The Kensington Thunderbolt 4 SD5700T Dock has all the ports you could possibly need

Thunderbolt 4 is here, as is the first fully powered Thunderbolt 4 docking station. The Kensington SD5700T features 11 ports, 90W of power, and transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps. It provides either one 8K at 30Hz output or two 4K outputs at 60Hz.

Make no mistake: this is a sophisticated dock. It is listed for $ 289.99 on the Kensington site. But if you’re the type of person who uses an elaborate desktop setup with multiple monitors and peripherals and have some cash to spend, this might be a good choice.

If you look at the latest versions of Thunderbolt 4 laptops, you will probably notice that some of them have … rare port selections. This is normal, as laptops get thinner. The Dell XPS 13, for example, only has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an audio jack, and a microSD card reader. (And sometimes one of those ports will need to be occupied by the charger.) If you’ve decided to buy one of the XPS 13 models (which is a good choice – they’re great), and want to use a monitor, peripherals like a mouse and keyboard, or an Ethernet connection, you are going to need a docking station.

That doesn’t mean you need the SD5700T – Thunderbolt 4 ports will still support a cheaper Thunderbolt 3 dock if you already have one lying around. But I think the SD5700T is worth spending if you need more connectivity and the value of Thunderbolt 4 features. It basically packs a full home office setup in one highly portable box.

The dock is also compatible with Thunderbolt 3 MacBooks running macOS Big Sur. It worked great with my 2019 MacBook Pro.

Besides the aforementioned Thunderbolt 3 compatible MacBook Pro, I also use the SD5700T with a Thunderbolt 4 compatible Acer Swift 5. I am someone who often needs to plug in a lot more mice, cameras, readers, headphones and stuff that my laptops won’t allow, so my workspace is often covered in a mess of dongles and docks. The SD5700T provides a lot more connectivity than docking stations of this size I’ve used in the past, and it’s made my life a lot easier.

With a single Thunderbolt cable (which is included), Kensington 5D5700T owners have access to the following:

• Four Thunderbolt 4 ports (with transfer speeds of up to 40 Gbps and dual 4K video output)
• Four USB-A ports (one 5V / 1.5A charging port on the front and three Gen 2 @ 10Gbps ports on the rear)
• One Gigabit Ethernet port
• An audio combo jack
• One UHS-II SD 4.0 card reader
• 90 W power supply (regardless of the number of connected devices)

Obviously the use cases vary, but I really can’t think of anything else that the vast majority of people would need. And remember, that’s not all you get – plugging the docking station into a port frees up other ports on your laptop that could otherwise be occupied by a charger, monitor adapters, and other peripherals. .

Setting up the SD5700T didn’t require any expertise: I plugged the docking station into the wall, plugged in all my odds and ends, turned it on, and then connected it to the laptop. And that was it – it just worked.

Everything I connected was working fine. I did not encounter any bugs or performance issues. The only thing I’d like to see is a way to disconnect the entire dock with one click. Currently, you have to eject each connected device individually before unplugging a laptop from the SD5700T, which can be a pain if you have a bunch of stuff plugged in. There are third-party apps that can make this possible, but some companies like Corsair provide eject utilities optimized for their own docks.

Final observation: this is not a poor quality dock. It has a beautiful finish that’s glossy yet understated – nothing that won’t stand out on your desk or turn heads around the desk. At 0.96 pounds (0.435 kg) and 7.68 x 2.95 x 1.18 inches (195 x 75 x 30 mm), it’s also easy to carry if you need to move your workspace. You can slip it into a purse or backpack with no problem (although the 180W brick is a bit clunky).

You can preorder the Kensington SD5700T now, and it will ship the second week of January.

Photos by Monica Chin / The Verge