Elgato’s new Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock looks like a must-have for MacBook owners on the move. The compact and lightweight device boasts a data throughput speed of 40 Gbps and has enough ports to connect all your favorite devices.
Apple wants us all to make do with just one or two USB-C ports, but that’s just not possible yet. Most of us need to connect more than one device to our laptops, and very few of those devices use USB-C right now. That’s why a device like the Elgato Mini Dock is essential.
The Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock packs almost all of the ports
Unveiled at CES 2017 in Las Vegas this week, the Mini Dock boasts a DisplayPort 1.2 connector, a HDMI 2.0 connector with support for the HDCP 2.2 standard, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and a traditional USB-A port. It supports displays with a maximum resolution of 4K at 60Hz.
For many MacBook or MacBook Pro owners, that’s all you’ll ever need on the go. And thanks to an integrated USB-C cable that’s easy to stow away, the Mini Dock slips into any backpack or messenger back without getting tangled. But it’s not quite perfect.
Without additional USB-C connectors, it seems you cannot charge your MacBook while using the Mini Dock. There doesn’t appear to be any other method of adding external power, either, so any connected devices will need to feed off your laptop.
That could be a deal-breaker for some, but if you’re still interested, the Mini Dock will be available this spring. Elgato is yet to confirm how much it will cost.
