Video: Testing OWC's Thunderbolt 4 Dock With Built-In Power Supply
Back in January, well-known Mac accessory company OWC introduced the Thunderbolt Go Dock, which it says is the first full-featured Thunderbolt dock equipped with a convenient built-in power supply. We were able to get our hands on one of the new docks, and thought we'd test it out for those who are interested.
If you've used a Thunderbolt 4 dock, you know that most of them require a separate power supply to operate peripheral devices and provide passthrough charging. They're often much more inconvenient than a bus-powered dock because of the bulk and the extra cable component.
The OWC Thunderbolt Go Dock's power supply is included in the dock enclosure, so it's an all-in-one device that does not require you to have an extra power brick. That functionality is useful at home, but also on the go if you need to work while traveling or away from your house. Note that you still need a power cable as the dock has to be plugged in, but it uses a single cord that plugs directly into the dock rather than into a separate power brick.
There are a total of 11 ports, including three Thunderbolt 4 ports, one USB-C ports, three USB-A ports, an HDMI port, an Ethernet port (2.5 Gbps), an SD card reader, and an audio jack. The dock offers 90W of pass-through charging, so it's suitable for all of Apple's MacBooks. The only downside is the price, which is $349.
That's not too outrageous for a Thunderbolt 4 dock given the built-in power supply and the number of ports, but there are cheaper Thunderbolt 4 options out there for those who don't need this functionality, and it is not as full-featured as some competing docks at a similar price. This particular dock is best for those who need something that's convenient for use in multiple locations given its portability.
What do you think of the Thunderbolt Go Dock? Let us know in the comments below.
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Top Rated Comments
If you're putting three USB-shaped holes in the dock... why not make them do all the same things?
Why make one port the "slow" port?
I see what you're saying... why waste a "good" port on a floppy drive.
Here's the thing though... USB is backwards compatible. USB 3.0 ports can become USB 2.0 ports.
But USB 2.0 ports can never be USB 3.0 ports.
That's why I'm questioning why they would put different ports with different capabilities. Why not make them all "good" ports?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