It’s been 17 years since Plugable introduced its first universal docking station, the humble UD-160-A. It was a uniquely functional and intuitive USB 2.0 device that expanded a laptop’s capabilities without any proprietary connectors or mental guesswork.

Today, every docking station is universal, and there’s no shortage of cheap USB-C hubs that deliver basic multi-monitor or multi-port functionality with zero setup. How can a brand like Plugable compete? It’s a question I struggled to square away, so I met with the Plugable founder and CTO, Bernie Thompson, at Computex 2026 Taipei after speaking with the brand’s CEO, Lynn Smurthwaite-Murphy, in a short video call.

To my surprise, the key to Plugable’s longevity was more straightforward when I expected: the company makes an effort to solve big and small problems that competitors and consumers often overlook.

Plugable was built around a problem, not a product category

Making the impossible possible

Old laptop docking stations were genuinely ridiculous. They offered the same basic functionality that you’d expect from a modern dock, such as video output and port expansion, but they were completely proprietary; docks didn’t offer cross-brand compatibility, and they rarely supported more than a handful of laptop models within their own brand. If two people owned a ThinkPad, there’s a decent chance that they couldn’t share a dock, which naturally created friction in shared spaces like conference rooms, classrooms, and open office environments.

Plenty of people understood that laptop docks were an endless source of frustration and financial waste. But docks were proprietary because they had to operate at a hardware level. Their functionality couldn’t be duplicated through software drivers due to bandwidth limitations and latency. Remember how some old laptops had those awkward multi-pin connectors on the bottoms of their chassis? That’s where proprietary docking stations slotted directly into the laptops motherboards.

So, if you’re parachuted into the 2000s and tasked with solving the problems perpetuated by proprietary docking stations, you’re stuck with two options: either you can force laptop manufacturers to adopt a universal docking station hardware connector, or you can try to leverage a data port that’s already built into every laptop. USB 2.0 ports, which were included with practically every Windows PC after 2002 or 2003, offered the opportunity to treat docking stations as a software problem, rather than a mechanical motherboard challenge. But how do you deliver docking station functionality over something as slow as a USB 2.0 port?

Plugable’s founder and CTO, Bernie Thompson, was uniquely positioned to address this problem when he announced the UD-160-A USB 2.0 docking station in 2009. Not only had he worked as a manager for the Bluetooth and USB teams at Microsoft, but he served as Vice President of Software Platforms at DisplayLink, a company that pioneered virtual display technology for transmitting video over USB. The UD-160-A expanded a laptop’s port selection and video output capabilities by capitalizing on (and building upon) existing standards that had never been brought together in this form. And it worked, albeit with a limited 1680x1050p video resolution (which was bumped up to 1080p in early 2010 with a Gen 2 hardware revision).

USB-C could’ve killed Plugable, why didn’t it?

The “unified” standard made docks universal. It didn’t make them simple.

Plugable managed to turn USB 2.0 into a viable docking station platform by weaving together loose strands of technology like DisplayLink, USB Audio Class, and USB Ethernet. But by the time that USB-C was finalized in mid 2014, most major players in the laptop market (specifically USB-IF partners like Apple, HP, and Intel) were desperate to compress the functionality of a full laptop I/O into a unified, next-gen USB standard. They intentionally injected docking station functionality directly into the heart of USB-C.

Full-featured USB-C offers native support for video output through DisplayPort Alternate Mode (DP Alt Mode), plus passthrough charging with Power Delivery (PD). Monitors connected over USB-C can also act as hubs for laptops, which is why most modern monitors feature built-in Ethernet and USB ports. The Thunderbolt standard takes things even further; it utilizes the Type-C connector but adds a ton of extra bandwidth, opening the door to high-res multiple-monitor connectivity, monitor daisy-chaining, and blazing data transfer rates.

