Thunderbolt 5 continues to roll out slowly as new devices from all your favorite brands prepare to enter the market. Now, with a number of companies already announcing or rolling out docking solutions, OWC is the next to announce something new (likely under pressure to assure you that they are hard at work to get it out to everyone). It is the new OWC 11-Port Thunderbolt 5 Dock.
The new generation of the interface offers companies a powerful platform for working with. It offers plenty of connectivity, data, and power throughput, all while using the same familiar USB-C connection. Thus, this new docking station offers a lot.
Like many of the coming TB5 docking solutions, the company has combined the typical docking station with a TB hub, allowing it to easily branch out to other TB devices while also providing all of the connectivity you’d want from a docking solution. So you get four TB5 ports, where one connects to your host (laptop or desktop) and the others to additional TB devices, chains, or monitors.
There are three USB-A ports (2x 10 Gbps and 1x 5 Gbps), providing inputs for normal USB accessories, like mice, keyboards, slower external drives, and more. There is both an SD and microSD slot for your cards, a 2.5GbE (Ethernet) connection (giving you a multi-gigabit connection), and a 3.5mm combo audio jack (for headphones, microphones, or headsets). There is even a Kensington-style lock connection for securing it in public areas.
It isn’t the biggest dock out there, and the company may still consider launching something bigger, but it does help keep the price down a little. Some of the options out there are launching with a $399 price tag, where this one features a $329.99, making it a little more affordable (everything helps). Plus, not everyone needs a built-in NVMe drive/slot.
What makes this one interesting is that the company is leaning towards the universal capabilities of TB versus including physical HDMI or DisplayPort connectivity. This is more like some of these thinner laptops that simply include a few USB-C or TB ports that can be adapted to anything else. You can connect the TB ports to a TB-supported monitor, or adapt them to HDMI or DisplayPort, since they offer video output. Allowing the dock to provide an image for up to three monitors with resolutions as much as 8K@60, depending on your system.
Of course, thanks to Thunderbolt 5, the docking station will be capable of a total throughput of up to 80 Gbps (120 Gbps for displays) and up to 140 watts of power for the connected host device (ie, laptop) and the other accessories.
OWC plans to launch the docking station in July, so there is a little bit of a wait. However, you will eventually be able to pre-order it from OWC’s online store to make sure you are one of the first to get your hands on one.
