Belkin Debuts New Thunderbolt 3 Express Dock HD

Belkin today announced the launch of its Thunderbolt 3 Express Dock HD, which is designed to work with the USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports on Apple's new 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro machines.

Created to be a "complete single-cable docking solution," the Express Dock HD features 40Gb/s data transfer speeds, 85 watts of power delivery for charging, and support for a single 5K monitor or two 4K monitors.

belkindock2

"Belkin has a long-standing history of designing complementary peripherals and accessories for the industry's most innovative hardware products, such as the all-new MacBook Pro," said Steve Malony, vice president and general manager, Belkin. "The new Thunderbolt 3 Express Dock HD and its exceptional single-cable docking solution for notebooks was developed with a deep understanding of consumers' needs for ideal connectivity solutions."

The Express Dock includes Two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports, three USB-A ports, one DisplayPort, a Gigabit Ethernet port, an Audio In/Out port, and a second Audio Out port. Up to five Thunderbolt devices can be daisy-chained from the dock and it includes a 170W power adapter to supply power to attached peripherals while also charging a MacBook Pro.

belkindock

Belkin is also introducing a USB-C to HDMI adapter and two Thunderbolt 3 cables in 0.5 ($29.95) and 2m ($69.95) sizes. Pricing on the Express Dock and the adapter has not yet been announced.

Belkin's Thunderbolt 3 Express Dock and USB-C to HDMI Adapter will be available soon from the Belkin website and from Apple.com. The Thunderbolt 3 cables are already available from both Belkin and Apple.

Top Rated Comments

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auero

21 months ago

This is looking like a better solution than buying a bunch of Apple Adapters. I'm frustrated at how much I'll have to blow on all new adapters in addition to the higher price on the MacBook Pro. It would have ben nice to have at least one regular USB port left behind or even a display port.

Rating: 6 Votes

Dirtfarmer

21 months ago

Hahahahahah ahahahahahaha hahahahahahahaahahaha

Yo dawg I heard you like overpriced widgets that don't do much

So here's an overpriced widget that lets you use the overpriced widget that doesn't come with basic functionality from the factory.

BECAUSE IT CAN'T DO THINGS NOW THAT IT'S BEEN ABLE TO DO SINCE THE 90'S
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Yo dawg I heard you bought a laptop that forgot how to laptop

So here's a mini laptop that does the things that laptops do but your laptop doesn't

Carry around both laptops and put them together and you will have one laptop

7 pounds of the lightest portable computing equipment money can buy

Rating: 5 Votes

MagnusVonMagnum

21 months ago

Display Port? Not Mini-Display port? That's not very "Apple" like. Where's the HDMI port? The 3.5mm jack should be a combination analog/optical port (more flexible, especially since there's no HDMI here which most TVs still use). They probably should have included an SD card reader since the new Macbook ditched it and many found that useful.

Personally, I want to see a dock with a Thunderbolt III gaming level graphics card in it plus every old port you might possibly need for older hardware (e.g. Firewire and even an express card slot so I can keep using my hardware I have for my older 2008 Macbook Pro without more adapters or having to get new equipment). I mean why not offer ports for everything one could possibly need on a hub that's designed for a desktop docking?

Rating: 3 Votes

rturner2

21 months ago

2x eSATA ?
Optical audio output?

haha. no one cares about these.
[doublepost=1477613305][/doublepost]looks awesome

Rating: 3 Votes

grayskyz

21 months ago

Pretty annoying that all my Thunderbolt 1 & 2 peripherals are now obsolete, or require a pricey Thunderbolt 3 -> 2 adapter.

$49 dollars for that adapter isn't pricey, This is a dock thats going to retail around $250. Which is the common price for docks.
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I wonder how long this connector style will stick? I do like how Thunderbolt and USB are now friends.

This style connector has a 10 year shelf life most likely. Thunderbolt had 6ish years. Seems reasonable.

Rating: 2 Votes

Cougarcat

21 months ago

Judging from other TB3 dock prices, I'll be it's like $300. I paid $350 for my Dell p2415q monitor. All of a sudden we'll be in the territory of that $700 LG 4K monitor with the built in thunderbolt dock...

I wish someone would make a TB3 dock that is *just* 2x displayport (4K @ 60) + laptop power. My monitors already have USB hubs.

Edit: Their Thunderbolt 2 dock is $300, so it's likely it'll cost the same.

Also keeping an eye on this one: http://plugable.com/thunderbolt-3

Rating: 2 Votes

randyj

21 months ago

$49 dollars for that adapter isn't pricey, This is a dock thats going to retail around $250. Which is the common price for docks.
[doublepost=1477613212][/doublepost]

This style connector has a 10 year shelf life most likely. Thunderbolt had 6ish years. Seems reasonable.

USB-c and thunderbolt now share the same connector.
The great thing about USB-C is that it can be up to 20 volts and 5 amps.
As a result of this, it might be that this 'standard' plug sticks around for a long long time.

I hope it does become a standard for not just laptops/phones/tablets, but for all devices that need low power.
Think battery rechargers, digital cameras, cordless vacuums, routers, wireless hubs, remotes controller cars and toys, Bluetooth speakers and any household thing which comes with a power brick. (They don't need to connect to a computer etc, just use the power brick of USB-c for charging)
USB has been ok, but with 5V and 3 amp max, you can only have 15 watts of power.
100 watts could change everything!
I hope so anyway, I have a box full of power adapters. I don't even know what half of them are for!

Having said all that, why the hell didn't Apple move away from the lightening cable for the iPhone 7.
How are you meant to plug your lightening port headphones into the new MacBook Pro?
They released a lightening to 3.5mm dongle, will the also release a 3.5mm to lightening dongle too?

Rating: 2 Votes

KPOM

21 months ago

Belkin neglected to mention the price. This looks good, though.

Rating: 2 Votes