OWC Unveils New Thunderbolt 3 Dock That Adds 13 Ports to Your MacBook

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Posted November 3, 2016 at 5:16pm by iClarified

OWC today introduced the all-new Thunderbolt 3 Dock with 13 ports, up to 40Gbps of bandwidth, and the capability to power the new 2016 MacBook Pro.

For anyone concerned with the limited port options on new Thunderbolt 3-equipped Macs or PCs, the Thunderbolt 3 Dock is the ideal solution for connecting a wide variety of existing and future devices including external hard drives, webcams, audio interfaces, Ultra HD displays, wired networks, and more.

“With our critically-acclaimed Thunderbolt 2 Dock and USB-C Dock, OWC defined a new standard in providing more connectivity at a time when new computers were shipping with fewer ports,” said Larry O’Connor, Founder and CEO, OWC. “The all-new Thunderbolt 3 Dock is the best expansion solution we’ve ever made, offering the incredible speed of Thunderbolt 3 technology coupled with 13 ports of connectivity, perfect for getting the most out of the new 2016 MacBook Pro.”

OWC Unveils New Thunderbolt 3 Dock That Adds 13 Ports to Your MacBook

All Your Devices. Incredible Performance. One Cable.
At twice the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 2, OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock takes full advantage of the cutting-edge performance of Thunderbolt 3 technology with throughput up to 40Gb/s. As a result, the new Thunderbolt 3 Dock offers more ports than ever, including 13 ports of connectivity and the capability to charge mobile devices, connect multiple 4K displays, add external storage (including legacy devices like FireWire drives), import photos and videos from SD cards, access wired networks via Gigabit Ethernet, connect audio accessories, and even power the new 2016 MacBook Pro – all through a single Thunderbolt 3 cable.

Extreme Connectivity with 13 Ports
● (2) Thunderbolt 3
○ Two USB-C ports
○ Daisy chain and power up to 5 Thunderbolt 3 devices
● (5) USB 3.1 Gen 1
○ Including two high-power USB Type-A ports for fast mobile device charging
● FireWire 800
● Gigabit Ethernet
● mini DisplayPort
● SD Card reader
○ Easily transfer photos and video from an SD card
● Audio combo port
○ For headphones or microphones
● S/PDIF digital audio

Availability and Pricing
The OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock is currently available for pre-order at the link below. Deliveries of the dock will begin in February 2017. The OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock is priced at $279.00 for preorders. It ships with a .5 meter Thunderbolt 3 40Gb/s USB-C cable.

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jkljkl - November 5, 2016 at 5:02am

you should configure it as a fusion-drive performance will go way up

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Seka - November 4, 2016 at 7:04pm

Great! So add another $279.00 to your cheap new Mac Book Pro!

Ace* - November 4, 2016 at 1:36am

I see what you mean but there is definitely a middle-ground. It's simply unrealistic to put all of the current ports on the side. These more powerful laptops can now handle powering many devices such as 3 monitors. But to have multiple displayport and hdmi ports on the macbook would be unnecessary for most users. I agree though that it's too early for them to remove EVERYTHING and only include usb-c thunderbolt 3. They should have left one usb-3 and one hdmi in my opinion.

Ace* - November 4, 2016 at 3:07am

Yes. Agreed.

Ace* - November 4, 2016 at 3:31am

Yes. And related to what you just said about upgrading: Apple is making it more and more difficult (impossible) to upgrade any of their products. Gluing the batteries in and soldering the memory to the mobo... I'm about to upgrade the ram and ssd in my mid-2011 MacBook Air using OWC hardware. It's going to make this tiny old laptop relevant for a few more years. I don't use it for graphics (obviously) or anything too intense but I take it everywhere and it's great for streaming video to TVs and projectors via mini-display port to hdmi.

Johnznnynyny - November 3, 2016 at 6:49pm

So getting rid of wires creates more wires. Everything either needs to go wireless or we're actually moving backwards.

Ace* - November 3, 2016 at 6:55pm

Come on that not true. There is no way the ridiculous bandwidth required for thunderbolt 3 (and 4K video transfer to ssd) can be wireless for many years. Also docks are actually very useful when using in a desktop situation with a docked laptop. Otherwise you haves many many long cords (of questionable data-steaming quality) traveling all the way to the laptop. With the dock everything is super minimal and maximum data-transfer speed can be controlled. A dock may not appeal to as many people who are using a laptop autonomously (such as in a cafe).

Van G - November 3, 2016 at 8:32pm

"A dock may not appeal to as many people who are using a laptop autonomously (such as in a cafe)." Which is kind of the whole point of a portable Pro computer.

Ace* - November 3, 2016 at 8:45pm

I agree. But these new MacBooks (and PC laptops as well) are much more than just portable cafe computers. They can function equally as desktop replacement. Anyway, in my personal opinion it would have been nice if Apple at least left the SD card reader and a single USB-3 port built-in. To exclude them is pretty annoying.

Ace* - November 3, 2016 at 6:14pm

Yes it's expensive but this is an awesome device - the first advanced design I have seen (there are many others such as Dell's which have been reported to have many problems). There really is no getting around needing one of these because thundebolt 3 requires it. Otherwise you will have a mess of ports all over the laptop (Apple or PC both) and it will definitely inhibit the size and design of the laptop making it less portable. This also makes it great for desktop use because you have only one cable coming from the laptop (clamshell mode) to the desktop. If I purchase a laptop it will definitely be one that has thunderbolt 3 and I will definitely purchase a dock. This is the best design I have seen so far (hopefully it performs well).

Ace* - November 3, 2016 at 6:17pm

Don't forget that you can hook up many large cables to a single thunderbolt 3 usb-c port with adapter (large display-port, bulk hdmi, etc.). To have all of these large ports on the side of a laptop is now becoming undesirable and unrealistic.

Bob - November 3, 2016 at 5:57pm

An extra near $300 to make my brand new high tech $2500 MacBook just as compatible as my old laptop. Something isn't right here...

Ace* - November 3, 2016 at 6:19pm

Your old laptop doesn't have thunderbolt 3 usb-c which offers amazing possibilities for connecting - such as multiple high-res monitors at 60hz.

Van G - November 3, 2016 at 8:33pm

But he can connect his new iPhone 7 and headphones that came with it :)

Ace* - November 3, 2016 at 9:05pm