CalDigit Introduces USB-C Dock With 10 Ports and Up to 94W Charging for Macs [Updated]

[Seanmitc]

CalDigit today unveiled a new Thunderbolt 4 dock with a wide selection of connectivity options, including three USB-A ports, one USB-C port, two HDMI 2.0 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, an SD card slot, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The dock also has a Thunderbolt 4 port that allows it to be connected to a Mac with a single cable, with up to 94W of pass-through charging for the latest MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models. The dock can be used with up to two 4K displays at 60Hz, but keep in mind that the new M1 Macs officially only support one external display.

Given that Thunderbolt 4 shares the USB-C port design, the dock is also compatible with the latest iPad Pro models and other USB-C devices.

The dock is priced at $219.99 in the United States and listed as in stock on CalDigit's website, where UK customers can also buy it. For customers in the rest of Europe, CalDigit says the dock will be available to purchase on Amazon starting later this month.

CalDigit has also introduced a new Thunderbolt 4 cable that works with any USB-C device, including Macs, providing up to 40Gb/s data speeds and up to 100W of power delivery. A 0.8-meter version of the cable is available now for $29.99 on CalDigit's website, and a two-meter version is slated to begin shipping in February.

OWC also introduced a Thunderbolt 4 dock last week that may be worth checking out for customers who are considering purchasing one.

Article Link: CalDigit Introduces Thunderbolt 4 Dock With 10 Ports and Up to 94W Charging for Macs

This looks no different (or even less capable) than CalDigit's other TB docks. OWC's TB4 dock with multiple TB ports looks way more attractive

 

[Populus]

AFAIK, thunderbolt 3 is thunderbolt 4 and thunderbolt 4 is thunderbolt 3. no difference. It's just intel upgraded it's naming. Just like USB 3.0 is USB 3.1 and USB 3.1 is USB 3.2.

No because all TB4 docks have backwards compatibility with USB-C only hosts. Not all TB3 docks (only one, I think), have backwards compatibility with USB-C hosts.

If there was a confusion reaction on the forum, I'd use it here.
Anyways, thanks for explaining it!

 

[DrKarl]

Every dock I've looked at - whether Caldigit, OWC, etc - has so few USB ports, whether A or C. I've got so many USB devices that it is beyond annoying to have to buy a port expander to plug into a dock.

 

[BeatCrazy]

So it looks like this TB4 dock will not work with the XDR display since it is HDMI only and no TB connection outside of the Mac? The TB3 dock does work with XDR.

The new M1 Macs are TB3 & USB4. They are not TB4 ports as it might be a licensing issue with Intel and/or it could be something with the M1 chips and would be coming in a later chip, say M2 or something else.

How does the old TB3 dock work with the XDR?

 

[jaytv111]

A quick question : the new M1 macs have Thunderbolt 4 or 3? Because reading Apples website isn’t very clear, as they say Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, but then, they say Thunderbolt 3 video on the specifications...

If Apple’s latest macs are Thunderbolt 3, I don’t see the advantage of a Thunderbolt 4 hub.

They are TB3 I believe. Apple did implement one of 4’s features in all TB3 devices, the 3 port hub feature (previously only allowed 1 port daisy chain) is new to TB4 but all Macs with TB3 can use it (PCs need TB4 to use it). OWC labels the M1 Macs as having TB3 and all Macs with TB3 is the exception to requiring TB4 for the host.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Every dock I've looked at - whether Caldigit, OWC, etc - has so few USB ports, whether A or C. I've got so many USB devices that it is beyond annoying to have to buy a port expander to plug into a dock.

Agreed, which is why I like my "original" USB-C dock from CalDigit. It has 3 USB-A and 1 USB-C. But I think I will replace it with the OWC TB4 hub, which has 3 USB-C/TB4 and 1 USB-A.

 

[carestudio]

Every dock I've looked at - whether Caldigit, OWC, etc - has so few USB ports, whether A or C. I've got so many USB devices that it is beyond annoying to have to buy a port expander to plug into a dock.

Get a caldigit TS3+, it should have enough USB ports or chain more USB hubs behind TS3+

 

[jaytv111]

How does the old TB3 dock work with the XDR?

As long as they pass through TB3 then it works. That’s the requirement for the XDR display, to use TB3 protocol, though some hosts run at lower resolutions than others.

 

[luvbug]

All the USB ports, whether A or C connectors, are 5 Gbit/s. For $219? Not worth it. Those USB speeds won't even handle a slow portable SSD drive, these days (usually 1 GByte/s+ r/w). Pass.

 

[carestudio]

If there was a confusion reaction on the forum, I'd use it here.
Anyways, thanks for explaining it!

As an end customer, I really don't care it's Thunderbolt 4 or Thunderbolt 3, as long as it's 40G and as long as it's supported by M1 just like I don't care if it is USB 3.0, 3.1 or 3.2 or 4.0. All I need is 40G and if they are compatible with each other LOL

 

[eMacKilla]

Is this better than their TS3+ hub?

 

[BeatCrazy]

As long as they pass through TB3 then it works. That’s the requirement for the XDR display, to use TB3 protocol, though some hosts run at lower resolutions than others.

Oh right. I forgot it had a downstream TB3 port.

