CalDigit's TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock offers 18 ports for your Mac

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The CalDigit TS4 dock can add a lot of connectivity to a Mac with its 18-ports, as well as being able to recharge a MacBook Pro with 98W of power delivery.




Launched on Tuesday, the latest addition to CalDigit's Thunderbolt Station lineup follows up from its predecessor, the TS3 Plus. While the TS4 reuses the same boxy dock shape, it does so while also providing a lot more utility.

The TS4 has a total of 18 ports and slots, starting with a trio of Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 connections at the back, up from two on the previous model. The Thunderbolt 4 port destined for the host offers up to 98W of power delivery, while the other two can go up to 15W.

The back also includes four USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 connection, DisplayPort 1.4, a pair of audio ports, 2.5GbE Ethernet, and a security slot, as well as power.

Around the front are two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports, with one having 7.5W of power and the other with 20W. There's an additional USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port, an audio combo jack, a microSD UHD-II card slot, and an SD UHS-II card slot.




In terms of video support, the dock can handle a pair of dual 6K 60Hz monitors on the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro using the M1 Pro or M1 Max. With the exception of the Mac mini, earlier M1 MacBooks don't support dual displays, but can still use the dock to connect a single 6K 60Hz display.

The CalDigit TS4 is available in the U.S., U.K., and EU stores today, priced at $359.95, with global availability expected in mid-March.

Read on AppleInsider
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    stompystompy Posts: 408member
    Expensive, but about the price I thought it would be. It's definitely not for everyone, but I'm glad CalDigit made it without any real compromises. 

    If you need this dock, you were probably already anticipating this announcement.

  • Reply 2 of 25
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    I have two of the TS3+.  One at my home, and one at my office.  Fantastic dock with zero issues.  I recommend these to anyone.  Glad to see they are continuing to evolve this dock.  
    jeffharris
  • Reply 3 of 25
    neilmneilm Posts: 985member
    With the exception of the Mac mini, earlier M1 MacBooks don't support dual displays
    Sure they do. The difference is that the M1 laptops come with one of the two supported displays already built in, whereas the M1 Mac Mini is strictly bring your own.
  • Reply 4 of 25
    rezwitsrezwits Posts: 878member
    sflocal said:
    I have two of the TS3+.  One at my home, and one at my office.  Fantastic dock with zero issues.  I recommend these to anyone.  Glad to see they are continuing to evolve this dock.  
    Do you know how I can get the DAMN Ethernet working on my T3+??  UGH. That would be great... using backup Apple Dongle right now... but I need that for emergency not for 100% use all the time... would like to use the T3s!

    Thanks, this T4 doesn't have digital audio tho! :neutral: 
  • Reply 5 of 25
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    I like that the ports are more in alignment than with my TS3+.  Probably the only complaint I have with it, fantastic piece of kit.
    edited February 2022
  • Reply 6 of 25
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    rezwits said:
    sflocal said:
    I have two of the TS3+.  One at my home, and one at my office.  Fantastic dock with zero issues.  I recommend these to anyone.  Glad to see they are continuing to evolve this dock.  
    Do you know how I can get the DAMN Ethernet working on my T3+??  UGH. That would be great... using backup Apple Dongle right now... but I need that for emergency not for 100% use all the time... would like to use the T3s!

    Thanks, this T4 doesn't have digital audio tho! :neutral: 
    No problems whatsoever with my ethernet. What's wrong with yours?  Do you detect any network at all?  Do the port lights come on?
    MplsP
  • Reply 7 of 25
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    "1 x Power Supply (230W)" Wow! Talk about heating up a room with a dock! This entire dock is supplied by one TB connection so it really doesn't give you that much functionality when using all those ports. 
  • Reply 8 of 25

    Do you know how I can get the DAMN Ethernet working on my T3+??  UGH. That would be great... using backup Apple Dongle right now... but I need that for emergency not for 100% use all the time... would like to use the T3s!

    Thanks, this T4 doesn't have digital audio tho! :neutral: 
    Make sure you have the driver installed for the Ethernet from their website. Without it, it won’t work. I hope that helps.
    stompy
  • Reply 9 of 25
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    rob53 said:
    "1 x Power Supply (230W)" Wow! Talk about heating up a room with a dock! This entire dock is supplied by one TB connection so it really doesn't give you that much functionality when using all those ports. 
    If you try to use all the ports at max bandwidth at the same time, sure you'll hit a bottleneck.  Not something most people will do often though, I'll wager.
    jeffharrisMplsP
  • Reply 10 of 25
    ciacia Posts: 248member
    I love this dock, I just wish they made a version with 10Gbe ethernet!  I'm willing to pay the extra to add that feature!
    edited February 2022 aegean
  • Reply 11 of 25
    rezwits said:
    sflocal said:
    I have two of the TS3+.  One at my home, and one at my office.  Fantastic dock with zero issues.  I recommend these to anyone.  Glad to see they are continuing to evolve this dock.  
    Do you know how I can get the DAMN Ethernet working on my T3+??  UGH. That would be great... using backup Apple Dongle right now... but I need that for emergency not for 100% use all the time... would like to use the T3s!

