On first glance, the recent CalDigit one seems like a better idea.
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Belkin Debuts New 12-Port CONNECT Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock
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Doesn't seem to offer all that much for $400. CalDigit's TB4 dock is priced at $359.95 in the United States
Because they're unnecessary - Thunderbolt 4 is a passthrough connection, you can have one input go out to another device then out to another, and so on. Extra USB C ports for data make sense, and some have a couple of those like the new CalDigit dock, which is by far the best dock on the market for the price and functionality but consistently out of stock.
You'd be surprised, I've recently run into mice and keyboards that will act wonky if plugged into anything higher than USB 2.
This is literally the same device as the Anker Apex but $50 more expensive
Anker 777 Thunderbolt Docking Station (Apex, 12-in-1, Thunderbolt 4), Max 90W Charging for Laptop, 20W Power Delivery, Single 8K, Triple 4K Display, 10Gbps Data, Ethernet, Audio, SD
Model Number: A8397 Anker 777 Thunderbolt Docking Station (Apex, 12-in-1, Thunderbolt 4)/Apex Thunderbolt 4 Docking StationPeak Performance, Total Connectivity What’s in The Box: Anker 777 Thunderbolt Docking Station (Apex, 12-in-1, Thunderbolt 4)/ Apex Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station, 120W power a...smile.amazon.com
Same - other than the case being different and the internals being different, with different capabilities. Also different DC power blocks with different input capacity.
There's a tradeoff but this board many manufacturers are using was configured that way from the start. Probably because it's sharing the same 40 Gbps bandwidth as the rest of the dock, take up too much of that and you're going to lose video quality. CalDigit has 2.5 in theirs, though, and it's the first true next generation dock if you ask me.
Take a look at the port and button locations, it's literally the same board inside. Sure, there are some differences...and I'd choose this over the Anker...but I also can't argue why much more than because it looks nicer and has a better build quality to it.
I think its funny if you click on Belkin website it shows momentary to the right of a $399 price a strikethrough/line $399. Like they announce this product but not sure its going to stay at $399 list price.
I picked this TS4 beast up and it’s special:
It should be. There is a severe lack of docks with thunderbolt / usb c ports. Considering how few Apple puts in most of their products, it is a big deal.
I saw the price for the cable thinking it was for the whole unit and was excited the price for these came down ?
So I'm in the market for my first dock. MBA M1, 1x 4K monitor, Logitech keyboard/mouse, webcam, etc.
What's the best one for the price? I keep leaning toward the CalDigit for the ports. And read Anker doesn't work with M1 Macs.
What's the best one for the price? I keep leaning toward the CalDigit for the ports. And read Anker doesn't work with M1 Macs.
Kinda pricey, given that it doesn't even have anything faster than 1GigE.
Seems like there's a Thunderbolt port on the back.
Seems like there's a Thunderbolt port on the back.
Yes there is.
But there is a little computer icon on the front port. That's the port you're supposed to use to connect to the laptop. I'm guessing that front port is the only port that provides enough power for the laptop.
Check the CalDigit dock too. It also has a specific port for the laptop. But it's on the back.
Nobody ever gets these products right. They should ask the customers what they need and just build that.
Again, another dock designed specifically with Mac portable users in mind that doesn’t meet the ACTUAL power requirements for HALF the current portable lineup. These pro docks should provide 96W or 140W of power so that when an attached 14” or 16” is running intensive workloads it doesn’t drain the battery WHILE CHARGING.
Can’t believe these dock makers have not realized that. This sort of design misstep is what contributed to my 16” MBP’s battery aging faster than it should have…
Can’t believe these dock makers have not realized that. This sort of design misstep is what contributed to my 16” MBP’s battery aging faster than it should have…
Thunderbolt daisy chains. The intention is to go thunderbolt to the dock, thunderbolt to the monitor, thunderbolt from there to another monitor, the monitors loaded up with more connections, etc. The dock is meant to cover the PC peripherals and anything requiring another thunderbolt port would suck up the 40 Gbps limitation of throughput so it should have its own connection. The first manufacturer to load one up with ports will have complaints of choppy video output, I guarantee it.
This isn't just an Apple thing by the way, most PC's have just one Thunderbolt port - and my brand new high end HP laptop has just one extra USB C port.
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You will never find one that outputs 140 watts as that is still outside of the spec. You can charge any of these pros on far less, it just won't fast charge, which should be fine when docking anyway.