Mashable Selects Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more In My Bag Look Up Creator Playbook Say More AI at School Safety Net Versus Trending Now Back to School Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age All Series I've used a MacBook for 15 years, but I'd gladly swap it for any of these alternatives MacBooks are incredible laptops, but they're not for everyone. Here are nine rivals to consider. Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what's actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons . All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. MacBooks are some of the best laptops on the market, bar none. What's more, the Air, Neo, and Pro all remain decent values for what they are, even after some price hikes this summer. Still, not everyone wants a MacBook. Maybe you like having lots of customization options; Apple doesn't make laptops with 2-in-1 designs, OLED displays, or touchscreens ( yet). Maybe you prefer Windows or ChromeOS over macOS, or the software you rely on forces your hand.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This $12 USB-C hub adds 5 ports your laptop should've had The Ugreen Revodok 5-in-1 USB-C hub adds HDMI, USB-A data, and passthrough charging to any laptop. Wish you had extra USB-A and HDMI slots but don't want to buy a bunch of different adapters to juggle? There's a small accessory you can get that'll solve your woes: the Ugreen 5-in-1 USB-C hub, normally $16 but on sale for $12 right now. This hub turns your laptop's USB-C port into five ports making you give up the USB-C port's charging capabilities.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Anker's sleek 6-port desktop charging station hits its best price yet at $60. There's no better time than now to pick up a charging station, especially with 25 percent off this Anker model That brings it down to $60, which is the best price we've seen for this model. This charging station is super slim, yet it can charge six devices at once. There are two AC outlets on the top and four ports on the edge.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Here's how to add USB-C ports to an older Windows PC, from cheap USB-A adapters to more powerful PCIe expansion cards for desktops. Over the past few years, USB-C has become the go-to connection for IT devices. Smartphones, external SSDs, cameras, and docking stations now rely almost exclusively on this standard. However, many older Windows PCs still have no USB-C ports, or just one.

Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Creator Playbook Look Up Back to School Mashable Selects Say More Trending Now Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age Switch Off Mashable Voices Safety Net Versus All Series Belkin just made charging on the go less bulky -- here's where to buy its new ultra-thin Qi2 power banks Bulky portable chargers are officially out, and semi-solid-state tech is in. Soumya is a deals writer who covers consumer tech, shopping deals, and the products people use every day. With experience writing about everything from AI tools and software to smartphones and home gadgets, she enjoys breaking down product research into clear, useful recommendations. When she's not tracking deals, she's usually comparing products, digging through reviews, and figuring out what actually makes a purchase worth it. All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This $40 Anker dock turns your laptop's USB-C port into 8 connections Anker's 8-in-1 laptop hub is $40 (was $54) at Amazon right now, offering dual 4K HDMI and 85W passthrough charging. If your laptop has just one or two ports and you're always swapping between them to plug in monitors, flash drives, keyboards, mice, and whatever else, you deserve to treat yourself with a proper docking solution. This Anker 8-in-1 Laptop Docking Station is $40 at Amazon, which is a 26% discount off its usual $54. Like any hub or dock, this one plugs into your laptop's USB-C port and turns it into a bunch of usable ports, but this one stands out for two reasons: it's eight full-blown connections, two of them 4K HDMI and one 85W USB-C Power Delivery.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. The Thermal Master P3 transforms a smartphone into a compact thermal imaging camera via the USB-C port, ideal for everyday use, trades, and troubleshooting. At a street price of around $300, the P3 delivers high image quality for this price range. A standout feature is the manual focus, which proves its worth when shooting a wide variety of subjects. In our test, we used it to examine the heat distribution on a sauna heater, check for unusual heating during the installation of an Anker Solix solar panel in the cellar, and visualize the waste heat from mini PCs and projectors.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. I've worked remotely for 20 years. What do you actually need to work from anywhere? Here's everything in my bag that keeps me productive on the go. Being a working parent is hectic, and I'm lucky to have the flexibility to work wherever I happen to be.

Anker's 14-in-1 docking station is on sale for $170 right now at Amazon, a 37% discount and near its best price ever. One of the best things you can get for your laptop is a docking station. This 14-in-1 Anker model is on sale for $170 right now, a 37% discount off its original $270 price and very close to its best-ever price. It's gone down to $162 two times in the past, otherwise this $170 deal is its lowest--for just a few bucks more, it's still an excellent deal. Laptops have gotten slimmer and lighter over the last decade, but in order to do that, they've have to sacrifice ports.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Anker's best Amazon deals include $6 USB cables and a 250W charging monster From $5 cables to a $150 Magsafe charger that's now $95, Anker has some real discounts across its lineup on Amazon right now. Anker sits among our favorite brands for accessories and gadgets, ranging from GaN chargers to power banks to USB-C cables and more. Even better is when you're able to grab Anker gear at a discount. Right now, a bunch of their stuff is on sale on Amazon so I've rounded up the most standout deals worth grabbing today.