The advent of USB-C should have been a death knell for brands like Plugable. Yet, ironically, it only managed to increase the demand for standalone docking stations and USB hubs. This demand is mainly driven by a need for more physical ports, but USB-C’s frustratingly inconsistent implementation is also a huge part of the story.

As Bernie Thompson lamented during our meeting at Computex, “USB-C’s best features are optional, and manufacturers started taking shortcuts as soon as the MacBook and Chromebook Pixel shipped with USB-C in 2015.” Most USB-C cables (and some PCs) simply don’t support the full gamut of USB-C functionality. What’s worse, some brands implement advanced USB-C features without adhering to USB-IF specifications, which leads to unpredictable performance, unreliability, and a lot of guesswork. I should also note that 99% of USB-C cables are completely unlabeled, so even if someone owns a fully-compliant laptop and monitor, they may get lost trying to find a cable that actually delivers their devices’ functionality.

Credit: Plugable

Plugable’s first Thunderbolt 3 docking station, the UD-ULTCDL, launched through a Kickstarter campaign in 2016. It quietly turned the promise of USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 into a simple, straightforward reality. While other early USB-C docking stations were marred by varying degrees of technical compliance and limited video output capabilities, the UD-ULTCDL played by the rules and leveraged DisplayLink technology to support triple-monitor setups—a feature that no other dock had achieved at that time. It also delivered 100 watts of passthrough charging, a Gigabit Ethernet connection, and five proper USB 3.0 ports for peripherals (as opposed to a massive array of slow USB 2.0 ports—a cheap trick that some brands employ in order to make their products look more valuable). Oh, and it shipped with a labeled USB-C cable.

Shockingly, the UD-ULTCDL is still sold today, nearly a decade after its introduction. I was pretty thrown off when this was pointed out to me, as there’s no shortage of Chinese-branded docks and hubs that promise similar functionality for far less than $189. When I asked Bernie how the dock has survived for so long, the answer was simple: “IT departments buy products that generate fewer support tickets.”

The UD-ULTCDL fully complies with USB and Thunderbolt specifications, so it’s more reliable than the competition. After I got home from Taipei, I realized that the UD-ULTCDL’s DisplayLink functionality was also very forward-thinking. Not only has DisplayLink remained an essential tool in enterprise environments, but it’s proven to be the only reliable tool for circumventing external display limitations on Apple Silicon Macs.

But customer relations might be the most important ingredient in the UD-ULTCDL’s success (and in Plugable’s growth more generally). All Plugable gadgets come with a two-year warranty and lifetime product support. These guarantees give customers some peace of mind, obviously, though they also help Plugable identify and address the problems that its core customers face every day.

It’s something that Lynn Smurthwaite-Murphy and Bernie Thompson both cited as a core element of their brand’s strategy; Plugable can’t undercut Chinese companies in the ultra-budget market, so in order to maintain relevance in the enterprise or enthusiast world, it needs to actively communicate with its customers and find solutions to their problems, even if those problems aren’t necessarily top-of-mind for the average person.

Solving modern problems most people overlook

Plugable’s latest products build on a 17-year strategy

Plugable’s latest products are somewhat subtle in the ways that they innovate. They’re definitely built to address specific problems that are more common in the office than at home. The PS-10CC and PS-6CC multi-port chargers are great examples of this slight disparity. At a glance, they just look like rectangular USB-C power adapters.

But unlike your typical multi-port charger, which splits its power to charge several devices simultaneously (a 30-watt adapter might divide into two 15-watt lanes, for example), the PS-10CC and PS-6CC utilize PriorityShare“hierarchical charging.” Devices connected to the charger’s leftmost ports receive priority, and the charger dynamically reallocates its wattage away from gadgets that have reached approximately 80% capacity (laptops and phones request a lower wattage as they near full capacity, so it’s better to prioritize other devices before topping off that final 20%).

