First look: Kensington Thunderbolt 3 dock features flexible mounting options, security slot

Kensington has entered the burgeoning Thunderbolt 3 dock market with its own offering, with security options and a mounting kit setting it apart from the others.

The Kensington SD5000T has a front-mounted USB 3.0 type-A port, and a USB 3.1 Gen 1 type-C port on the front. On the rear is a fairly standard array of ports with another USB type-A port, the two Thunderbolt 3 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, audio in and out, and a full-size DisplayPort.

Yes, the power supply is giant. Unlike some early offerings, the SD5000T provides full 85W charging power to connected machines because of it. The included Thunderbolt 3 cable is a passive 18-inch one, and is basically useless as is the case with most of the docks we've looked at.

iPhone SE for scale

The dock is lighter than every other dock we've tested, but the same size as most. This is positive or negative depending on your use case — but if you have to toss it in a bag and go, it is certainly a plus.

What's different about the dock is twofold. Kensington has included its security slot on the back, allowing the $350 dock to be secured in an business or institutional environment. Security cables are sold separately.

Additionally, the company also sells a VESA mounting bracket for the dock, allowing it to be secured to the back of a display in one of four directions. The dock's mounting plate can be used in conjunction with a VESA mount, allowing for a wall- or stand-mounted monitor.

Initial testing shows no problems with connectivity, or the dual 4K feature. AppleInsider will detail performance in a future review.

The Kensington SD5000T Thunderbolt 3 dock sells for $349.99 and is available from Amazon. The VESA Mounting plate is an additional $10, and available through Kensington.

7 Comments

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appex 11 Years · 670 comments

About 7 years ago

Because competition is good... bring eSATA ports...

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macxpress 16 Years · 5914 comments

appex said:

Because competition is good... bring eSATA ports...

Why are you so stuck on old technology? First, its 20yr old displays and now its 10yr old I/O. Why do you expect companies to support this crap forever? Are you really that cheap?

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rotateleftbyte 12 Years · 1630 comments

The Kensington SD5000T Thunderbolt 3 dock sells for $349.99 and is available from Amazon. The VESA Mounting plate is an additional $10, and available through Kensington.

It might be available from Amazon in the US but nowhere else. Don't these companies ever think about the world that really does exist outside of the lower 48 states? Europe is a bigger market in terms of the number of people than the US.
The lack of devices like this is one reason why I have not bought a Mac with a USB-c/TB3 port. I know that I am not alone there.

Mike Wuerthele 8 Years · 6906 comments

Seems available in the UK, at least.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06ZY362T4/

mike1 10 Years · 3437 comments

rotateleftbyte said:

The Kensington SD5000T Thunderbolt 3 dock sells for $349.99 and is available from Amazon. The VESA Mounting plate is an additional $10, and available through Kensington.

It might be available from Amazon in the US but nowhere else. Don't these companies ever think about the world that really does exist outside of the lower 48 states? Europe is a bigger market in terms of the number of people than the US.
The lack of devices like this is one reason why I have not bought a Mac with a USB-c/TB3 port. I know that I am not alone there.

Don't know where in Europe you might possibly be, but Kensington seems to have pretty wide international distribution and a quick check shows this is available in at least the UK, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Belgium. That took me about a minute to figure out. Maybe you should send a quick note to Kensington and ask when it might be rolled out in your preferred country.

https://www.kensington.com/us/us/3700/change-country-language