Review: generic USB-C power-through adapter

They're terrible, don't buy them.

If you own the new 12" Macbook, you have one USB-C port. It's also the power port, which means if you have anything plugged into that port, you're losing battery charge. To both stay plugged-in and operate a USB peripherala backup drive, sayyou have two choices: an $80 AV adapter from Apple that does things you don't need, or an enticingly cheap $20 third-party dongle that supposedly does.

These devices pass power though to the laptop while adding extra USB ports.They even come in a passably-accurate shades of the new gold and space gray colors. Any good? (more…)