Belkin Debuts New 12-Port CONNECT Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock

[Macintosh TV]

Ooooof, want one but the Amazon reviews are horrid. Everyone saying the HDMI doesn't work.

Edit: Nevermind. The Belkin site makes it clear that on a Mac, you have to use HDMI 2 and Thunderbolt 4 to get dual monitors. It's an Apple thing. On a Windows machine you can use both HDMI ports.

 

[HiVolt]

The prices on these docks continue to be just insane. What the heck is in them to warrant those prices?

 

[DFP1989]

Laughable.

They are absolutely crazy thinking this is worth $400 with that selection of ports. Only one usable Thunderbolt port, and why on earth are there two USB 2.0 ports in 2022?

 

[MozMan68]

Laughable.

They are absolutely crazy thinking this is worth $400 with that selection of ports. Only one usable Thunderbolt port, and why on earth are there two USB 2.0 ports in 2022?

A lot of wireless mouse/keyboards still use USB 2.0 as well as some other peripherals. That's just a place to plug in those "receivers."

 

[Lunchb0x8]

Doesn’t even include the cable to connect it to the computer? ?

That is an error in their product details.
Mine has the cable for connecting to the Mac, I think they mean to say, "Does not include adapters and cables for displays"

I use screens with USB-C (DP) ports, so I had cables for that.

 

[Big Jobs]

I picked this TS4 beast up and it’s special:

View attachment 1964549

i bought the OWC thunderbolt 4 dock as it had one extra thunderbolt 4 port than the one above and it was cheaper slimmer and fit perfectly under my display

 

[jeffpeng]

Monitors with built-in hubs are the way to go. Maybe those rumored apple displays will follow this logic. My monitor (S34A650U) has a USB3 hub and Gigabit Ethernet support integrated, and also offers very decent charging - all over the same USB-C cable it uses for display data at 3440x1440@100. If it had an integrated webcam it would be the perfect device to pair with laptops. This is much more convenient than having an additional spaghetti device on your table - and less expensive.

 

[unfunfionn]

Who in their right mind spends $400 on Belkin quality?

 

[DJLC]

I'll admit I've had a mixed experience with my OWB TB4 dock. But given the price and quality of their support team, I'm still glad I went with it, especially in comparison to overpriced competition like this. $400 for no additional Thunderbolt ports and GigE? Pass.

Do wonder if I'd have been happier with the CalDigit TS4, but the ship has sailed, and I don't care to take a lifeboat back to shore (returns, waiting for new dock, etc).

 

[svish]

Seems good. But don’t know why USB 2 ports are present. All should have been USB 3. Also price seems to be on the higher side.

 

[02-serious-stent]

Hahahahaha.

A “pro” dock with HDMI. ??‍♂️

 

[a_f]

Belkin is by far the worst 3rd party Mac-compatible accessory maker. Every single one that I've bought has failed.

 

[bodhisattva]

Take a look at the reviews so far. Seems like several are stating finicky HDMI connectivity when connecting to new M1 Max/Pro. I've had too many miracle devices that promise multiple monitors. $400 is a bit steep for a 50/50 chance that my cables work.

 

[a_f]

Belkin makes the absolute worst products. I'm not sure how they're still in business.

Could not agree more. Without fail - they fail.

 

[mtnr]

I don’t understand the point of these newer Thunderbolt docks unless they can offer functionality the new Macbook Pros don’t have such as:

• A micro SD slot (almost all action cams and drones use this format)
• CF Express lot (most newer professional mirrorless cameras use this format)

Or offer truly Pro features present on desktop macs (even the mini!) like:

Multi-gig ethernet ports (1G? really?)



Or, at the very least, match the charging speeds of the new Macbook Pros.



TB3 docks that came out years ago have offered similar (and sometimes better) functionality to this new crop of TB4 docks. And on top of all this…$400?



I'm currently just using a cheap Anker TB4 dock with my 16" M1Max that simply gives me 3 additional TB4 ports…and then I run a TB-to-10G ethernet adaptor off of one of them (which I bought years ago), and connect a DAS to the other and the third has a USB-C-to-USB-A adaptor if I need it. Simple, and done!

 

[CarlJ]

We don't need more USB ports or Ethernet, we need hubs with at least 4 USB-C and Thunderbolt ports. Is there a technical reason why these haven't become common?

You don't need Ethernet, perhaps, but don't speak for "we". Ethernet would be one of my main reasons for getting a dock.

 

[Big Jobs]

Monitors with built-in hubs are the way to go. Maybe those rumored apple displays will follow this logic. My monitor (S34A650U) has a USB3 hub and Gigabit Ethernet support integrated, and also offers very decent charging - all over the same USB-C cable it uses for display data at 3440x1440@100. If it had an integrated webcam it would be the perfect device to pair with laptops. This is much more convenient than having an additional spaghetti device on your table - and less expensive.

not so much, built in hubs on monitors depending on optimisation of PD and data throughput in Mac OS Monterey and M1 Macs are notorious for causing a slew of slow data and jittering display problems - I bought a OWC thunderbolt 4 dock 4 all data and display throughput turned off all PD in sleep and off mode on my 4k monitors menu systems and overall that seems to be the best behaved option for PD AND data & stable display.

 

[Denzo]

As someone who grew up in the 80s, I completely appreciated technological advances, but now, with everything upgrading so fast, I don't even bother. The cost of these "docks," only for them to be garbage in 12 months. Then, they tell us about the environment.

 

[CYB3RBYTE]

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.

While you can charge them, if you are doing any sort of activity that has the computer under load while charging (like lets say editing video, which is something that people who own MacBook Pros typically do) it will drain the battery while charging, aging the battery quicker than normal.

You should only use a lower power charger than rated for your device in emergencies or when the correct charger is not available, as for example right now there is a long wait on 67w, 96w, and 140w chargers from Apple.com.