Is Elgato’s Thunderbolt 3 Dock an Essential MacBook Pro Companion?
Available for sale from next month, Elgato’s Thunderbolt 3 Dock provides all the interconnects any MacBook or MacBook Pro user needs, including support for legacy USB, Ethernet and more – and all through a single Thunderbolt 3 cable. The product will be available in the US and UK (£269) from early June.
Everything You Want, You Got it
The successor to Elgato’s popular Thunderbolt 2 Dock (UK link, US link), the new edition adds a range of connections many Mac users might need. The idea is that with the dock and an external monitor, your MacBook or MacBook Pro becomes a desktop Mac as and when you want it to be.
The German product design company evidently listened to some of the criticisms of Apple’s new Macs, as the Thunderbolt 3 Dock supports the following useful interconnects you just won’t find on the base machine:
- Dual 4K monitors (or one 5K monitor)
- 3x SuperSpeed USB devices (which can even recharge your iPhone)
- Gigabit Ethernet,
- Audio in and out,
- Charging for the MacBook up to 85 W, all through a single Thunderbolt 3 cable.
Everything You Need
These are the tech specs for the product.
Ports
2x Thunderbolt™ 3 (USB-C) with support for:
- – Thunderbolt (40 Gb/s)
- – Computer Charging (up to 85 W)
- – Device Power (up to 15 W)
- – USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10 Gb/s)
- – DisplayPort (up to 4K)
1x DisplayPort with support for:
- – DisplayPort 1.2
- – HDMI 1.4b
1x RJ45 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet
3x USB 3.0 (5 Gb/s, 1.5 A, USB Battery Charging 1.2 & UASP)
1x 3.5 mm Headphone Output (amplified analog stereo)
1x 3.5 mm Microphone Input (mono)
1x Power Input (DC 20 V, 8.5 A)
Dimensions & Weight
- Dimensions: 20 x 8.9 x 2.9 cm / 7.9 x 3.2 x 1.1 in
- Weight: 300 g / 10.5 oz
It ships from June 6 and includes a power supply and a 50cm Thunderbolt 3 cable
Is it Essential?
Apple faced a huge heap of criticism when it moved Macs over to USB-C. Some of it was warranted — why use an adaptor to recharge an iPhone? But much of it was less than constructive. However, if you are a Mac pro wanting to get the very best you can out of your existing peripheral devices (particularly in the video space), then you’ll want one of these. I think this might include video and graphics pros, who should probably consider this product from this veteran and reputable hardware developer.
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