    Thanks, this T4 doesn't have digital audio tho! :neutral: 
    Hi and thanks for leaving a comment.

    It's hard to say what could be causing the Ethernet behavior from your description, but our support team would be more than happy to help diagnose and troubleshoot the behavior.  

    Here are some ways to reach our support team:
    Email: [email protected]
    Livechat: https://caldigit.com/support/

    Best regards and stay healthy,
    Dalton from CalDigit
    viclauyycbala1234jeffharrisstompymwhiteMplsPrezwits
  • Reply 12 of 25
    Had one of it at the office (back when we were still working in offices). Despite its size once connected it was invisible. I mean never had any issues with it. However at this cost I don't think I am ever going to get one personally.
  • Reply 13 of 25
    payecopayeco Posts: 580member
    Way better port options compared to that TB4 dock from Belkin that was posted the other day.
    DaltonCalDigit
  • Reply 14 of 25
    payecopayeco Posts: 580member
    cia said:
    I love this dock, I just wish they made a version with 10Gbe ethernet!  I'm willing to pay the extra to add that feature!
    You can get small thunderbolt 10Gbe adapters for under $200 that you could plug into one of the free thunderbolt ports on this dock. Obviously not ideal to have another dongle but it is at least an option.
    DaltonCalDigit
  • Reply 15 of 25
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    payeco said:
    cia said:
    I love this dock, I just wish they made a version with 10Gbe ethernet!  I'm willing to pay the extra to add that feature!
    You can get small thunderbolt 10Gbe adapters for under $200 that you could plug into one of the free thunderbolt ports on this dock. Obviously not ideal to have another dongle but it is at least an option.
    I suppose "small" is relative to expectation, but the 10G Ethernet adaptors I've seen from Sonnet and Aikitio are pretty chunky boys.
  • Reply 16 of 25
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member
    rob53 said:
    "1 x Power Supply (230W)" Wow! Talk about heating up a room with a dock! This entire dock is supplied by one TB connection so it really doesn't give you that much functionality when using all those ports. 
    I have the TS3+ and it charges my MBP (100W) plus runs all the peripherals and the TB controller. No idea how many watts it uses at baseline but you should also realize that just like the power supply for your MacBook, just because it's capable of 230W doesn't mean it uses the much all the time.

    @crowley is correct - if you really need the full capacity of all your TB ports then you'll have to plug things in separately. 99% of users don't even need the capacity of one port.
  • Reply 17 of 25
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member
    I have the Caldigit TS3+ and it's been a solid hub. My only complaints are that my MBP often doesn't recognize the LG display when I plug it in, forcing me to unplug and re-plug the display cable. I don't know if that's an issue with the dock or with my MBP, though.
  • Reply 18 of 25
    ciacia Posts: 248member
    payeco said:
    cia said:
    I love this dock, I just wish they made a version with 10Gbe ethernet!  I'm willing to pay the extra to add that feature!
    You can get small thunderbolt 10Gbe adapters for under $200 that you could plug into one of the free thunderbolt ports on this dock. Obviously not ideal to have another dongle but it is at least an option.
    Oh I'm well aware of their existence (I have the QNAP 10Gbe thunderbolt 3 adaptor already) I just wish it was integrated into dock.  The only dock that exists with 10Gbe is from OWC and its port selection is meh, plus it has a fan that runs all the time, loudly.  You can shut it off, but only for 10 minutes, and it automatically comes back on its own.
    edited February 2022
  • Reply 19 of 25
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    rezwits said:
    sflocal said:
    I have two of the TS3+.  One at my home, and one at my office.  Fantastic dock with zero issues.  I recommend these to anyone.  Glad to see they are continuing to evolve this dock.  
    Do you know how I can get the DAMN Ethernet working on my T3+??  UGH. That would be great... using backup Apple Dongle right now... but I need that for emergency not for 100% use all the time... would like to use the T3s!

    Thanks, this T4 doesn't have digital audio tho! :neutral: 
    I use a 2015 27" iMac at the office, and a 2020 27" iMac at home.  Both have a TS3+ and both are using the dock's ethernet connection.  I have zero issues with using it.  Note, that the first thing you should do is to make sure you dock's firmware is up to date, and that the MacOS drivers are installed.  It's a necessity.
    jeffharris
  • Reply 20 of 25
    aegeanaegean Posts: 164member
    I have been using their previous generation (T3) dock and so far so good. Only issue is the lack of 10G ethernet port, and this one is no exception, so I might not upgrade. It is kind of disappointing. Will it output 24/192 at least or still stuck at 24/96. Good to see two USB-c at the front with one 20W. Anyways, audio port is not really a deal breaker as I use external DAC and amp but lack of 10 G ethernet port, in 2022, is really a deal breaker, for me.

    Regardless, this is the best dock one could currently get. Highly recommended.
    edited February 2022 jeffharris
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