Improving on the last generation Elgato Thunderbolt dock (review), today the company is announcing a refreshed model that includes Thunderbolt 2 technology and more at the same $229 price point of the last-gen model.
In addition to new possibilities for driving 4K displays and other devices over the speedier Thunderbolt 2, the dock also now includes, according to the company, “amplified audio output as well as stand-alone USB charging.”
A built-in HDMI port can drive any display of your choice up to 4K resolution, and three additional SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports assure that all of your devices are connected when you need them, at full speed and with up to 1.5A of power. Tap into the full performance of wired network connections with the built-in Gigabit Ethernet port, and enjoy crystal-clear conference calls through the separate microphone input and amplified audio output.
As for the high-power USB, that means you’ll now be able to charge an iPhone or iPad off the dock, or plug in an Apple SuperDrive or other devices that require bus-power. Elgato says that “Dual displays are supported when using HDMI and a Thunderbolt™ or Thunderbolt™ 2 display.”
The dock includes the same design and aluminum enclosure as previous models, and offers three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, and audio in/out alongside two Thunderbolt 2 ports.
Elgato’s Thunderbolt 2 Dock is available from the company’s website and Amazon for $229 starting today and comes with an Elgato Thunderbolt cable. It will also be arriving in Apple Stores in the coming days.
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For MacBook Air owners wishing to connect two Thunderbolt displays, this expands your single Thunderbolt port to…. a single Thunderbolt port. Nicely done, El Gato.
Completely agree… when with someone offer a Thunderbolt dock that EXPANDS the number of Thunderbolt ports? grrrrr
I take it you haven’t read the spec on Thunderbolt, right? What you are asking for is not possible.
This is pretty much the only reason I haven’t gotten any of these docks. I use both ports to connect two monitors. I understand that this is a limitation of the Apple hardware so I will continue to plug all my crap in everyday.
I stand corrected: Dual displays are supported when using HDMI and a Thunderbolt™ or Thunderbolt™ 2 display.
Thunderbolt expands by chaining. You only need two ports on a Thunderbolt dock. If you want to connect two Thunderbolt displays to your Air, go ahead. You don’t even need a dock.
There’s no way to make a single Thunderbolt port to 2 Thunderbolt port. It’s a daisy chain protocol, not a tree like USB.
You could have 2 display ports or HDMI but that’s exactly what it does (you can use HDMI adaptor).
Agree with others, like the Belkin dock, two Thunderbolt ports is pointless! I wish to take advantage of Apple’s offerings and connect at least one monitor and a Thunderbolt external drive. Same with USB ports, why only two? I have two on my MacBook Pro 15″ Retina, and it’s not enough.
Do it then. That’s the point of Thunderbolt. You daisy chain stuff. That single port will drive your monitor and external drive.
Nope, not paying that. Apple’s licensing makes these products prices ridiculous. I can’t even find an external thunderbolt hard drive that doesn’t cost a fortune.
Intel. Not Apple. Apple have nothing to do with the licensing. Also there’s far more to it than something like say USB to the prices for things using it being higher make sense. It’s an extremely capable tech. If you think Thunderbolt is expensive I suggest you never look into 10Gbit Ethernet.
If only it were $200 cheaper…
Then it would not have a second thunderbolt for chaining, no HDMI, no USB and no Ethernet. You can pay $50 for nothing but I won’t.
The bigger question is “Does it work?” Because the Belkin sure doesn’t and the reviews for Belkin’s first-gen are terrible. One of these days I’d actually see a site that ANNOUNCES these Thunderbolt docks actually USE them. Guess that’s too much to ask. I can read press releases as well as the next person; don’t need a PR relay station.
Daisy chain is a huge factor for me too. And I like the fact that it includes a software to eject everything that is connected to the dock with a single click. Does belkin has a similar software for their dock also? If not I’m getting this, or should I wait for OWC’s dock which has more usb 3.0 ports
The pricing on these are so harsh that I ended up building my own with a 7-port USB hub instead:
-7-port HooToo hub ($20) + 3 foot retractable USB extension cable ($15)
-USB video adapter ($60)
-USB network adapter ($20)
Ended up being a total of $110 or so, plus I added a USB sound card I had lying around. Worked quite well as an Air docking station, albeit less clean than this. I’m sure I could spend some more money and make it nicer, but the mess isn’t on the tablet; all I see is a retractable cable.