The Gitfos C1 works with every MacBook Apple currently sells: the 13-inch MacBook Neo, the 13.6-inch and 15.3-inch MacBook Air with M5, and the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5, M5 Pro or M5 Max. It is a powered USB hub for MacBook desks rather than a display dock. It adds eight USB-A ports, four USB-C ports and its own 65W supply, so your drives and peripherals stop competing for the small amount of power a single MacBook port can hand out. No port on it carries video.
Quick answer: Every MacBook on sale in 2026 works with the Gitfos C1 powered USB hub over USB-C. On the MacBook Neo, only one of the two ports runs at 10Gbps, so port choice matters. The C1 adds ports, power and one-cable desk teardown. It adds no display output at all. If you need 4K HDMI and an SD reader, the Gitfos C1Pro is the model to buy.
Which MacBooks work with the Gitfos C1
All five current MacBook models work, because every one of them has at least one USB-C port that carries USB 3 data and power. The differences are in what each Mac already gives you and which port you should plug the hub into.
| MacBook (on sale, September 2026) | Ports built into the Mac | Works with C1 | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| MacBook Neo, 13-inch (A18 Pro) | 1 × USB-C at 10Gbps with DisplayPort, 1 × USB-C at 480Mbps, 3.5mm jack, no MagSafe | Yes | The two ports look identical but are not. See the Neo section below before you pick one. |
| MacBook Air 13.6-inch and 15.3-inch (M5) | 2 × Thunderbolt 4 at 40Gbps, MagSafe 3, 3.5mm jack | Yes | Put the C1 on one Thunderbolt port and keep the other free for a monitor. Charge over MagSafe 3. |
| MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5) | 3 × Thunderbolt 4 at 40Gbps, HDMI, SDXC, MagSafe 3, 3.5mm jack | Yes | The Mac already has HDMI and a card slot. The C1 is here for USB-A count and charging, not for display. |
| MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch (M5 Pro, M5 Max) | 3 × Thunderbolt 5 at 120Gbps, HDMI, SDXC, MagSafe 3, 3.5mm jack | Yes | Do not put a Thunderbolt 5 SSD behind the C1. The hub caps at 10Gbps and will throttle it. |
Older Apple silicon MacBooks work the same way. Any MacBook Air or MacBook Pro from the M1 generation onward has full-featured USB-C ports, so the C1 is plug and play with no driver to install. Intel MacBooks with Thunderbolt 3 also work. MacBooks old enough to have only USB-A or Thunderbolt 2 do not.
What the Gitfos C1 adds to a MacBook
The C1 turns one USB-C port into fifteen connections, and it powers them from its own adapter instead of from the Mac. Here is the exact port list.
| Port | Count | Specification |
|---|---|---|
| USB-C Power Delivery | 1 | Up to 100W pass-through to the MacBook |
| USB-C charging | 2 | 45W on one port, 20W each when both are in use |
| USB-C data | 2 | USB 3.2, 10Gbps |
| USB-A data | 1 | USB 3.2, 10Gbps |
| USB-A data | 5 | USB 3.0, 5Gbps |
| USB-A data or charging | 2 | 5Gbps data, or 7.5W charging |
| DC power input | 1 | 65W adapter, 20V / 3.25A, required for the hub to run |
The list has no HDMI entry, and that is not an omission. No port on the C1 carries video in any form. A USB-C to HDMI adapter, a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter or a USB-A to VGA dongle plugged into this hub will not produce a picture, because the hub does not pass DisplayPort Alt Mode through to any of its ports. Video has to come from the Mac itself, or from a hub with a dedicated HDMI port such as the C1Pro.
Two numbers on the port list matter more than the rest. Eight USB-A ports is the headline, because no MacBook sold today has a single USB-A port. And 65W of dedicated power is what separates a powered hub from the cheap unpowered kind.
How the Gitfos C1 handles power and charging
The C1 has two separate power inputs and only one of them can charge your MacBook. The bundled 65W DC adapter runs the hub itself and everything plugged into it. It cannot charge your laptop, and it is not designed to. Laptop charging comes from a second source: a USB-C PD charger that you supply and plug into the C1's PD port, which then passes up to 100W through the host cable to your Mac.
| Power input | Included in the box | What it powers | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 65W DC adapter, 20V / 3.25A | Yes | The hub itself, plus every drive, keyboard, card reader and charging port on it | It does not charge your MacBook. Without it the hub does not turn on at all. |
| USB-C PD port, up to 100W | No, you supply the charger | Pass-through charging for the MacBook, over the same cable that carries data | It does nothing until your own USB-C charger is connected to it. It generates no power on its own. |
Pass-through means the C1 passes along whatever your charger delivers, up to its 100W ceiling. It does not add power and it does not convert the 65W adapter's output into laptop charging. Plug in a 30W charger and your Mac receives roughly 30W, minus a small conversion loss. Plug in nothing and your Mac runs on its battery while the hub and its devices stay fully powered.
