Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Dock capable of connecting dual 4K displays shipping June 6 for $300

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Accessory producer Elgato is preparing to release its Thunderbolt 3 Dock, one which allows users to connect two 4K displays to a Macbook at the same time, with the accessory shipping out to customers in the United States, Europe, and Australia on June 6.




Revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show in January and originally expected to ship later that month, the Thunderbolt 3 Dock offers users two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a full-size DisplayPort, Gigabit Ethernet, and two USB 3.0 type-A ports on the back. On the front are headphone and microphone jacks, and a single USB 3.0 type-A port.

The two Thunderbolt 3 ports are capable of providing up to 40Gb/s of bandwidth when used for Thunderbolt connectivity, or up to 10Gb/s for USB 3.1 Gen 2 connections. For video, it is possible to use a Thunderbolt 3 output for a 5K resolution picture at 60Hz for one display, though users can opt to connect two 4K displays by any means, limited to 60Hz.

The dock can be used to provide power to charge a 13-inch or 15-inch MacBook Pro through one of its Thunderbolt 3 ports, at up to 85W, with the same ports also able to charge other items at up to 15W. Charging over USB 3.0 is also possible using the accompanying Thunderbolt Dock utility.

The Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Dock is available to pre-order at $299.95, with shipments due on June 6.



Elgato's dock is one of a number of similar products that launched this year, aiming to add more connectivity options for MacBook Pro users. CalDigit shipped its Thunderbolt 3 TS3 Lite dock earlier this year, with similar offerings from Henge, OWC, and others also looking to dominate the market.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    What I don't get is why they're not including at least one Thunderbolt 2 port, that seems like a no brainer to me.
  • Reply 2 of 12
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    What I don't get is why they're not including at least one Thunderbolt 2 port, that seems like a no brainer to me.
    Bandwidth? Or, maybe to keep costs down? I'm sure the TB 2 chips aren't free, and it would require additional engineering. 
  • Reply 3 of 12
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    What I don't get is why they're not including at least one Thunderbolt 2 port, that seems like a no brainer to me.
    The second Thunderbolt 3 port can be adapted down to TB2 with Apple's adapter.
    macxpresspulseimages
  • Reply 4 of 12
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,192member
    Can Thunderbolt 3 devices be "adapted" to work off Thunderbolt 1 or 2 computers?
  • Reply 5 of 12
    zimmiezimmie Posts: 651member
    cpsro said:
    Can Thunderbolt 3 devices be "adapted" to work off Thunderbolt 1 or 2 computers?
    That should work, but I would recommend waiting for other people to test it. Also keep in mind that over Thunderbolt 1 or 2, it wouldn't be able to run two 4K displays at 60 Hz.
  • Reply 6 of 12
    dachardachar Posts: 330member
     My concern is that l have a perfectly good Thunderbolt 1 external hard disk. If l replace my iMac in a year or two will l still be able to use my TB1 disk if the next iMacs only have TB3 ports? 
  • Reply 7 of 12
    appexappex Posts: 687member
    A shame it does not have eSATA ports.
    edited May 2017
  • Reply 8 of 12
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    dachar said:
     My concern is that l have a perfectly good Thunderbolt 1 external hard disk. If l replace my iMac in a year or two will l still be able to use my TB1 disk if the next iMacs only have TB3 ports? 
    Sure. Apple's TB2 to TB3 adapter is bidirectional. It allows use of TB3 devices on TB1/2 computers (at a slower data rate), and vice versa.
    edited May 2017
  • Reply 9 of 12
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator

    appex said:
    A shame it does not have eSATA ports.
    It does not, but the (forthcoming) Full TS3 by Caldigit has two.
  • Reply 10 of 12
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    appex said:
    A shame it does not have eSATA ports.
    That seems to be a dying interface. The PVR in our house can be expanded through an eSATA port, so I went looking for a drive enclosure. I was surprised to discover the pickings are slim. There are still a few enclosure+drive products available, like the Quads from LaCie, but the prices are pretty high for relatively small capacities. Like Firewire, it may be getting past its Best Before date.
  • Reply 11 of 12
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    To me it seems odd that Elgato would choose to include a DisplayPort output over HDMI. That can obviously be solved with an adapter, but it seems like at least part of the point of a dock is to minimize the need for them.

    It's not a deal-breaker, it just seems counter-intuitive. My impression is that demand for HDMI would be much greater than for DisplayPort. Am I mistaken?
  • Reply 12 of 12
    curtis hannahcurtis hannah Posts: 1,833member
    To me it seems odd that Elgato would choose to include a DisplayPort output over HDMI. That can obviously be solved with an adapter, but it seems like at least part of the point of a dock is to minimize the need for them.

    It's not a deal-breaker, it just seems counter-intuitive. My impression is that demand for HDMI would be much greater than for DisplayPort. Am I mistaken?
    I know that I prefer an hdmi, and as already pointed out, if going display port, why not mini display port with Thunderbolt 2 built in?
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