Belkin Introduces Next Generation of Connectivity With CONNECT Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock and Thunderbolt 4 Cable

[TheLostSwede]

Belkin, a consumer electronics leader, today announces its latest lineup of connectivity solutions built with Intel's Thunderbolt 4 controller. The CONNECT Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock and Thunderbolt 4 cable leverage Thunderbolt 4 benefits to offer dual display support for video resolutions up to 4K at 60 Hz, total bandwidth of 40 Gbps, Power Delivery for fast charging, and so much more.

Thunderbolt 4, the latest Thunderbolt technology from Intel, offers a host of features to improve current workstation or gaming setups, provides high bandwidth for connecting high-performance devices, helps ensure quality connection between devices and accessories, and makes it easy to charge, transfer data, and transfer video signals through a single port. Thunderbolt 4 offers flexibility, high bandwidth and versatile connectivity to make connecting devices easier without all the extra cables.




CONNECT Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock
The CONNECT Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock is a full-featured docking station allowing users to connect their Mac and Windows computers to multiple devices and accessories for data, video, ethernet, and power all through a single cable connection.

Packed with the latest Power Delivery 3.0 technology, the docking station provides up to 90 W of power to efficiently charge connected devices simultaneously, and offers up to 4K video resolutions for dual displays and up to 8K video resolutions for a single display. It also supports triple monitor displays on select laptop models. The included Thunderbolt 4 cable is backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 3, USB-C, and USB4.

Product specs:

• Total bandwidth of 40 Gbps
• HD video resolution support on multiple displays:
• • Single display video resolutions up to 8K @ 30 Hz
  • Dual display video resolutions up to 4K @ 60 Hz
  • Triple display with select laptop models
• 12 ports for power, data, and video:
  • 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports (1x Upstream, 1x Downstream)
  • 2x HDMI 2.0
  • 1x USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 (Supports USB-C PD 3.0)
  • 2x USB-A 3.1
  • 2x USB-A 2.0
  • 1x SD card 4.0
  • 1x Gigabit Ethernet
  • 1x 3.5 mm Audio Combo
• Power Delivery (PD 3.0) up to 90 W for charging of connected devices
• Includes 0.8M Thunderbolt 4 cable
• USB4-compliant

Thunderbolt 4 Cable

The Thunderbolt 4 Cable provides 40 Gbps of total bandwidth for maximum performance, delivering simultaneous data transfers, high-definition video, and Power Delivery up to 100 W. Plus, it's backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 3, USB4, USB 3.2, and USB2.0. Available in 1M and 2M lengths.

Pricing and Availability

The CONNECT Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock is available to order for $399.99 USD on Amazon.com and Belkin.com
The Thunderbolt 4 Cable is available to order for $44.99 - $69.99 USD on Belkin.com

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Valantar]

Here's a question: are TB4 docks and similar products that don't use TB4-exclusive features like being a TB hub backwards compatible with TB3-equipped laptops? Will they work with full bandwidth USB4 laptops?

 

[TheLostSwede]

Here's a question: are TB4 docks and similar products that don't use TB4-exclusive features like being a TB hub backwards compatible with TB3-equipped laptops? Will they work with full bandwidth USB4 laptops?

This one works with Thunderbolt 3 as well as USB-C, although with limited display support over USB-C if you have a look at the source link.
No idea about USB 4 as yet, since there are as far as I'm aware, no devices in the market as yet.

 

[Valantar]

This one works with Thunderbolt 3 as well as USB-C, although with limited display support over USB-C if you have a look at the source link.
No idea about USB 4 as yet, since there are as far as I'm aware, no devices in the market as yet.

Great, good to know. The lack of backwards(ish) compatibility has always been one of the great Achilles' heels of TB docks, so this having an USB-C fallback mode is downright fantastic.

As for USB4 devices, I think you're right. The new Asus G14 is supposedly hardware ready, but lacks drivers (and possibly firmware) as was noted in some reviews. Seems like AMD is working on rolling this out for the upcoming APU generation.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Great, good to know. The lack of backwards(ish) compatibility has always been one of the great Achilles' heels of TB docks, so this having an USB-C fallback mode is downright fantastic.

As for USB4 devices, I think you're right. The new Asus G14 is supposedly hardware ready, but lacks drivers (and possibly firmware) as was noted in some reviews. Seems like AMD is working on rolling this out for the upcoming APU generation.

It seems like there's a gotcha.

Compatible with devices that have a video-enabled USB-C port

Not all Windows machines have that.
I presume the other ports would still work though, but it's not entirely unreasonable, since this dock doesn't have a DisplayLink or similar USB display chip in it.

 

[Valantar]

It seems like there's a gotcha.

Not all Windows machines have that.
I presume the other ports would still work though, but it's not entirely unreasonable, since this dock doesn't have a DisplayLink or similar USB display chip in it.

IMO the latter is not a problem - not all laptops have that, but it's been quite a while since I saw one lacking that. Low end/budget laptops that still charge with a barrel jack might also lack DP alt mode support, but other than that I would call it a baseline feature these days - though obviously the same might not be true for older laptops.

Of course there are also quite a few displaylink-equipped USB-C docks for those laptops out there still. I strongly prefer to avoid those chipsets when possible - I've used them quite extensively previously, and it's never been as smooth an experience as a display plugged into a native/adapted port. But it's workable for regular desktop usage, as long as everyone runs Windows at least.

 

[goodeedidid]

Great for the older MBP M1 I guess..