As has been pointed out, it is not a new product, just re-badged with the new parent company’s brand. Having said that, there are still quite a few CFast cameras in the world (they still dominate the rental market).
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OWC Debuts Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock With eSATA, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and More
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If you really need a CFast Reader, I would recommend this one - https://www.gnarbox.com/products/gnarbox-cfast-2-0-reader-with-microsd-sd-uhs-ii-type-c-usb3-1 - instead of buying a Dock, unless you are stationary most of the time. The reader also comes with microSD and a full size SD Card reader via USB-C 3.1 Gen 1. The cost is also only $50, which is nothing if you are dealing with CFast professionally (or even hobby-wise), because you should have known what you were getting yourself into when you bought the camera. Same for XQD.
Here is a brief bit of news about the Akitio, pre-OWC buyout - https://www.anandtech.com/show/1349...o-aquantias-10-gbe-usba-card-reader-esata-etc
The main claim to fame for this Dock at the time was the 10GbpsE Aquantia chip and the active/passive cooling switch on the Dock.
Here is a brief bit of news about the Akitio, pre-OWC buyout - https://www.anandtech.com/show/1349...o-aquantias-10-gbe-usba-card-reader-esata-etc
The main claim to fame for this Dock at the time was the 10GbpsE Aquantia chip and the active/passive cooling switch on the Dock.
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CalDigit has this, it's called the USB-C Pro Dock and it works with iOS devices with USB-C. You can attach a CFast reader to it.
Another pointless dock with the gall to call it Pro when it’s stuck in 2012. Legacy USB is over. Get those old-school 1998 ports off my ****. Put in 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports and use adapters if you need to use obsolete junk. I can buy a 1TB Lexar SD card so nix that huge useless CF port. Ditto for eSATA. Pointless when you should be able to just slide standard-sized SATA SSDs right in, so add 4 slots for that. 10Gb Ethernet is nice, but there are still no consumer-priced switches that support it. Make these changes and call me for a credit card number.
You're using SD like it's 1999? Or SATA like it's 2012? Man it should have CFexpress and NVMe PCIe 4.0 like a real modern dock!
Not needed unless you are plugging accessories into the laptop instead of the dock. They have a nice explanation of power consumption on their website, and explain how 60w is plenty for a 15". I'm running the Akito version now for over a year with a 15" and it's perfect.
Still just 60 Watts? I know that most users can get by with less than the 100W the USB-C PD spec can provide but WTH? I'm somewhat agnostic about the USB-A ports. A 10Gb USB-C to USB-A hub is not very expensive. I'd prefer to see all 10 Gb USB-C connectors on state of the art pro equipment given USB-A is obsolete.
And, sSATA? Does anyone really still use that?
Has OWC been associated with Apple for so long that, like Apple, what their customers want doesn't matter?
And, sSATA? Does anyone really still use that?
Has OWC been associated with Apple for so long that, like Apple, what their customers want doesn't matter?
Not criticising it, but Just be aware that its actually a Thunderbolt 3 dock that can fall back to USB-C* mode when you connect a non-TB3 computer to it, and that some features (particularly support for dual displays) won't work or will be downgraded in USB-C mode. Also remember that USB-C* can't do 4K@60Hz and 5Gbps USB 3.1 at the same time. If you're never going to use it with a TB3 computer you'll be paying for features that you can't use and would be better off getting a cheaper USB hub/dock.
* That's USB-C as in (deep breath) "a USB-C host port that doesn't support Thunderbolt and relies on USB-C DisplayPort alt mode for video as found on an iPad or 12" MacBook and many PCs". InB4 the "USB-C is just a connector" brigade.
Meh, so basically the other 3 ports on the computer are useless when the dock is in use? You can only use them for power input?
Even CFast 2.0 is much faster than a SD card, two to three times faster at worse. And standard CF cards clock in faster than all but the very newest SD cards thought in real world on a camera, even the higher rated SD cards don’t keep up. So let’s keep that consumer rubbish out of Mac‘s and pro docks!
Not useless - the suggestion is that if you connect all your power-hungry devices to the hub (disc drives without their own PSUs, iPhones you want to charge) then 60W is fine to just run/charge the Mac.
If you think about it, apart maybe from charging your phone, the devices that you want to connect to a full-sized dock are mainly bulky things designed for the desktop which likely have their own power supplies (displays, full-sized storage devices) that you'd want to leave permanently hooked up on your desk - while the things you'd still connect directly to the laptop are the portable, self-powered stuff that you take on the road (...and have probably got USB-C cables for by now), so that idea has it exactly the wrong way around...
Not that this hub has a particularly generous supply of USB-A ports (and even fewer USB-C ports - but that's partly down to USB-C being a silly idea that makes extra ports expensive/complex to implement) - and just a single port on the front, which is where you'd want to attach portable equipment.
Its just a rationalisation for nickel-and-diming customers by not supporting 85W power output. Ignore it and get a dock that can supply 85W - unless you desperately want eSATA or 10GB Ethernet.
My understanding was that 60w wouldn't be enough to actually charge the 15" MBP, especially not while in use. Am I wrong in that assumption?
As for the fan, I feel as though if it's needed, this dock ought to be able to charge a Tesla. I haven't exactly kept my ear to the rails on TB3 docks, but I don't believe any other models have a fan.
60w is enough to charge the 15” MacBook Pro, but it will be slower and is simply not optimal.
As I understood from the marketing before this went on sale from Akitio, the fan is to help cool the 10GbE Aquantia chip along with the other silicon in the system. It can switches on and off depending on the circumstances of the individual user’s needs.
Either way, how well it will sell remains to be seen.
Yup. It's PR spin. Don't buy a less-than 87 W dock for a 15-inch MacBook Pro. Just don't do it.
As someone who watched their battery life die rapidly using 86/87W chargers- I respectfully have to disagree. They need to introduce better software management for their batteries on macOS. I have a few friends who have had the same issue as I have with high powered Thunderbolt 3/USB-C charging via docks.
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I don’t know if optimal is the correct wording. If we had better battery conditioning through software then I’d agree. I hate that my production MacBook Pro needs to go to Apple for battery service because of a software oversight.
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Here’s my hot take on this.
I encode video a lot with this thing (either Prores exports or h264 for delivery) and when using it for a 7-8 workday after the battery was dead yielded a very quick charge even during highly intensive workloads.
Now if the battery meter was inaccurate/ my battery was defective on arrival- that would be the only way I’d consider the 87W argument. But again for my years of usage- I found that going from the old 60W dock to the 86W made very little to no difference in terms of charge speed during heavy usage from a dead battery.
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I think ‘pro’ bedsheets would have an entirely different connotation.