Microsoft Officially Announces Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock

[GFreeman]

Surface products are always designed for versatility - from a laptop with the flexibility of a tablet in the Surface Pro to the Surface Laptop Studio that instantly transitions from powerful laptop to creative canvas, Surface devices let you work the way that best suits your needs. A key part of this versatility is the ability to instantly connect to a desktop setup at home or in the office for expansive work. A single, fast connection that provides access to external monitors and the accessories that customize your office or home workspace helps you to get more done. We are excited to announce the newest Surface Dock, Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock, which extends the support of Thunderbolt 4 connectivity in Surface Pro 9, Surface Laptop 5 and Surface Laptop Studio. The new dock is available for purchase today at Microsoft.com.

Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock is a USB4/Thunderbolt 4 dock that helps maximize workspace, delivers ultra-high speed data transfer and the versatility to connect and charge your most important peripherals. This new accessory also carries forward our continuous commitment to security, sustainability and accessibility.



This new dock connects to the device via USB-C and is designed for use with Surface and other devices, featuring USB4/Thunderbolt 4. Easily connect to two 4K monitors at up to 60Hz1, experience fast data transfer speeds of up to 40 Gbps and charge your device with power of up to 96 W and enjoy extra power to charge accessories. It offers an instant connection to three USB-C ports, three USB-A ports, a 3.5 mm audio jack, a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port and a security lock slot. Windows 11 also ensures that settings are retained when connecting, so even if multiple devices use the same dock, each of them will have the display and connection settings that let them get right to work.

The newest Surface Dock also reflects our commitment to sustainability and was designed with recycled materials. The dock and the power supply unit enclosures are attributed to 20% ocean-bound plastic and lighter materials overall than our previous docks. Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock's packaging is ~99% recyclable and free of single-use plastics.

Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock improves IT efficiency for commercial customers, with features like Firmware Update through Windows Update, Wake on LAN from Modern Standby, and MAC Address Passthrough‎. Surface Enterprise Management Mode (SEMM) easily locks down the ports of your dock in mission-critical environments and restricts functionality to specific devices.‎6 You can learn more about these and other IT features on our IT Pro Blog.

Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock will be available beginning today at Microsoft.com. To ensure customers have access to the options that best fit their needs and budget, it will be sold alongside our existing portfolio of Surface Dock, Surface Dock 2 and Microsoft USB-C Travel Hub products.

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[aktpu]

No displayport or HDMI outputs? FFS

 

[bonehead123]

No displayport or HDMI outputs? FFS

Yep, and all for the low, low price of ONLY $300..... Apparently M$ thinks that if you can afford their overpriced surfapoop, you can afford USB-C powered monitors too, or have even moar $$ to burn on additional converter dongles

There are ALOT of more capable TB$ docks available for that price, so this is a hard pass IMHO....

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

Yep, and all for the low, low price of ONLY $300..... Apparently M$ thinks that if you can afford their overpriced surfapoop, you can afford USB-C powered monitors too, or have even moar $$ to burn on additional converter dongles

There are ALOT of more capable TB$ docks available for that price, so this is a hard pass IMHO....

Most modern monitors have USBC. A USBC to DP cable is like 10 bucks.

 

[unwind-protect]

"MAC Address Passthrough‎" - what the devil is that? Don't tell me they set the ethernet port to the same mac address as the wifi interface.

And what is "Modern Standby"?

 

[Carlyle2020hs]

Is that a PS/2 port i´m seeing?
But no hdmi?

So the PO of this is older than 50, huh?

 

[trsttte]

Yep, and all for the low, low price of ONLY $300..... Apparently M$ thinks that if you can afford their overpriced surfapoop, you can afford USB-C powered monitors too, or have even moar $$ to burn on additional converter dongles

HDMI, display port or USB-C is always a choice USB-C being the more generic, it's not the first dock to go that route and it will likely become the norm. USB-C-HDMI/DP cables are also pretty cheap.