 

[jaytv111]

AFAIK, thunderbolt 3 is thunderbolt 4 and thunderbolt 4 is thunderbolt 3. no difference. It's just intel upgraded it's naming. Just like USB 3.0 is USB 3.1 and USB 3.1 is USB 3.2.

To be clear, there is a difference, but mostly a feature difference between 3 and 4. The speed is the same (40 gbits). The reason a lot of TB4 docks are coming out now is because of the new "hub" feature, previously was daisy-chain only. Though Apple implemented a hub feature in all Macs with TB3 apparently (OWC's page on their TB4 dock says compatibility is maintained on all TB3 Macs, but PCs need TB4).

 

[repoman27]

Yeah, this is not a Thunderbolt 4 dock. It would appear to be a Thunderbolt 3 dock based on the Intel JHL7440 "Titan Ridge" controller which supports compatibility with USB-C hosts on the upstream port.

And to clarify, Thunderbolt 4 is USB4 with mandatory support for interoperability with Thunderbolt 3 devices, as well as various other minimum requirements. USB4 is a tunneling protocol based on Thunderbolt 3, but the two are not the same, and in fact interoperability between the two is not at all a requirement.

The Apple M1 Type-C IO controller is USB4 with Thunderbolt 3 interoperability, however, because the GPU can only provide it with a single display output stream, it is not technically Thunderbolt 4. It appears to meet all of the other requirements though.

 

[Quu]

I have the older model of this which has two display port out. Really convenient. I don't really get why they switched to HDMI to be honest with you.

Anyway the old model looks identical except for the port switch and comes with a slightly less power AC adapter. Still charges my 16" MBP just fine though.

 

[carestudio]

Is this better than their TS3+ hub?

no, from the spec, I would still use TS3+. It is still their flagship and is the best thunderbolt dock in town.

 

[posguy99]

All the USB ports, whether A or C connectors, are 5 Gbit/s. For $219? Not worth it. Those USB speeds won't even handle a slow portable SSD drive, these days (usually 1 GByte/s+ r/w). Pass.

Not true, the USBC on the front is 10G. Says right here on the front label and on the spec page.

This is the more or less the regular USB-C Pro dock, with the inexplicable change of removing the DP connectors in favor of HDMI. In what universe is THAT a good idea?

 

[fhall1]

If anyone sees me lining up paperclips like that, pls dial 911.

First thing I noticed was the OCD paperclips - does that mean we have OCD too?

 

[Stephen.R]

and no DP ?

Yeah I don’t understand the obsession with hdmi on hubs/docks like this.

A cheap portable USB-c hub? Ok it’s a lowest common denominator thing. But these are not cheap.

 

[MacMediaNet]

Why one USB-C port only? That is not enough, four would be great.

 

[repoman27]

Thunderbolt, Thunderbolt 2, and Thunderbolt 3 can tunnel the DisplayPort and PCI Express protocols. They cannot directly tunnel the USB protocol. Instead, they use a PCIe to USB host controller interface and tunnel the resulting PCIe traffic.

USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 are capable of tunneling the USB protocol in addition to DisplayPort and PCI Express. All Thunderbolt 4 products support USB4 and the Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C Alternate Mode for backwards compatibility. USB4 products can optionally support Thunderbolt 3 Alt Mode, but it is not a requirement.

 

[ChromeAce]

If these dock makers keep putting in USB-A ports I’m gonna keep rolling my eyes. Move on already. Those with legacy devices can buy adapters. Let’s move on already to USB 4 and Thunderbolt only.

 

[The_Gream]

I went with Anker for my M1 hub. This is nothing more than a USB-4 hub. No daisy chain thunderbolt. Poor port selection. And sorry to say, you are not going to find a lot of peripheral‘s that run at the UBS-4 speeds yet, or for a while.

edit: just watch for a sale and pick it up cheaper.

Anker Docking Station, PowerExpand 13-in-1 USB-C Dock for USB-C Laptops, 85W Charging for Laptop, 18W Charging for Phone, 4K HDMI, 1Gbps Ethernet, Audio, USB-A Gen 1, USB-C Gen 2, SD 3.0 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088F7SY6S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_Rh0.FbTV032BP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[repoman27]

As long as they pass through TB3 then it works. That’s the requirement for the XDR display, to use TB3 protocol, though some hosts run at lower resolutions than others.

The Pro Display XDR is a beast though. It requires DisplayPort 1.4 and either 6 lanes of HBR3 or 4 lanes of HBR2 with DSC from the GPU and a 7000 series (Titan Ridge) Thunderbolt 3 controller or newer for the host.

 

[repoman27]

I went with Anker for my M1 hub. This is nothing more than a USB-4 hub. No daisy chain thunderbolt. Poor port selection. And sorry to say, you are not going to find a lot of peripheral‘s that run at the UBS-4 speeds yet, or for a while.

edit: just watch for a sale and pick it up cheaper.

Anker Docking Station, PowerExpand 13-in-1 USB-C Dock for USB-C Laptops, 85W Charging for Laptop, 18W Charging for Phone, 4K HDMI, 1Gbps Ethernet, Audio, USB-A Gen 1, USB-C Gen 2, SD 3.0 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088F7SY6S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_Rh0.FbTV032BP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

It's not even USB4 though. It's Thunderbolt 3 with support for USB3 Type-C hosts.