A compact option for connectivity.
I’m always amazed when a new product comes to market and there aren’t accessories to support it. When Apple released the MacBook Pro with USB-C connectivity in 2016, there were hardly any peripherals available that would work with it. Now, nearly a year later, they are all coming out of the woodwork. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly don’t mind it and I think competition is great to keep product designers innovating. Earlier this week, we published a review of the QacQoc Multiport USB-C Hub, which is very similar to the Thunderbolt 3 USB-C Hub from HAVIT that I’m reviewing today. The biggest difference between the two is their size. The QacQoc hub is a bit wider and longer than the HAVIT hub. The QacQoc hub also offers an HDMI port for display connection, which the HAVIT hub does not. Personally, I prefer the smaller version so that it packs away easier.
SPECS
HAVIT designed this hub with the MacBook Pro user in mind. The hub is only available in Space Gray and it matches the MBP precisely. This device supports passthrough charging for both the 13″ (61W) and 15″ (87W) MacBook Pro models. I was able to successfully charge my 13″ MBP with it but did not test out a 15″ with the hub. I noticed that the hub did heat up a bit, but it wasn’t too alarming levels. I used an infrared thermometer to test the temperature of the hub and it only registered around 98 degrees Fahrenheit. The HAVIT hub is plug-and-play and does not require any additional software for use.
The hub features six ports including:
- Thunderbolt 3 – up to 5k or 2x4k @ 60Hz video, up to 40Gb/s data speed, PD charging
- USB-C port – 5Gb/s data speed
- 2 USB 3.0 ports – 5Gb/s data speed
- SD/Micro card reader – up to 104MB/s
While you can use the ports simultaneously, you cannot use the SD and Micro SD cards at the same time due to the hub’s energy-saving design.
USER EXPERIENCE
One of the reasons I like this style of hub is because it connects directly to your computer without a cable extension. To me, this style of hub is much easier to pack around because the cable isn’t constantly in the way. I love that it connects to two ports simultaneously on your MBP. I’ve used other hubs that only connect to one port and it doesn’t seem to be as efficient as this hub. The hub is very lightweight and it fits securely into the MBP. I actually had to use some force to get it to separate from the computer.
In addition to the power delivery function of the hub, I also ran speed tests on data transfer from the computer to an SD card and a USB 3.0 flash drive. I have a standard movie file that I use for these type of tests. I transfer a single file — 2.36 GB in size — to each type of media. I will time the transfer using the stopwatch function on my iPhone. Then I will run a Blackmagic Speed Test on each item, too. Both the SD card and the flash drive mounted to my computer without any issues, but it did take a little long for them to eject. I was able to drag-and-drop files without any issues and the hub did not reach unreasonable temperatures. The results of my tests are listed below.
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| SD CARD: Transferred file in 39.50 seconds | FLASH DRIVE: Transferred file in 33.68 seconds |
SUMMARY
The HAVIT Thunderbolt 3 USB-C Hub is officially an accessory that will travel with me so that I can achieve full functionality of my MacBook Pro. I would have liked it even better if it came with a carrying case, but I will probably store mine on my GridIt.
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