Is PriorityShare necessary for the average person? Not really. I actually own the PS-6CC and didn’t know about PriorityShare until after I’d bought it (the all-USB-C design appealed to me). But for an enthusiast with a desk full of gadgets, hierarchical charging is a good way to ensure that laptop charging speed isn’t throttled by less-important devices. And PriorityShare can be a huge problem-solver in workplaces where several laptops or iPads need to be charged at once. A shared workspace or classroom is the most obvious example, though in my personal experience, I can also see how hierarchical charging could be a lifesaver in any restaurant that uses handheld payment terminals. Juggling a bunch of Clover terminals that someone forgot to charge the night before really puts a damper on lunch rush.

Credit: Adam Conway / How-To Geek

Back to Computex—I met with some other docking station brands after finishing my chat with Bernie. And, wouldn’t you know, two of these brands showed me uncertified Thunderbolt 5 products (though both products were eGPU enclosures, not docks). When I asked why these products weren’t certified, I was told that Intel’s draconian policies were to blame. Intel will only certify concrete, well-defined pieces of hardware. eGPU enclosures are modular by nature, so Intel insists on testing every possible configuration of an enclosure and its compatible graphics cards.

Understandably, very few brands are willing to foot the bill or wait around for an extended certification process, so they simply launch their products with labels like “Thunderbolt 5 Compatible.” While eating dinner later that night, I realized that I should check whether Plugable’s TB5 eGPU enclosure is certified by Intel. Yes, it is. And while I doubt that hardcore certification is a must-have feature for individuals or hobbyists setting up eGPUs, I can understand why it might appeal to a business that needs multiple enclosures for AI product development, especially when paired with the user-friendly software that’s built into the enclosure.

And then there’s the TBT-UDT3, Plugable’s Thunderbolt 5 dock. This is where things come full circle. Thunderbolt 5’s 80 Gbps bi-direction bandwidth is twice that of Thunderbolt 4, meaning that external SSDs and other peripherals can operate at speeds that previously required a direct hardware connection (like what those old proprietary docks offered so long ago). The TBT-UDT3 boasts full USB and Thunderbolt certification, but like the classic UD-ULTCDL, it also offers something extra—Thunderbolt Share support.

This is a feature that you won’t find in every TB5 dock (because it requires a license), but I believe that it will prove to be a forward-thinking inclusion, as it’s effectively a super-powered version of a KVM switch. Thunderbolt Share lets you use two connected PCs simultaneously, with shared peripherals and high-speed file syncing.

• 

  Brand

  Plugable

  Connection

  USB-C

  Ports

  10 x USB-C

  Price

  $100

  Power supply included

  No

  Dimensions

  11.02 x 4.13 x 1.57 inches

  A charging station for multiple devices, the PS-10CC works with nearly everything that supports USB-C charging from laptops to earbuds. And with extensive testing, built-in safety features, and third-party certification, you can rest easy knowing your devices are safe.

  
  

• 

  Ports

  13-port design

  USB Power Delivery

  100W

  Max display res.

  8K

  Plugable’s Thunderbolt 4 Dock features 100-watt passthrough charging, support for dual 8K displays, an array of high-speed USB ports, SD card slots, and Gigabit Ethernet. It’s a powerful and future-proof product for anyone who wants to use their laptop like a desktop.

  
  

One final thought about enthusiasts

One thing that disappointed me as I researched this story was the realization that tech enthusiasts, who are often the biggest drivers of change, have been temporarily locked out of a market that they should be able to participate in. Plugable’s TB5 docking station only costs $300, but there’s not much of a point in buying it if you can’t afford fast, high-capacity SSDs (or 8K monitors, I suppose).

The same goes for the company’s TB5 eGPU enclosure. Priced at $630, it’s not an unreasonable purchase for a hobbyist who wants to build AI products with local LLMs, but GPU prices are insane right now. I’d have to borrow a bunch of equipment just to test either of these products, and I’m a lead editor at one of the biggest tech websites on the internet.