The latest M4 Pro Mac mini along with the new M4 Pro and M4 Max MacBook Pro models are equipped with Thunderbolt 5 ports for the first time. Thunderbolt 5 enables bi-directional transfer speeds of up to 80Gb/s, essentially doubling the speed of Thunderbolt 4. Additionally, it can support high-resolution displays with a 120Gb/s bandwidth mode.
Despite its potential, the market for Thunderbolt 5 accessories is still emerging. OWC has just unveiled its inaugural Thunderbolt 5 dock, priced at $189.
This marks the second Thunderbolt 5 docking accessory to become available, following Kensington’s launch of the SD5000T5 docking station last month, which comes with various Thunderbolt 5 downstream ports along with legacy interfaces like USB-A and an SD card reader.
In contrast, the OWC dock is designed to be more straightforward, transforming a single Thunderbolt 5 port on your Mac into three downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports and one USB-A port. Users can easily connect their devices to up to three 8K displays (utilizing DisplayStream Compression) with just a single cable connection.
Moreover, it allows for the connection of high-speed external storage and other Thunderbolt 5 devices as they become available. The dock can also deliver up to 140 watts of power through the Thunderbolt 5 cable, ensuring your connected MacBook Pro charges at full speed.
Importantly, Thunderbolt 5 remains fully backwards compatible, eliminating concerns about interoperability issues. Any older Thunderbolt or USB device that connects via a USB-C cable will function properly, albeit at the reduced speeds dictated by the earlier generations.
The OWC dock is currently available for pre-order, with initial shipments set to arrive in December.
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