Shopping for a good USB-C hub can be a bit of a minefield as buyers are forced to sift through a sea of cheap products with misleading claims about their features. Luckily, as this market matures, better options are slowly starting to rise to the surface and distinguish themselves. The HooToo USB C Hub is definitely one of the better choices we’ve seen so far, and performed very well in our testing with its numerous connectivity options, Power Delivery (PD) port, and support for 4K HDMI and SD cards. Unfortunately, HooToo is also guilty of exaggerating a few claims about the performance of their product and neglecting to mention some of the shortcomings. In our mind, these aren’t necessarily dealbreakers, but potential buyers should definitely familiarize themselves with these flaws first to determine if the device still meets their needs. Let’s take a look.
Design: Compact and well built
Measuring 4.1 x 1.5 x 0.9 inches (HWD), the HooToo USB-C Hub 6-in-1 uses a very small and space-efficient design. An approximately 5-inch cable connects the hub to the USB-C port on your computer—helpful for ensuring the hub doesn’t interfere with any neighboring ports. The body of the device contains an illuminated HooToo logo on the top, three USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports and an SD card on one of the long sides. There’s a USB-C PD port on the reverse of this, and at the farthest end from the main connector, the HDMI port. We were generally happy with the construction of this compact device. Though mostly made of plastic, it still felt pretty solid. The bottom of the hub is coated in a rubberized material that helped prevent it from sliding around too easily on a desk, and also prevented it from scraping the desk when picked up or moved around (a problem we’ve had with USB-C hubs featuring a metal finish). The USB ports were aligned properly within the housing, which is another area where manufacturers sometimes slip up.
Setup Process: Fast and easy
Setup for the HooToo USB-C Hub is nonexistent. Simply remove the device from the packaging and plug it into your computer to begin using it. Every feature worked out of the box without any fuss. The only thing users might want to take note of is the HDMI limitations we’ve outlined in the below section.
Connectivity: Plenty of options
The HooToo USB C Hub offers three USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, capable of delivering up to 5Gbps of data transfer speeds. For MacBook users, these ports might often be used for connecting a keyboard, mouse, and perhaps an external hard drive. All devices were recognized immediately on our computer when connected to the hub, and we didn’t experience any dropouts during testing, including when moving the hub around slightly. The HDMI port functions as intended, supporting resolutions up to 4K (3840x2160), albeit at 30Hz. The PD port is also useful, letting users free up an additional USB-C port normally reserved for the power cable.
Performance: Some limitations for monitors
The three USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports performed well, delivering up to 1.8A of power (a step up from the 1.5A maximum of the 3.0 specification). This is handy for charging devices quicker, and supporting power-hungry devices that might not be able to work together on a USB-A hub. HDMI is one of the main areas where limitations start to creep up. The port supports 60Hz only up to full HD (1920x1080) displays, and 4K (3840x2160) is limited to 30Hz. This just means that movie and TV viewing will be fine on displays, but gaming and productivity will feel sluggish and laggy. For what it’s worth, the HooToo USB-C Hub supported up to 50Hz on our ultrawide display (3440x1440) and was suitable for most productivity scenarios. Power delivery is another mixed bag. The exact model of the HooToo USB C Hub that we tested was the HT-UC001, which is one of four similar-looking USB-C hubs that HooToo offers. This particular model advertises 65W of power delivery through the PD port on product pages online, but the device itself as well as the manual state 100W max. When we connected our 87W Apple power adapter to the hub during testing, our MacBook Pro showed 78W of draw through the hub (as opposed to 86W when connected directly). 100W, 78W, 65W, any of these numbers are fine, we just wish there was some consistency.
Price: Good bang for the buck
At a list price of $39.99, the HooToo USB-C Hub 6-in-1 is a fairly good deal, priced near competitors, and offering slightly better build quality. The price might not seem that cheap for an adapter, but the HooToo USB C Hub definitely offers enough functionality to justify its pricing.
HooToo USB C Hub vs. Anker USB C Hub, 5-in-1 USB
Those looking for an alternate product might also consider the Anker USB-C Hub 5-in-1 USB. This hub is even slimmer than the HooToo, at a meager 1.2 inches wide, while maintaining roughly the same length as the HooToo. The main difference between these two hubs, however, is that the Anker hub forgoes the SD card reader and PD port in favor of a 10/100/1000 Ethernet port. If you don’t work with SD cards but you do want a wired internet connection, this is definitely a good pick. Anker’s hub retails for the same $39.99 price as the HooToo. The HooToo USB-C Hub is an overall winner, covering all the bases most users would want in a USB-C hub for a perfectly suitable price. The HDMI limitations are the only notable drawback, but these are issues shared by just about every other product on the market as well.