Which charger you should use depends on the MacBook, and Apple's own adapters are the safe reference point.
| MacBook | Adapter Apple ships with it | Charging through the C1 PD port |
|---|---|---|
| MacBook Neo, 13-inch | 20W USB-C | Full speed. The Neo has no MagSafe port, so pass-through charging frees up its second USB-C port. |
| MacBook Air 13.6-inch and 15.3-inch (M5) | 40W Dynamic Power Adapter, 60W maximum | Full speed. Fast charging needs a 70W adapter or higher. |
| MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5) | 70W USB-C | Full speed. Fast charging needs 96W or higher, which is still inside the C1's 100W ceiling. |
| MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5 Pro, M5 Max) | 96W USB-C | Full speed, with 4W of headroom left. |
| MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Max) | 140W USB-C | It charges, but the C1 caps at 100W. Under a heavy render the machine may charge slowly or hold its charge rather than gain. Use MagSafe 3 for that one. |
One consequence is worth planning around. If you want a true single-cable desk, your laptop charger lives on the C1 permanently, plugged into the PD port and left there. On a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro you can skip this entirely and charge over MagSafe 3 instead, which keeps both power paths independent and is the simpler arrangement.
Four MacBook problems a powered USB hub for MacBook actually solves
1. Apple removed USB-A and your gear did not
Every current MacBook has zero USB-A ports, and a large amount of working equipment still uses that connector. Label printers, scanners, audio interfaces, wireless keyboard and mouse receivers, security keys, older external drives and most studio gear are still USB-A. The C1 gives you eight of them, one of which runs at USB 3.2 speeds of 10Gbps for a fast drive.
2. Devices drop off because the Mac cannot power them all
A USB-C port on a MacBook supplies roughly 4.5W of bus power, which is 900mA at 5V under the USB 3 specification set by the USB-IF. That is enough for a keyboard and a mouse. It is not enough for two bus-powered SSDs, a portable drive and a hub at the same time, which is why disconnects and mount and unmount loops are the single most common complaint with unpowered hubs. The C1 draws from its own 65W adapter instead, so connected devices are not bidding against each other for a share of one port.
3. Charging your phone and iPad eats the ports you need
The C1 charges other devices without touching the ports on your Mac. Its two USB-C charging ports deliver 45W to a single device or 20W each when both are used, which covers an iPad Pro, an iPhone or a pair of headphones. Two of the USB-A ports switch between data and 7.5W charging. On a MacBook Air with only two Thunderbolt ports, that difference is the whole point.
4. Leaving your desk takes one cable, not six
Everything lives on the hub, so the MacBook connects with a single USB-C cable. Pull that one cable and the laptop is portable. Plug it back in and the whole desk reconnects. For a MacBook Neo, which has no MagSafe port and therefore spends one of its two ports on charging, this is the difference between a usable desk and a permanent dongle pile.
The MacBook Neo needs one extra decision
On the MacBook Neo, plug the C1 into the USB 3 port, not the USB 2 port. Apple built the Neo around the A18 Pro chip, and the two USB-C ports on it have different specifications despite looking identical from the outside. One runs USB 3 at 10Gbps and carries DisplayPort. The other runs USB 2 at 480Mbps and carries no video. A hub on the slow port will work, but every drive and card reader behind it is limited to 480Mbps, which is roughly twenty times slower than the same hub on the fast port.
That creates a choice if you also want an external monitor, because only the USB 3 port can drive one. Two workable setups:
- Speed first. C1 on the USB 3 port, no external display. Charging, drives and peripherals all run at full speed through the hub.
- Display first. Monitor on the USB 3 port, C1 on the USB 2 port. The hub then handles keyboard, mouse, charging and audio devices, which need almost no bandwidth, while the screen gets the fast port.
The second arrangement is the one most Neo owners want. Keyboards and mice use a fraction of a percent of USB 2 bandwidth, so nothing is lost by putting them on the slow port.
What the Gitfos C1 cannot do
The C1 has four real limits, and knowing them before you buy is worth more than a longer feature list.
