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Thunderbolt docks

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on Thunderbolt docks:

Triple-display MacBook Air rig wows the crowd [Setups]

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3 monitor setup
People on social media loved the clean look of the three wall-mounted LG displays.
Photo: [email protected]

The 3-monitor setup isn’t terribly rare in the world of computer workstations displayed on social media. But a MacBook Air driving a trio of wall-mounted 4K monitors — all in landscape orientation, end to end — isn’t especially common, as it appears in today’s featured setup. Viewers loved its clean look. And it turned out the user employs a couple of tricks to help keep it that way.

Clean workstation boasts killer mechanical keyboard [Setups]

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full size mechanical keyboard
Compact keyboards are so popular now that seeing a full-sized one -- or even a nearly full-size, tenkeyless layout like this one -- is almost a rarity.
Photo: [email protected]

More than ever these days, computer setups flaunted on social media tend to show off compact keyboards with as low as 60% layouts. So it’s almost a surprise to come across today’s featured MacBook Pro setup, which relies on a tenkeyless keyboard. It’s almost, but not quite, full sized. And the excellent Keychron mechanical keeb is customizable, too.

Powerful new OWC Thunderbolt 5 Dock packs 11 ports

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OWC Thunderbolt 5 Dock
Get blazing-fast connectivity with OWC's new Thunderbolt 5 dock.
Photo: OWC

The new 11-in-1 OWC Thunderbolt 5 Dock promises to maximize the potential of the latest Thunderbolt 5 technology for computers like M4 Pro and M4 Max MacBook Pro, OWC said Monday.

The dock, scheduled to begin shipping in July with a price tag of $329.99, is one of the first comprehensive Thunderbolt 5 solutions available for Apple users looking to expand their connectivity options.

Here’s the key to expanding MacBook connectivity [Setups]

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OWC Thunderbolt 4 Dock setup
One of these turns your MacBook into quite the well-connected beast.
Photo: OWC

Today’s MacBook Pro setup boasts a secret weapon many laptop-based computer setups should have — a multiport adapter like a USB-C or Thunderbolt dock. In this case, an iOS and macOS developer runs his M1 Max MacBook Pro through an OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock, connecting the laptop to various peripherals.

A multiport USB-C hub or docking station greatly expands connectivity with peripherals like monitors and storage drives. And it often provides fast data-transfer speeds and even powers devices. In short, for not too much money it enables your setup to do much more.

Get up to $100 off connectivity-boosting Thunderbolt docks

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OWC Thunderbolt Go Dock
OWC's Thunderbolt Go Dock is a mobile powerhouse.
Photo: OWC

Known for docks, hubs and other Mac-friendly accessories, OWC has put together a big sale on Amazon. You can get up to $100 off Thunderbolt docks!

We’re focusing on Thunderbolt docks that can help you broaden your computer setup’s connectivity. But you can also find external hard drives, memory kits, keyboards, cables and more in the sale.

Fab office remodel suits MacBook Pro and massive display [Setups]

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The accent wall and solid-wood DIY standing desk steal the show from the M2 MacBook Pro and 49-inch curved display.
The accent wall and solid-wood DIY standing desk steal the show from the M2 MacBook Pro and 49-inch curved display.
Photo: [email protected]

When you remodel your home office, isn’t that a great excuse to revamp the ol’ computer setup? That’s what happened with today’s featured rig, which relies on a new MacBook Pro and a Samsung super-ultra-wide display.

But all commenters wanted to talk about was the accent wall and the solid-wood DIY standing desk. And the killer Klipsch audio got some love, too.

New Satechi Thunderbolt dock packs astonishing 16 ports

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New Satechi Thunderbolt dock packs astonishing 16 ports
Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Multimedia Pro Dock offers seven USB ports, four video ports and more.
Photo: Satechi

Connect the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Multimedia Pro Dock to a Mac to get access to no less than 16 ports. There’s a plethora of video ports, high-speed USB ports, card readers, Ethernet and more.

The dock launched Thursday, and is compatible with both Mac and Windows.

Trio of new Kensington docks pack in the ports

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Kensington SD5780T Thunderbolt 4 Dual 4K Docking Station
Add very high-speed ports to your Mac with Kensington's latest Thunderbolt 4 dock.
Photo: Kensington

Kensington used CES 2023 to take the wraps off a Thunderbolt 4 docking station that adds eleven ports to Mac or PC.

The accessory-maker also announced at the trade show a smaller, portable USB4 hub with six ports, plus a portable USB-C hub with six ports and a built-in wireless charger.

Kensington’s new 11-port dock offers Macs super-fast Thunderbolt 4 connections

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Kensington's new 11-port dock offers Macs super-fast Thunderbolt 4 connections
Connect a wide array of accessories to a Mac with the Kensington SD5780T Thunderbolt 4 dock.
Photo: Kensington

The Kensington SD5780T is a desktop dock that connects to a Mac over Thunderbolt 4 at up to 40 Gbps. And it includes almost a dozen ports of various types to enable to everything from a mouse to a high-speed external drive.

The dock can also fast charge a MacBook.

Add 3 HDMI or DisplayPort monitors to your Mac with this USB-C docking station [Review]

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Plugable UD-6950PDZ Docking Station review
Plugable’s latest USB-C hub lets you add a trio of monitors, and it sports six USB-A ports.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Plugable UD-6950PDZ Docking Station includes a trio 4K HDMI Ports and the same number of 4K DisplayPort ports. These allow users to mix and match up to three monitors. That includes M1 MacBooks that natively support only one.

The USB-C dock also includes half a dozen USB-A ports, Ethernet and more.

I put this powerful accessory through a battery of hands-on tests to see how it performed. And it lived up to my expectations.

Belkin’s Thunderbolt hub packs a whopping 12 ports

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Belkin’s Thunderbolt hub packs a whopping 12 ports
The Belkin Connect Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock can be the center of your home office.
Photo: Belkin

With a dozen ports, the Belkin Connect Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock lets users connect a Mac to multiple accessories for data, video, Ethernet and power. All through a single high-speed cable connection.

Belkin also introduced a Thunderbolt 4 cable capable of handling data transfers at 40 Gbps.

New Satechi Mac dock adds multiple Thunderbolt and USB-A ports, plus more

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New Satechi Mac dock adds multiple Thunderbolt and USB-A ports, plus more
The Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Dock adds almost a dozen ports. And it enables high-speed data transfers over most of them.
Photo: Satechi

Satechi’s just-launched Thunderbolt 4 Dock includes a whopping eleven ports, including three Thunderbolt 4 and four USB-A ports. And there’s also a range of other ports for connecting additional peripherals.

Plus, Satechi launched a pair of USB-C hubs on Wednesday.

‘Finally, 1 cord to rule them all!’ [Setups]

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Maybe
Maybe "1 cord to rule them all," but not replace them all.
Photo: [email protected]

You’ve got to love somebody bragging about getting their computer setup’s cable management down to one cord, because it’s never really one cord. They don’t mean it literally. It’s just that one cord to a hub or dock helped reduce their previously tangled mess of cables splaying out all over the place.