Satechi has announced the ExtendView USB4 Dual HDMI Multiport Adapter, a compact hub designed to add two external monitors from a single USB4 cable.

The key point is how it does it. Most dual-monitor adapters for Macs rely on DisplayLink, which means installing drivers, running a background app and accepting some compression and lag. Satechi’s adapter uses USB4’s native display engine instead, so there’s nothing to install. Satechi says it delivers two true 4K extended displays on Apple M3, M4, M5 and M6 Macs and most Windows USB4 laptops.

For photographers and video editors, two big screens make a huge difference. You can keep a Lightroom catalogue or an editing timeline on one display and a full-screen preview on the other. It should also suit compact mini PCs with USB4 ports, which are increasingly being used as editing machines, although it’s worth checking your machine supports two displays over a single USB4 port.

As well as the two HDMI ports, each running at up to 4K/60Hz, there’s up to 140W pass-through charging to keep a laptop powered, plus USB-A and USB-C data ports running at up to 10Gbps for transferring footage and backups. The aluminium body comes in Space Black, and the braided nylon cable tucks into a built-in slot for travel.

There are a couple of limitations to be aware of. Base M1 and M2 Macs only support a single external display this way, as do iPads, so it’s the newer Apple silicon machines that will get the full benefit. The adapter works across macOS, Windows and ChromeOS, so you can swap between a Mac and a Windows laptop with the same monitors.

We’ve got a review unit on the way and will be testing it with both a MacBook and a selection of mini PCs.

Satechi ExtendView USB4 Dual HDMI Multiport Adapter specifications

Satechi ExtendView USB4 Dual HDMI Multiport Adapter price and availability

The ExtendView USB4 Dual HDMI Multiport Adapter is available now for $119.99 from Satechi and Amazon. UK pricing hasn’t yet been confirmed. Find out more on the Satechi product page.