- No video output, on any port. The C1 has no HDMI port, and its USB-C ports do not carry DisplayPort Alt Mode. A USB-C to HDMI adapter plugged into the hub will not produce a picture. Your display has to connect to the Mac directly, or to a hub that has an HDMI port such as the C1Pro.
- No SD or microSD reader and no Ethernet. The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro have an SDXC slot built in. MacBook Air and MacBook Neo owners who import from a camera need a separate reader or the C1Pro.
- It will not run on bus power. The 65W DC adapter has to be connected or the hub does not turn on. This is a desk hub, not a travel hub.
- It is not a Thunderbolt device. The C1 plugs into a Thunderbolt port but communicates as a USB hub. Thunderbolt-only hardware, including Thunderbolt docks, eGPU enclosures and the Apple Studio Display, needs to connect to the Mac directly.
One more Apple-specific limit is worth naming. The Apple SuperDrive does not work through any third-party hub or dock, including the C1. Apple designed it to be connected straight to the Mac, and no hub changes that.
How to set it up
- Connect the 65W DC adapter to the C1 first and let it power up. The hub does nothing without it.
- Connect the C1 to your MacBook with the included USB-C host cable. On a MacBook Neo, use the USB 3 port unless you have chosen the display-first setup above.
- If you want the hub to charge the Mac, plug a USB-C PD charger of your own into the C1's PD port. This is a separate charger from the bundled 65W DC adapter, which powers only the hub and its downstream ports. Skip this step if you prefer to charge over MagSafe 3.
- Add the fast devices first. Put your working SSD on one of the 10Gbps ports, USB 3.2 rather than USB 3.0, and leave the 5Gbps ports for keyboards, mice, printers and audio gear.
- Connect any display to the Mac itself, using HDMI on a MacBook Pro or a free Thunderbolt port on a MacBook Air.
If you are running the same hub on a desktop instead of a laptop, the wiring is slightly different and we cover it in connecting the Gitfos C1 to a desktop PC.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Gitfos C1 work with the MacBook Neo?
Yes. Plug it into the Neo's USB 3 port for full 10Gbps speed. The Neo's second USB-C port runs at USB 2 speeds of 480Mbps, and a hub on that port limits every device behind it to the same 480Mbps.
Does the Gitfos C1's included 65W adapter charge my MacBook?
No. The included 65W DC adapter powers the hub and the devices connected to it, and nothing else. To charge the MacBook you plug a separate USB-C PD charger into the C1's PD port, and the hub passes up to 100W of that charger's output through to your Mac.
Which charger should I plug into the Gitfos C1's PD port?
Use the charger that came with your MacBook, or anything up to 100W. A 20W adapter for a MacBook Neo, 40W for a MacBook Air, 70W or 96W for a 14-inch MacBook Pro all pass through at full speed. The 140W adapter for a 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max exceeds the C1's 100W ceiling, so that machine is better charged over MagSafe 3.
Does the Gitfos C1 support an external monitor?
No. The C1 has no HDMI port and none of its USB ports carry video, with or without an adapter. Connect the monitor to your MacBook directly, or use the C1Pro, which has a 4K at 60Hz HDMI port.
Do I need a powered USB hub for a MacBook Air?
You need one if you run more than one bus-powered device. A MacBook Air port supplies around 4.5W, which two portable SSDs will exceed, and the usual symptom is drives that disconnect at random. If you only use a keyboard and a mouse, an unpowered hub is fine.
Why does my USB hub keep disconnecting from my Mac?
The most common cause is power, not the cable. Bus-powered hubs split one port's 4.5W across everything attached, and devices drop off when the total draw exceeds it. A hub with its own power supply removes that limit.
Will the Gitfos C1 work without the power adapter?
No. The 65W DC adapter is required. The C1 has no bus-powered fallback mode and will not appear on your Mac if the adapter is unplugged.
The short version
Buy the C1 if your MacBook problem is ports and power, and buy the C1Pro if your problem includes a screen. The C1 is the better value at eight USB-A ports and 65W of dedicated power for a desk full of wired gear. It does nothing for display, card reading or Ethernet. For most MacBook Air and MacBook Neo owners the clean setup is a C1 handling every peripheral on one Thunderbolt or USB 3 port, with the display connected to the Mac on its own.
Compare both models on the Gitfos C1 product page and the Gitfos C1Pro product page, browse the full range under Hubs and Charging, or check the Gitfos Support Center if something is not behaving.