The Kensington SD1600P USB-C Dock is a no-frills USB-C dock. It is small enough to put in your bag. It provides that much-needed 2 x USB-A 3.0 (with charging), Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI and even a DB15 VGA port for a projector!
One word describes it – versatile. It works with USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 equipped Mac or Windows laptops. It uses the laptop’s power supply to pass through USB-C Power Delivery 3.0 (60W). If you need more information on power delivery see GadgetGuy’s article on USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 here
In the box: Kensington SD1600P USB-C Dock
The diminutive Kensington SD1600P USB-C Mobile Dock (Australian website here)
It is a rounded corner rectangle measuring 130 x 78 x 12mm x 108g. It has a handy 200mm fold-out USB-C cable to connect to your computer.
Monitor support
It supports one external monitor. Either HDMI 1.4a up to 4K, 3840×2160@30Hz OR VGA 2048×1152@60Hz.
One monitor is a limitation of USB-C 1.0 data transfer rates. If you need an extra 1080p monitor, you can use USB-A to 4K adaptor. Success depends if your laptop GPU can support two external monitors.
USB-A ports x 2
There are two USB-A 3.0, 5V ports with a total output of 2.4A. That is sufficient to charge an iPad and slow charge an iPhone. Data transfer rate is a total of 5Gb/s suitable for most external hard disks and devices.
Ethernet
We tested the port, and it achieved a full gigabit (1000Mb/s) throughput in full-duplex mode. It is sometimes handy to use cabled Ethernet especially when the Wi-Fi router may be more than say 3 meters away. At this distance, you typically get 200-400MB/s in half-duplex.
Passthrough power
It has a USB-C port which you plug your laptop charger into. A handy fold-out 200mm USB-C cable connects to your laptop.
You can use this cable as 5V/3A charger for a phone or tablet as well (if not connected to the laptop).
Compatibility
macOS X 10.12 or above, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 or Chrome.
We tested with a wide range of 60W devices including Lenovo, ASUS, Dell, HP, Apple MacBook and Samsung Book.
Depending on your smartphone it may add OTG support, e.g. HDMI and USB-A out.
Price
$179.95 from major retailers
GadgetGuy’s take – take the Kensington SD1600P USB-C Dock on the road
Its designed for the road warrior to have some convenient expansion when travelling. The VGA port is a streak of inspiration as it gives access to data projectors and more that need this connection.
It is not a powered desktop dock. If your needs are mobility and to add a single monitor and gain some USB ports, then it is ideal.
Pros
- Small and light
- Kensington quality
- Driverless (macOS and Windows 7 need a one-time driver downloaded on connection)
- Simple to use with USB-C or Thunderbolt
- 60W will power most MacBook 13 or similar Windows tablets and hybrids
Con
- Only one monitor at a time – HDMI or VGA
Rating
Rated as a small, pass-through power, mobile dock. It does not perform the same tasks as powered desktop Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C docks.
- Overall: 4.4 – higher if you can bag a bargain
- Features: 4 out of 5 – it does what it advertises
- Value for Money: 4 out of 5 – a tad expensive – shop around
- Performance: 4 out of 5 – the limitations of 5Gb/s and passthrough power are evident under full load.
- Ease of Use: 5 out of 5 – easy to install and use
- Design: 5 out of 5 – small, utilitarian and love the inbuilt cable