There are ALOT of more capable TB$ docks available for that price, so this is a hard pass IMHO....

Meh, docking stations from big brands (microsoft, dell, lenovo, hp, etc) are always very expensive. For the businesses that are buying these it's a rounding error and the support and warranty are more important.

"MAC Address Passthrough‎" - what the devil is that? Don't tell me they set the ethernet port to the same mac address as the wifi interface.

It's able to use the same MAC as the ethernet on the host device. Surface also has laptops with ethernet ports and this is also compatible with any laptop (it's just a thunderbolt dock, they finally moved away from doing docks with their proprietary surface connector)

Is that a PS/2 port i´m seeing?

It's a DC power input

 

[lexluthermiester]

No displayport or HDMI outputs? FFS

Evidence that microsoft is continuing to flaunt the fact that it's out of touch with reality and it's target audience..

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

Evidence that microsoft is continuing to flaunt the fact that it's out of touch with reality and it's target audience..

For the Surface? No, not at all. The Surface is a premium product marketed to enthusiasts (gamers are not enthusiasts, most are low end potato PCs) and business types.

To give you an idea of how it all works I worked for a top big four consulting firm for a while. Directors got Surfaces or Macbook Pro/Airs. Developers got Macbook Pros. Everyone else was shafted with a Dell or an HP. Working at a top 3 law firm it was the same. Partners got Macbooks or a Surface, everyone else got a Lenovo. This is pretty much the way it works at most firms that rake in tens of billions in profits per year. The people who matter are all on Mac or Surface and get an iPad pro. Everyone else gets stuck with a Dell/HP/Lenovo that are bulk purchased with i7 or i5, 16gb, and 512gb and laughed out of IT if they ask for the premium options.

It does not matter that the premium devices cannot be serviced because you don't do it. You simply rip one out of storage, image it, and pull their stuff from backup. The busted item gets shipped back to the leasing dealer or manufacturer and replaced. The items are kept for two or three years and then bulk replaced by the hundreds.

Someone who counts is getting dual 4k monitors (or an ultrawide) with a dock for their premium device and about a 500 buck headset. Everyone else is getting an $20 headset and dual 1080p. You can instantly tell in a meeting who matters and who does not by their notebook. If they have a Surface or Macbook they matter, if they don't they are a peon.

 

[lexluthermiester]

For the Surface? No, not at all. The Surface is a premium product marketed to enthusiasts (gamers are not enthusiasts, most are low end potato PCs) and business types.

Basic functionality on a premium product is expected. The notion you offer is nonsense. For the prices being asked simple features need to be supplied.

It does not matter that the premium devices cannot be serviced because you don't do it.

MooseMuffins(otherwise read bullshit)! I do it all the time.

If they have a Surface or Macbook they matter, if they don't they are a peon.

Your estimation of the business world needs serious reconsideration and adjustment.

 

[Zareek]

Someone who counts is getting dual 4k monitors (or an ultrawide) with a dock for their premium device and about a 500 buck headset. Everyone else is getting an $20 headset and dual 1080p. You can instantly tell in a meeting who matters and who does not by their notebook. If they have a Surface or Macbook they matter, if they don't they are a peon.

I know it's been a year or two since I was in everyday IT but Macbooks were not acceptable for anyone in the business. Sometimes a contractor might drop in with one and they were treated like a pariah. We had some Surface Pros but they were given to the road warrior salesmen who wanted something super portable. We were primarily a Lenovo shop. Engineers got Lenovo P Series notebooks or workstations. Executives got whatever machine they wanted as long as it was a Lenovo. Everyone else got whatever they wanted within reason as long as it was a Lenovo. I also worked at a hospital, it was Dell for everyone. Similar in that the important people like providers and executives got any Dell they wanted. Everyone else got basic bitch Dell machines that met some pretty lousy minimum requirements. The only professionals that I have ever done work for that used Macs are lawyers. Even the law offices had some PCs for when people needed to use some software that only runs on Windows.