All five USB ports are rated at 10Gbps, which is as fast as they get outside of Thunderbolt.

We’d have preferred more Type C to Type A USB ports but the scale of USB-A devices out there means that dock manufacturers are still attracted to them.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

A neat feature is the Qi wireless charging pad on the top that can charge any compatible device at up to 10W. It’s not magnetic so isn’t MagSafe compatible but it can wirelessly charge an iPhone at a decent 7.5W. Check out our roundup of the best MagSafe wireless chargers.

If you want to charge your phone faster, use one of the USB-C ports and a charging cable.

The SD and MicroSD card readers offer the chance to add affordable portable storage to your laptop setup, with even 512GB cards costing under $50/£40.

The card readers are UHS-I, rated at 104MBps. Some hubs offer faster 312MBps UHHS-II speeds but the ones on the Anker 675 will be fast enough for most of us.

Foundry

Price

The Anker 675 is not cheap, costing $249.99/£249.99.

You could buy a cheaper laptop or monitor stand—Amazon has very basic plastic stands for under $20. For a wide variety of options, look at our best monitor stands roundup.

Twelve South’s metal Curve Riser is more stylish than a basic stand, but lacks the hub functionality of the Anker 675.

You’d need to add a decent hub that matches the 675 on speed and display support, such as the $80 EZQuest USB-C 10-in-1 Hub Docking Station or Ugreen’s similarly priced Revodok Pro 109 9-in-1 USB C Hub, or a proper docking station like the HyperDrive 12-in-1 USB-C Docking Station.

Check out our recommendations for best USB-C hubs for Mac and best USB-C docking stations.

Foundry

Verdict

Adding a hub or dock with equivalent ports is going to push you close to the price of Anker’s 675 Docking Station and Monitor Stand, and having it all in one stylish and clutter-free package is a compelling option.

That cable management system underneath will visually improve your workspace and keep everything much tidier.

You could construct something cheaper and likely uglier, but with the Anker 675 USB-C 12-in-1 Docking Station and Monitor Stand you get a top-end hub with wired and wireless charging plus 4K at 60Hz display support as part of a good-looking ergonomic screen stand.

Computer Accessories, Docks and Hubs, Laptop Accessories, Laptop Stands, MacBook, Mobile Phone Accessories, Mobile Phone Chargers, Monitors