CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 3 dock with eSATA, dual-4K display support starts shipping

CalDigit has commenced shipments of the Thunderbolt Station 3 dock, an accessory for Macbook Pro users wanting to expand their notebook's connectivity options first launched in CES, with the $299.99 device offering dual 4K display support and a pair of eSATA ports alongside more conventional connections.

Introduced as a Thunderbolt 3 dock for professionals in January, the Thunderbolt Station 3 borrows some of the appearance of its predecessor, the Thunderbolt Station 2, but upgrades the Thunderbolt connectivity to a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports. Able to offer 40Gb/s of bandwidth, these ports are also capable of recharging a connected MacBook Pro, providing up to 85W of power, and can also be used to daisy-chain up to six devices through a single Thunderbolt 3 port on a MacBook Pro.

On the front of the unit are audio connection ports, as well as a USB 3.0 Type A connection with standalone charging, while on the back are the Thunderbolt 3 ports, two USB 3.0 connections, Gigabit Ethernet, and one DisplayPort. The Thunderbolt 3 ports and the DisplayPort can be used to support two 4K monitors, with it also capable of powering a 5K-resolution display.

Added to the connections list are two 6 gbit/sec eSATA ports, allowing for external storage devices to connect to the dock and be used by the MacBook Pro. While users will probably want to use the spare Thunderbolt 3 connection to attach external storage to the dock, to take advantage of the higher bandwidth, the inclusion of eSATA at least means older storage hardware can still be used, making it an option for accessing archive drives.

CalDigit is shipping pre-orders of the Thunderbolt Station 3 now, with new orders expected to ship at the end of June. The dock is priced at $299.99. B&H is also accepting pre-orders at $299.99 with no sales tax outside NY and NJ.

The new release follows after another dock launched at the same time as the Thunderbolt Station 3, earlier this year. The Thunderbolt Station 3 Lite is a thinner unit at AppleInsider previously examined, with a slightly smaller number of connections and limited charging power, but is positioned as a value option at $199.99. B&H is currently taking $20 off the TS3 Lite with free expedited shipping and no sales tax outside NY and NJ.

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22 Comments

scottw2 20 comments · 9 Years

About 7 years ago

Welcome to the MacHub Pro, a laptop that cannot connect to anything. The decision to include only USB-C ports is a huge mistake as there's virtually nothing that you can plug into them. Buying an Apple laptop these days means bunch of dongles and adapter to connect accessories to your computer. Budget an extra $300.

rob53 3306 comments · 13 Years

scottw2 said:

Welcome to the MacHub Pro, a laptop that cannot connect to anything. The decision to include only USB-C ports is a huge mistake as there's virtually nothing that you can plug into them. Buying an Apple laptop these days means bunch of dongles and adapter to connect accessories to your computer. Budget an extra $300.

I hate giving time to a blatant Apple hater but you do realize that USB-C is the "current" specification for USB/Thunderbolt connections don't you? Try reading http://www.usb.org/channel and see that USB-C ports aren't a proprietary Apple product but the future of USB. Just because other companies, especially Windows-based, are slow to adopt new standards doesn't mean Apple is at fault for using them. There are more and more native USB-C peripherals coming on the market every week.

The use of a dock is not new, it's been around for a long time for both Macs and Window-PCs (mainly laptops).

Cougarcat 2 comments · 7 Years

I ordered mine on Jan. 7. No confirmation yet. Madly refreshing.

BTW, you incorrectly list the price as $249.99 in the first sentence.

macxpress 5910 comments · 16 Years

scottw2 said:

Welcome to the MacHub Pro, a laptop that cannot connect to anything. The decision to include only USB-C ports is a huge mistake as there's virtually nothing that you can plug into them. Buying an Apple laptop these days means bunch of dongles and adapter to connect accessories to your computer. Budget an extra $300.

Really, all you need to do for a lot of things is buy a new cable. They are USB-C to USB-A or B cables. There are USB-C to HDMI cables, etc. So no, you don't need a plethora of expensive dongles, you just need to get a new cable which simply replaces the one you were previously using. The costs of these new cables are well under $300. If you want to use a dock, thats fine as well if it makes life easier so you don't have to unplug and plug in cables all the time if you were to use your MacBook Pro with a display, keyboard, mouse, ext hard drive, etc. The same would be true of the outgoing MacBook Pro.

I really don't know why everyone freaks about about this USB-C stuff. Its really a non-issue. Its just that people like you freak out and blow everything totally out of proportion and start stating incorrect things.

If you want to think about it...the new MacBook Pro is actually the most expandable Mac laptop as like I said, you can basically get nearly cable you need for USB-C to whatever you want to connect to. You can even get a USB-C to DB9 (vintage Serial) cable. And, Thunderbolt has the bandwidth to basically run whatever you want to throw at it.

rob53 said:

scottw2 said:

Welcome to the MacHub Pro, a laptop that cannot connect to anything. The decision to include only USB-C ports is a huge mistake as there's virtually nothing that you can plug into them. Buying an Apple laptop these days means bunch of dongles and adapter to connect accessories to your computer. Budget an extra $300.

I hate giving time to a blatant Apple hater but you do realize that USB-C is the "current" specification for USB/Thunderbolt connections don't you? Try reading http://www.usb.org/channel and see that USB-C ports aren't a proprietary Apple product but the future of USB. Just because other companies, especially Windows-based, are slow to adopt new standards doesn't mean Apple is at fault for using them. There are more and more native USB-C peripherals coming on the market every week.

The use of a dock is not new, it's been around for a long time for both Macs and Window-PCs (mainly laptops).

And I similarly hate to explain obvious Apple failings to the apologists. Every criticism of the company and I'm branded a hater. I've been an Apple fan since my poor student day. Over the years I've moved to a die hard Apple fan to a more practical mind, Apple-liking developer. There's nothing wrong with having a hub or dock at your desk. In fact I much prefer them when sitting down at my desk. However, a major function of a laptop is connectivity on mobile. Got a USB key or external HDD? Chances are that they are gonna be USB-A. Need to connect to a projector? That's HDMI or VGA. Need to transfer files from a camera or camcorder? SD card. The MacBook Pro needs adapters for each of these. Even if I swallow the costs, what if I forget to bring an adapter? I'm left with a machine that can't connect to anything. The previous gen MacBook Pro have all of these things out of the box. I didn't have anything to plug into the Thunderbolt port but that's not a problem since I can use the other ports. The fact the new iMac still keep the USB-A ports are positive signs and I'm looking forward to Apple bringing them (along with a few other ports) back to the MacBook Pro.