Belkin refreshes Express Dock with Thunderbolt 3 USB-C connector

Posted:
in General Discussion edited October 2016
The Thunderbolt 3 Express Dock HD has been refreshed to provide the new protocol's full 40 Gbps data speed, and provide 85W of charging power to the newly released late 2016 MacBook Pro.




The Thunderbolt 3 Express Dock HD retains much of the the same connectivity as previous generations, providing 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports with the USB-C connector, 3 USB 3.0 type A ports with 1.5A of charging power to downstream devices, one DisplayPort, one audio in or out port, one dedicated audio out port, and one Gigabit Ethernet port.

Belkin notes that the dock can drive a pair of 4K monitors at an undisclosed frequency, or a single monitor at 5K.

Power is provided to the device from a 170W power adapter, providing enough power to support attached peripherals while charging the connected MacBook Pro at full speed.

The Thunderbolt 3 Express Dock HD,?and optional USB-C to HDMI adapter are coming soon, according to Belkin. Pricing has not yet been announced on either, but the Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock utilizing the older protocol and connector retails for $300.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    It is pretty much a MacBook Pro tax...
    baconstang
  • Reply 2 of 11
    40Gbps and that's all Belkin can pack in there??  Its NOT a pocket dock.  There should be 8 USB3 ports, 2 HDMI,  Dual gigtabit Ethernet, 2 Firewire 800....at the least!
    pulseimageskirkgraybaconstang
  • Reply 3 of 11
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    jblongz said:
    40Gbps and that's all Belkin can pack in there??  Its NOT a pocket dock.  There should be 8 USB3 ports, 2 HDMI,  Dual gigtabit Ethernet, 2 Firewire 800....at the least!
    I'd settle for one Ethernet and one FireWire port, but a couple more USB ports would be nice, and an additional video out, although you can just use the Thunderbolt out, I suppose...

    These things are expensive once they get to Australia, and I already spent A$3599 on the bloody MacBook, so I would like a bit more connectivity for my money.
    jblongz
  • Reply 4 of 11
    appexappex Posts: 687member
    Besides Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gbps), bring also USB 3.1 Type-C (Reversible) Generation 2 (10 Gbps) and SDXC with extra pins supporting maximum read/write speed (300 MB/s).
  • Reply 5 of 11
    jblongz said:
    40Gbps and that's all Belkin can pack in there??  Its NOT a pocket dock.  There should be 8 USB3 ports, 2 HDMI,  Dual gigtabit Ethernet, 2 Firewire 800....at the least!
    Why not add AppleBus and SCSI :#

    ai46jony0techprod1gy
  • Reply 6 of 11
    neilmneilm Posts: 985member
    jblongz said:
    40Gbps and that's all Belkin can pack in there??  Its NOT a pocket dock.  There should be 8 USB3 ports, 2 HDMI,  Dual gigtabit Ethernet, 2 Firewire 800....at the least!
    Why not add AppleBus and SCSI :#

    Yeah, and PhoneNet!
    ai46anome
  • Reply 7 of 11
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    jblongz said:
    40Gbps and that's all Belkin can pack in there??  Its NOT a pocket dock.  There should be 8 USB3 ports, 2 HDMI,  Dual gigtabit Ethernet, 2 Firewire 800....at the least!
    Why not add AppleBus and SCSI

    Now you're talking!   I could install Tops again, I have a ton of installation disks ... oh wait, I'd need a disk drive too damn it.  ;)

    Shame there is no way to attach something like this to a new Mac Pro's internal bus to gain the increased speed.  Now I know why I miss slots!
    edited October 2016
  • Reply 8 of 11
    Why isn't there a USB-C hub that replicates a MBP? ie. Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, SD Card, USB

    Whoever makes this is going to sell a ton.
    baconstang
  • Reply 9 of 11
    Looks good, but could do with one or two port tweaks to be perfect


  • Reply 10 of 11
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    jblongz said:
    40Gbps and that's all Belkin can pack in there??  Its NOT a pocket dock.  There should be 8 USB3 ports, 2 HDMI,  Dual gigtabit Ethernet, 2 Firewire 800....at the least!
    Why not add AppleBus and SCSI

    Now you're talking!   I could install Tops again, I have a ton of installation disks ... oh wait, I'd need a disk drive too damn it.  ;)

    Shame there is no way to attach something like this to a new Mac Pro's internal bus to gain the increased speed.  Now I know why I miss slots!
    Don't forget GeoPort. How else are you going to connect your GeoPort Pod so you can dial in to eWorld?
  • Reply 11 of 11
    T.j.p.T.j.p. Posts: 25member
    anome said:
    jblongz said:
    40Gbps and that's all Belkin can pack in there??  Its NOT a pocket dock.  There should be 8 USB3 ports, 2 HDMI,  Dual gigtabit Ethernet, 2 Firewire 800....at the least!
    Why not add AppleBus and SCSI

    Now you're talking!   I could install Tops again, I have a ton of installation disks ... oh wait, I'd need a disk drive too damn it.  ;)

    Shame there is no way to attach something like this to a new Mac Pro's internal bus to gain the increased speed.  Now I know why I miss slots!
    Don't forget GeoPort. How else are you going to connect your GeoPort Pod so you can dial in to eWorld?
    The Mac Pro has internal slots. If Apple cooperated you could design a plugin that updated the graphics (hey I'd like both to have slots for ssds, but not enough lanes on one, I believe) but for now you can get slots in an external chassis. I for one, love the cylinder Mac Pro. Instead of taking my notebook to client worksites, I took my desktop. Just need a monitor at the other end, which even with a notebook is preferable. And I think the Thunderbolt 3 choice was good too. Maybe for a Mac Pro with Thunderbolt 3 ship it with a stripped down dock with Ethernet, USB 3, Thunderbolt 2, and FireWire 800. And maybe an eSATA connection. Power it off Thunderbolt 3, so no adater. For a $3000 base machine it adds maybe $50 retail value. Apple can probably get that done for a lot less, in scales the manufacture. Don't put too much into the dock, it's an appeasement and transition device. I'm hoping they keep the lightweight compact aspects as they design the new Mac Pro.
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