Sonnet Introduces Thunderbolt 4 Dock With Up to 90W Charging for Macs

[MacRumors]

Accessory maker Sonnet today introduced the Echo 11 Thunderbolt 4 Dock, which greatly expands a Mac's connectivity options for storage drives, external displays, and more. The dock is equipped with four Thunderbolt 4 ports, four USB-A ports (three 3.2 and one 2.0), one Gigabit Ethernet port, one 3.5mm combo audio jack, and one SD card slot.

The dock is compatible with all Intel-based and M1-based Macs with Thunderbolt 4/Thunderbolt 3 ports, and provides up to 90W of pass-through charging with a single-cable connection. Depending on the Mac, the dock also supports connecting one external display with up to 8K resolution or up to two external displays with up to 5K resolution.

Given that Thunderbolt 4 shares the same connector design as USB-C, the dock can also be used with 2018 and newer iPad Pro models, as well as the fourth-generation iPad Air. It can also connect to USB-C external displays.

Sonnet says the dock will be available in early April in the United States, priced at $249.99, with international availability to follow in May. For a limited time, customers in the United States and Canada may sign up on Sonnet's website to receive a promotion code that will allow them to purchase the dock for $199.99 when it is available.

OWC and CalDigit also introduced Thunderbolt 4 docks recently, priced at $249 and $179.99, respectively, so it's worth checking out all three options. Those two brands also announced availability of Thunderbolt 4 cables today.

Article Link: Sonnet Introduces Thunderbolt 4 Dock With Up to 90W Charging for Macs

 

[giggles]

I like this new wave of Thunderbolt 4 docks being all the rage but since it’s 2021 why none of them sports a 2.5Gbps ethernet port? (I understand a 10Gbe would be a bit taxing thermal-wise, but at least give us 2.5G...gigabit is so last decade..)

 

[patsfan83]

Only 1 monitor with M1 Macs.

 

[LeeTom]

So the computer attaches from the FRONT? Seems kind of odd... the upstream TB4 port should be in the back...

 

[litmag01]

Only 1 monitor with M1 Macs.

Good point! It is a serious issue which is surprising considering they pushed the M1 up into the pro line.

 

[guzhogi]

I like this new wave of Thunderbolt 4 docks being all the rage but since it’s 2021 why none of them sports a 2.5Gbps ethernet port? (I understand a 10Gbe would be a bit taxing thermal-wise, but at least give us 2.5G...gigabit is so last decade..)

I wonder how big a market there is for >1 Gb ethernet? In my experience, MacRumors is an echo chamber of super-techie people, while the general Mac community isn't as techie.

 

[krusnof]

Only 1 monitor with M1 Macs.

Technically, but not fully true. Apple supports 1 monitor on M1, but using DisplayLink you can add up to 7–8: https://www.macrumors.com/2020/11/24/m1-macs-able-to-run-six-external-displays/

 

[NewUsername]

I thought the M1 Macs have TB3/USB4?

 

[litmag01]

So the computer attaches from the FRONT? Seems kind of odd... the upstream TB4 port should be in the back...

If it was a space issue they could have easily dumped one of the USB3 ports on the back.

 

[KPOM]

I thought the M1 Macs have TB3/USB4?

Yes, but they conform to most of the TB4 specs except the ability to drive a second external display.

 

[litmag01]

Technically, but not fully true. Apple supports 1 monitor on M1, but using DisplayLink you can add up to 7–8: https://www.macrumors.com/2020/11/24/m1-macs-able-to-run-six-external-displays/

Nice... although unfortunately this comment just added a metric ton of support tickets to any enterprise deployment environment.

 

[poematik13]

Has no functional difference from my TS3+ aside from 90w (mine's 87) I gues. Still waiting for a new dock that has 2.5 or 10GBe ethernet or something actually new

 

[SkyRom]

This looks amazing and functional. My biggest complaint with my iMacs is the ridiculous placement and limited ports on the devices. Definitely worth a look.

 

[Ballis]

I wonder how big a market there is for >1 Gb ethernet? In my experience, MacRumors is an echo chamber of super-techie people, while the general Mac community isn't as techie.

For pretty much anyone with a decent NAS, 10 gbe would be welcome. Even the Mac mini can be delivered with it nowdays. Hardly super high tech.

 

[guzhogi]

For pretty much anyone with a decent NAS, 10 gbe would be welcome. Even the Mac mini can be delivered with it nowdays. Hardly super high tech.

Still gotta wonder how many people have a NAS in the first place, or even know what it is for that matter.

 

[toke lahti]

Yes, but they conform to most of the TB4 specs except the ability to drive a second external display.

This is SOOO confusing!
Usb4 should be equal to TB4.
M1-macs do have usb4, but not TB4?
Apple is breaking the standard?

Can you use this TB4 hubs with M1-mac and connect more TB devices with a TB hub?
Or not?

