Ugreen, the maker of the Ugreen USB-C Triple Display Docking Station (12-in-1), is a company that may need a little introduction, although it’s likely you will know a thing or two about their products. Founded in 2012 and based in Shenzhen, China, their product lineup includes various connectivity solutions such as USB hubs, adapters, docking stations, cables, and chargers, and they also offer audio and video accessories, power banks, protective cases and other accessories for smartphones and tablets.
In 2019 they were one of Amazon’s best-selling brands for a range of these products, and since then, they’ve been turning their attention to products of higher quality, enhancing their distribution networks and focusing on more innovation and R&D to develop and create products that users need.
Enter the Ugreen USB C Triple Display Docking Station – billed to be a versatile and feature-rich device to maximise productivity for users who rely on multiple displays, peripherals and screen setups. Initial impressions are good – it ships in an attractive box and our first thoughts were that it appears remarkably compact when set up on the desk.
We were a bit concerned about the lack of a charger in the box – you’ll need to have a few spare USB-C chargers and cables lying around to start up the device, which is a bit of a shame. Although this may not be a problem for those people with more modern laptops and devices, if you’re on older hardware you’ll need to buy a charger separately.
Ugreen Triple Display Docking Station (12-in-1): Key specs
Design and build
The docking station when set up and out the box however does look the part, and it’s a compact design that fits in well with a variety of workstation setups. Ugreen has opted to use DisplayPort for this device, which compresses signals to offer Thunderbolt style connectivity but over standard USB, meaning it extends its compatibility. An extra bit of admin – you will have to download the DisplayPort drivers to get you up and running at full potential – you’re best off doing this through the Synaptics website. A little frustrating, but it only takes a minute or two.
The docking station features a decent range of connectivity options. On the front of the dock, you’ve got a clean look but a 10Gbps USB-C slot, a USB-A slot at the same speed, a headphone jack and both micro and full-sized SD card slots are available. At the back, 5Gbps USB-A slots for wired keyboards and the like, a 10Gbps USB-C that links to your laptop for power and three display ports: a 4K HDMI, one DisplayPort and an 8K HDMI too. Put all that together and on paper at least, you have a very capable setup.
Features
The Ugreen USB-C Triple Display Docking Station makes a big thing about its ability to support up to three external displays, allowing you to extend or mirror your laptop or desktop screen to triple monitors with resolutions of up to 4K UHD, at 60hz too, which allows for a fairly pleasurable experience. The aforementioned 8K will deliver that at 30Hz and also offers 1440p at 144Hz which starts to make the unit a possibility for smooth video editing and gaming.
In testing, we noticed no noticeable lag when using the dock in everyday scenarios. Video editing between screens, photo editing in Capture One and Lightroom and even gaming on multiple monitors was dealt with with ease. However, we did notice the dock became quite hot.
When severe loads were placed on the unit, like 4K video streamed on multiple monitors, there was a little bit of lag and the external HD we’d connected up disconnected, but these were edge-case examples for testing and everyday operations weren’t really a concern.
The USBs put out 3.7W of power, which isn’t enough for fast charging, but offers a decent charge to most devices nonetheless, and the ethernet port is a nice addition that allows a more secure and less laggy internet connection.
Usability
The dock is highly usable in most everyday scenarios, and we like the fact that the unit supports USB Power Delivery enabling it to charge your laptop while simultaneously connecting to other devices – definitely a good option for reducing cable clutter. Six USB 3.0 ports provide ample connectivity options for devices such as external hard drives and we found that getting into good cable management and a seamless workflow with the device was fairly easy. USB 3.0 allowed quick file transfer and this could be achieved in most scenarios with no disruption to the quality of power delivery or on-screen performance.
Design-wise, we also liked the fact it sat neatly in quite a compact unit on the desk, with the brushed metal looking quite the part. The only thing we would point out here is that it’d be great if the device had feet on the side to allow for horizontal operation – it would be more in keeping with other items on the desktop if it had a bit more flexibility in terms of orientation.
Price
The Ugreen USB-C Triple Display Docking Station retails for £/$329.99 from Ugreen's website, but if you're patient you can find some discounts on both their website and via third-party sellers online.
Should I buy the Ugreen USB-C Triple Docking Station?
Aside from the fact that it doesn’t ship with a charger, so you’ll have to repurpose another cable, and the fact you may have to download Display Port drivers to get going, we were impressed with the overall usability of the Ugreen dock, and it makes a nice addition to desks that have high connectivity demands.
We would point out that it’s a fairly pricey unit for people who are just after a little more connectivity and the opportunity to plug in an extra hard drive or USB stick. We think the dock would be well suited to creatives and users who have high demands in terms of screen connectivity for the likes of editing, gaming and film work, but may suit casual users a little less. It’s comparable to many other docks of this nature price-wise, but it’s still an investment so we’d recommend assessing whether you need something with such high performance.
If you do though, and need a versatile docking station that can handle multiple displays and peripherals without compromising on performance, the Ugreen USB-C Triple Display Docking Station is worth considering. It is a reliable and efficient solution that can transform your workspace and enhance productivity considerably. A few foibles stopped us from giving this full marks, but it’s worth a look nonetheless.
