CES 2017: Elgato Introduces Thunderbolt 3 Dock With Dual 4K Display Support

Wednesday January 4, 2017 6:00 AM PST by Juli Clover
Elgato today announced the launch of a new Thunderbolt 3 Dock designed to work with the new 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro models Apple introduced in October of 2016.

Elgato's Thunderbolt 3 Dock features three USB 3.0 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, two Thunderbolt USB-C ports, 1 DisplayPort with DisplayPort 1.2 support, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a 3.5mm microphone input jack.

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"Apple's sleek new Mac notebooks deserve a clean workspace that's free of hubs and dongles." said Markus Fest, General Manager of Elgato, "With the new Elgato Thunderbolt 3Dock, it's literally one cable and you're all set."
The Dock, which provides up to 85 watts of power, can charge a MacBook Pro while also providing multiple ports for connecting displays and accessories. It can drive one 5K display at 60Hz through the Thunderbolt 3 port or two 4K displays simultaneously at 60Hz, using both the DisplayPort and one of the USB-C ports. USB-C accessories will be powered with up to 15W and the USB A ports will charge an iPhone or an iPad at full speed.

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- DisplayPort output: up to 4096 x 2160 pixels at 60 Hz

- Thunderbolt 3 output: up to 5120 x 2880 pixels at 60 Hz

- Dual displays: up to 4096 x 2160 pixels at 60 Hz each

- 4K60 over HDMI 2.0 supported using active adapters (not included) via USB-C and DisplayPort
The Thunderbolt 3 Dock will be available at the end of January 2017 and will be priced at $299.95, a price tag that includes a 1.6 ft Thunderbolt 3 cable.

For its HomeKit-enabled Eve line of products, Elgato is also showing off the Eve Extend and the Eve Aqua, but is not making formal product announcements at this time. The Eve Extend is designed to connect to a local Wi-Fi network and act as a bridge for Bluetooth-based accessories in its range, while the Eve Aqua is a wireless irrigation controller that connects directly to a faucet and hose.

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Eve Aqua (left) and Eve Extend (right)

The Eve Extend can be positioned anywhere in the house where there's poor Bluetooth signal, and is useful for areas where the Apple TV 4, which allows HomeKit-enabled Bluetooth products to be controlled when away from home, doesn't reach. Eve Extend is powered via micro-USB.

The Eve Aqua is designed to make watering plants "easy and fun." It runs on batteries and features a splash proof enclosure that's the size of three packs of cigarettes. Eve Aqua is still in development and it's not yet clear if it will work with HomeKit.

Pricing and release dates for the Eve Extend and the Eve Aqua have not been shared by Elgato.

Tags: Elgato, CES 2017
32 comments


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Cougarcat
28 months ago

i'm not seeing how this is better than the plugable usb-c docking station.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FKTZLBS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Since it's not thunderbolt 3 it's capped at 4K at 30 hz. This does dual 4K @ 60 or single 5K @ 60. This also charges at 85 watts vs. 60.

Even if I didn't need more than 1080p I wouldn't buy that--they list compatibility issues under Sierra.
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
cube
28 months ago

The chips are in the connector...you can add more wire for cheap since no matter how long the wire is it still has the same 2 costly connectors
[doublepost=1483539879][/doublepost]

Good to know, still adds $30 to the cost to get HDMI. I could be wrong but it seems like HDMI would be a better port to have on here than displayport


40Gbps can be supported up to a maximum of 50cm without chips.

HDMI 2.0 is weaker than DP 1.2, they made the right choice.
Rating: 2 Votes
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cube
28 months ago

$300? So this dock costs about as much as a mid tower desktop computer. and has no HDMI and to get it requires an active adapter which likely then needs its own power source and will not be cheap I am guessing

USB-C, DP, and mDP to HDMI 2.0 active adapters take their power from the port, and they cost around $30 each.
Rating: 2 Votes
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theluggage
28 months ago

The chips are in the connector...you can add more wire for cheap since no matter how long the wire is it still has the same 2 costly connectors


You can make a TB3 cable up to 0.5m with cheap passive (no chips) connectors and still get the full 40Gbps bandwidth.

Why are these things sooo ridiculously expensive? I dont see why it should cost more than a hundred bucks


A TB3 dock is fairly complex - its not like a USB hub or "port replicator": you need the TB3 controller, all the gubbins to handle TB3/USB-C passthrough and charging, a PCIe bus, a PCIe USB3 controller and either USB or PCIe controllers for ethernet and sound...

Add to that relatively small volume sales (which is a big factor in the cost of producing electronics) - TB docks have never really hit the big time and, with USB-C, a lot of people are going to be happy with cheaper USB-C docks (if you need a 5k display or a second 4k@60Hz you can always plug it straight in).

That said, this looks suspiciously like the Belkin ('http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/01/03/belkin-shows-off-thunderbolt-3-express-dock-hd') dock in a slightly different case.
Rating: 1 Votes
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69Mustang
28 months ago

Why are these things sooo ridiculously expensive? I dont see why it should cost more than a hundred bucks

All of that super delicious component licensing.:D
Rating: 1 Votes
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newdeal
28 months ago

Thunderbolt cables are expensive. They have chips in them. OWC's dock only comes with a .5m cable.

OWC's dock still looks better. More ports, $25 less (at least with preorder), space gray. Not sure if it does a full 85w though.


The chips are in the connector...you can add more wire for cheap since no matter how long the wire is it still has the same 2 costly connectors
[doublepost=1483539879][/doublepost]

USB-C, DP, and mDP to HDMI 2.0 active adapters take their power from the port, and they cost around $30 each.


Good to know, still adds $30 to the cost to get HDMI. I could be wrong but it seems like HDMI would be a better port to have on here than displayport
Rating: 1 Votes
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goobot
28 months ago
300$ and they can only give you a 1.6 foot cable?
Rating: 1 Votes
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newdeal
28 months ago
$300? So this dock costs about as much as a mid tower desktop computer. and has no HDMI and to get it requires an active adapter which likely then needs its own power source and will not be cheap I am guessing
Rating: 1 Votes
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Creep89
28 months ago
85w for the MacBook? Looks good. I really need a dock.
Rating: 1 Votes
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Cougarcat
28 months ago

yeah at $300 i am sure the margin is just so tight that they wouldn't afford to throw in another couple feet of wire that would have cost them like 5 cents


Thunderbolt cables are expensive. They have chips in them. OWC's dock only comes with a .5m cable.

OWC's dock still looks better. More ports, $25 less (at least with preorder), space gray. Not sure if it does a full 85w though.
Rating: 1 Votes
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