There’s 2 TB ports on M1 macs.
Can you connect 3 TB devices to it with TB hub?
If not, how they are allowed to call those ports usb4?

Nobody has tried?
Or at least made an article about it?
Maybe it’s time for MR to do an article about this?

 

[ruka.snow]

Swap the SD slot for CF Express, remove the front USA-A, move the front TB4 to the back, and remove the lights.

 

[hagjohn]

Only 1 monitor with M1 Macs.

Not sure why this keeps getting passed around but M1 Mini can support 2 monitors.

Mac mini - Technical Specifications

See all the technical specifications for Mac mini with the M2 or M2 Pro chip.

www.apple.com

Video Support
Simultaneously supports up to two displays:

• One display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz connected via Thunderbolt and one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz connected via HDMI 2.0

 

[zpjet]

That picture is so badly photoshoped that my eyes hurt

 

[gaximus]

You can barely see the logo, they should have made it bigger. /s.

 

[Exponent]

Still gotta wonder how many people have a NAS in the first place, or even know what it is for that matter.

Professionals - who the dock industry is targeting - certainly are well aware of NAS and high-speed networking.
If you have to slog around a lot of data as part of your job…
…and you're waiting around for that to get done…
…and you're not asking "how can I eliminate this delay"…
… then you're not a competent professional.

 

[BeatCrazy]

I like this new wave of Thunderbolt 4 docks being all the rage but since it’s 2021 why none of them sports a 2.5Gbps ethernet port? (I understand a 10Gbe would be a bit taxing thermal-wise, but at least give us 2.5G...gigabit is so last decade..)

Yeah this is a drag. The only TB dock with 10GbE is the OWC Pro TB3 dock @ $299. Else you need to get a $150 TB3 to 10GbE adapter, and the prices (and size!) have never seemed to budge.

 

[repoman27]

This is SOOO confusing!
Usb4 should be equal to TB4.
M1-macs do have usb4, but not TB4?
Apple is breaking the standard?

Can you use this TB4 hubs with M1-mac and connect more TB devices with a TB hub?
Or not?

There’s 2 TB ports on M1 macs.
Can you connect 3 TB devices to it with TB hub?
If not, how they are allowed to call those ports usb4?

Nobody has tried?
Or at least made an article about it?
Maybe it’s time for MR to do an article about this?

Why would Thunderbolt 4 exist if it were the exact same standard as USB4?
Yes, M1 Macs have USB4 ports that support Thunderbolt 3 Alt Mode but are not certified as Thunderbolt 4. This is totally permissible according to the USB4 specification.
Apple is not breaking any standards.

Yes, Thunderbolt 4 hubs will work with all Macs with Thunderbolt 3 or USB4 ports running macOS 11.1 Big Sur or later. Yes, they will allow you to directly connect up to three additional Thunderbolt devices.

You can connect up to 6 devices to each Thunderbolt/USB4 port on an M1 Mac, either via daisy chaining or using Thunderbolt/USB4 hubs/docks.
They can call them USB4 because they are USB4.

Yes, people have tried.
Maybe you could try reading previous articles/posts about Thunderbolt/USB4 hubs and M1 Macs on this site, or even the tech spec pages for these products which explain compatibility quite clearly.

 

[KPOM]

This is SOOO confusing!
Usb4 should be equal to TB4.
M1-macs do have usb4, but not TB4?
Apple is breaking the standard?

Can you use this TB4 hubs with M1-mac and connect more TB devices with a TB hub?
Or not?

There’s 2 TB ports on M1 macs.
Can you connect 3 TB devices to it with TB hub?
If not, how they are allowed to call those ports usb4?

Nobody has tried?
Or at least made an article about it?
Maybe it’s time for MR to do an article about this?

TB4 automatically meets the requirements of USB4, but not the other way around.

Yes, you can connect 3 TB devices through the hubs on M1 Macs. I have an OWC Thunderbolt 4 hub and it works,

 

[repoman27]

Has no functional difference from my TS3+ aside from 90w (mine's 87) I gues. Still waiting for a new dock that has 2.5 or 10GBe ethernet or something actually new

Your TS3+ does not have 3 downstream facing Thunderbolt/USB4 ports. That's really the major distinction with this new wave of hubs and docks. Until recently, Intel had never offered a Thunderbolt controller with more than two ports, which made daisy chaining the only viable topology for adding more Thunderbolt devices.

Not sure why this keeps getting passed around but M1 Mini can support 2 monitors.

Mac mini - Technical Specifications

See all the technical specifications for Mac mini with the M2 or M2 Pro chip.

www.apple.com

Video Support
Simultaneously supports up to two displays:

• One display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz connected via Thunderbolt and one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz connected via HDMI 2.0

Yes, but only one display stream is available via Thunderbolt/USB4. On the M1 MacBook Air and Pro the second display output stream is dedicated to the built-in panel, and on the mini it goes to the HDMI port. Thunderbolt 4 specifies at least two 4K display streams per 2-port controller.