Picks · desk

Why a $25 USB-C hub will not charge a MacBook

• Anker 555 — prints watts to the laptop · about $55 CAD on Amazon.ca

A cheap 7-in-1 can grow HDMI and USB-A and still let the battery fall. The hub is a small computer. It keeps roughly 10–15 W for its own chips. Your laptop only gets what is left of the wall brick after that, and only if the cable is rated for those watts.

Apple ships a 30 W USB-C adapter with many 13-inch Airs and 70 W or 96 W adapters with 14-inch Pros. A hub that never prints “watts to host” is a port expander that might trickle a phone. A lightning-bolt icon on the box is not a spec.

Passthrough is not a second charger. One cable comes from the brick. If the brick is 30 W, the hub cannot invent 70 W. If the cable is a no-name 60 W line, a 100 W brick still arrives as 60 W.

What to read on the listing

• Watts in from the charger
• Watts left for the laptop
• Whether they tell you to use a 100 W brick and an E-marked cable

Listings that do print those numbers (checked 14 Sep 2026, not re-tested on a bench): Anker PowerExpand+ 7-in-1 says a 60 W adapter leaves about 48 W for the computer (B07PPGWQ15). Plugable’s 7-in-1 says up to 100 W in and 87 W to the host (B08BLXG7C1). Anker 555-class 8-in-1 listings talk about ~85 W passthrough (B0BMXQXXMW). 48 W can hold an Air on a desk. It will not hold a 14-inch Pro under a video call and a bright display. 85–87 W is the class of number you want if that USB-C port is also the charger.

If you only remember one line: ignore 7-in-1. Buy the watts-to-host number, then confirm it on the live page the day you click.

Amazon.ca links below are plain product pages. We are not in Associates yet. If that changes, the same links may carry a tag and we may earn a commission. We have not lab-tested these products. Specs are from the manufacturer listing as of 14 Sep 2026. Recheck the live page before you buy. We do not stock or ship anything.