Our telephones have been as soon as restricted by their energy, however they now pack all the facility of a bigger PC. What they lack, greater than ever, are ports. However that’s an issue a USB-C hub can resolve, and it’s one of many easiest methods to improve your telephone.

USB-C hubs are available in varied types. Most are wired dongles that plug right into a USB-C port. Some phone-specific fashions maintain your telephone upright and are geared towards desktop modes like Samsung DeX. Irrespective of which selection you choose, they’re all good for the duties on this listing.

Plug in a better high quality mic

Flip your telephone into a transportable recording studio

Audio recordings are one space the place many people flip to our telephones. They’re on us wherever we’re, and a voice recorder app is commonly extra accessible than desktop software program.

The built-in mic in your telephone is healthier than these on laptops and tablets, however if you’d like skilled audio for a podcast or different varieties of media, you’ll be able to plug in a higher-quality USB mic no matter whether or not it runs off USB-C or USB-A.


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Import digicam images

Picture enhancing and backup on the go

Smartphone cameras have come a great distance, and I’ve taken many images for this web site immediately from my Galaxy Z Fold 6. However there’s nonetheless a distinction between these and the images I take with my Panasonic Lumix G7. The photographs I’m capable of get out of that Micro 4-Thirds sensor and f/1.7 aperture are nonetheless troublesome to copy from a telephone.

Happily, I can pop the full-size SD card out of my digicam and slide it into my USB-C hub. I then add these photos simply as simply as I might from a PC.

The SD card slots on the Hyper HyperDrive Flex USB-C hub. Credit score: Bertel King / How-To Geek 

Hook up with massive exterior shows

Your telephone might turn out to be your PC

For over a yr now, I’ve done all of my computing from my phone. Whereas lately I work immediately on my telephone’s massive inner display screen, initially I replicated the desktop expertise utilizing Samsung DeX mixed with a big exterior monitor. To make that work, I wanted a USB-C hub to attach the monitor’s HDMI cable to my telephone.

The enjoyable does not cease with screens. With a USB-C hub and a telephone that helps DisplayPort Alt Mode, you’ll be able to turn a phone into a streaming box for your TV.

Handle a number of exterior drives

Nice for transferring knowledge between two drives.

It nonetheless feels a bit novel to plug a USB stick into my telephone to again up or switch recordsdata. It feels much more novel to plug in an external SSD. But whereas both of these can plug immediately into my telephone, if I wish to switch recordsdata from one exterior drive to a different, that’s the place a USB-C hub is available in to make up for the truth that, in contrast to most laptops, my telephone solely has one USB port to work with.

The Hyper HyperDrive Flex USB-C hub on top of a Galaxy Z Fold 6-1 Credit score: Bertel King / How-To Geek 

Hook up with Ethernet

It is not as wild because it sounds

With my telephone serving as my solely PC, I don’t have a laptop computer readily available once I have to troubleshoot points with our residence router. Admittedly, we now have mesh Wi-Fi the place all the pieces is managed by way of an app, however my earlier router required connecting through Ethernet to make configuration modifications throughout these circumstances once I was unable to connect with the Wi-Fi community. That’s the place being able to plug an Ethernet cable right into a USB-C hub is a godsend.

Connection

USB-C

Energy provide included

No

Weight

0.22 Kilos

Dimensions

8.27″L x 2.13″W x 0.59″H

The Anker 341 USB-C Hub options seven totally different ports, together with USB-C, USB-A, 4K HDMI, in addition to microSD and SD card slots.


Plug in a wired gamepad

It is particularly nice for emulators and cloud gaming

There are completely no scarcity of how to attach a controller to your telephone for video games. It’s a booming sufficient market that Spine has launched a $170 pro version of its popular telescopic controller. However for those who somewhat spend below $30, you’ll be able to get pleasure from video games simply high quality with a wired Bluetooth gamepad as an alternative. As a lot as I love my wireless 8BitDo Pro 2 controllers, the wired model is obtainable for nearly half the value.

The illuminated Nacon Colorlight Wired Controller Credit score: Sergio Rodriguez / How-To Geek

Sort with a mechanical keyboard

Excellent for lengthy writing classes

Whereas most of us don’t consider telephones after we consider writers, each the Play Retailer and the Apple App Retailer are filled with writing apps. I’m typing these phrases in a single proper now—PenCake, a distraction-free app whose interface helps me really feel extra relaxed whereas I work.

I personally do the bulk of my writing using a stylus and fallback to a virtual keyboard, however I sometimes have mechanical keyboard envy. In my line of labor, I’ve had quite a few colleagues who swear by theirs. The one mechanical keyboard I briefly owned was wired, and whereas I didn’t permit myself to make use of the keyboard lengthy sufficient to develop hooked up, it was solely because of a USB-C hub that I used to be in a position to make use of it in any respect.

Use USB gadgets whereas charging

Extra ports, extra flexibility

Getting the dreaded low battery pop-up can put an finish to any of those duties. With solely a single USB port, I can’t simply cost whereas transferring recordsdata or gaming with a wired controller. Not and not using a USB-C hub.

Many USB-C hubs can now settle for as much as 100W of energy and cross that by way of to my telephone, eliminating the priority of my telephone dying earlier than a large file switch is full.

USB-C port with power delivery on the Hyper HyperDrive Flex USB-C hub. Credit score: Bertel King / How-To Geek 

An affordable hub unlocks your telephone’s capabilities

A USB-C hub is a type of comparatively few tech investments that stands the take a look at of time, remaining helpful for years as a result of nobody has artificially restricted its life by way of a scarcity of software program updates. It simply works. Whether or not it is along with your telephone, a laptop computer, a mini PC, or a Raspberry Pi—you by no means know when will probably be helpful to have a USB-C hub mendacity round.


The Hyper HyperDrive Flex USB-C hub on top of a Galaxy Z Fold 6-1


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