Caldigit TS4 Dock

[macphoto861]

A few days ago I stumbled onto an Amazon listing for a Caldigit TS4. Doesn't seem to show up now when I search for it, but here's the direct link:

CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock - 18 Ports, 98W Charging, 40Gb/s Thunderbolt 4, USB-A/C, 2.5GbE, 8K/6K Displays, Mac/PC/Chrome Compatible

The iconic Thunderbolt Station is back, now in its 4th iteration, featuring the classic design first introduced by CalDigit. Not only is the TS4 the most powerful dock ever created, the dock with the most ports, the dock with the highest charging capabilities, the first dock with 2.5GbE, it is th...

www.amazon.com

It's currently showing "not available", but when I first saw it I was able to place an order for it... order status is showing it will arrive March 12 - 18 (but I fully expect to receive one of those "sorry, we still don't know when this will arrive" emails).

 

[dstyp]

Nice! Bit of an upgrade across the board but maybe not an instant buy if you've got the TS3+.

More than 98W would've been nice, not sure what the limit is. Great to get more usb-c form factor ports. HDMI 2.1 would've been a nice and probably much requested addition as well.

I'd call this TS3.5+

edit: seems like 100W is the max possible actually so not half bad ? 240W revision of usbc was just announced for production it seems so maybe in TS5

 

[macphoto861]

Nice! Bit of an upgrade across the board but maybe not an instant buy if you've got the TS3+.

Yeah, I actually think the TS3+ would be fine for me (and would be decent upgrade from the USB-C dock I'm currently using), but they seem to be quite hard to find now. On ebay there are a few reasonably-priced listings, but most seem to be selling for at (or above!) full retail, despite being used.

 

[macphoto861]

It's currently showing "not available", but when I first saw it I was able to place an order for it... order status is showing it will arrive March 12 - 18 (but I fully expect to receive one of those "sorry, we still don't know when this will arrive" emails).

I just got an email from Amazon with an update – surprisingly the delivery estimate has changed to February 16!

 

[lukgni]

I just got an email from Amazon with an update – surprisingly the delivery estimate has changed to February 16!

Could you tell me how much you paid for it?

 

[macphoto861]

Could you tell me how much you paid for it?

$359.95.

 

[fwmireault]

You're lucky! I can't find any information regarding this dock update beside the direct link you provided. I am surprised you've been able to order one

 

[macphoto861]

You're lucky! I can't find any information regarding this dock update beside the direct link you provided. I am surprised you've been able to order one

Yeah, me too. Actually what happened was that I stumbled across it, added it to my cart (with estimated ship date of early-mid March), but I didn’t actually order it at that time. A day or two later, I went to look at it again, and I noticed the listing now said just plain “unavailable”, but it was still in my cart and it let me go through the checkout process. I’ll be surprised if it actually shows up in a week and a half as they’re now saying.

 

[phrehdd]

Caldigit in the past allowed early ordering on products not yet out of production. I ordered the Element and it came on time and at least for me, worked exactly as promoted. I consider it one of my better buys over the years. I also have a "SOHO" for my iPad Pro (pre m1). This unit you see certainly is a great option for many. Just consider what you want to be able to "plug in" and if this item not only offers the connection but at a speed desired.

 

[kentzh]

Surprisingly, Caldigit has not released any information about the TS4 on the official website, you can buy it all, see if the TS3+ needs to be replaced, I can buy a TS3+ at a reasonable price

 

[joevt]

They replaced a Thunderbolt port with a DisplayPort. Seems like a waste of a Thunderbolt port which could have been used for Thunderbolt, USB, or USB-C DisplayPort Alt Mode display.

 

[dstyp]

They replaced a Thunderbolt port with a DisplayPort. Seems like a waste of a Thunderbolt port which could have been used for Thunderbolt, USB, or USB-C DisplayPort Alt Mode display.

The TS3+ has Displayport. They sure could've used the real estate for other ports but wanted to keep the feature for the new dock I'm sure. I would also have wanted to see HDMI2.1 tbh.

It's a dock and a big, premium one. Can't do TB only, gotta offer some versatility.

 

[WilliamG]

Nice! Bit of an upgrade across the board but maybe not an instant buy if you've got the TS3+.

More than 98W would've been nice, not sure what the limit is. Great to get more usb-c form factor ports. HDMI 2.1 would've been a nice and probably much requested addition as well.

I'd call this TS3.5+

edit: seems like 100W is the max possible actually so not half bad ? 240W revision of usbc was just announced for production it seems so maybe in TS5

Got a link to the specs/pics?

 

[playtech1]

I recently picked up the TS3+ and I can see this being a nice upgrade.

I particularly like the combo audio jack on the front, microSD card reader and the 3.5mm audio jacks on the rear (which would replace an optical port that is less useful to me).

I am curious about backwards compatibility - I assume a TB4/USB4 device like this will work with older TB3 machines. The hoops and occasional jankiness of the TS3+ with my HP work laptop makes me nervous.

 

[eddjedi]

Interestingly Amazon is listing the date this was first available as September 17 2021, but I've never seen it before either. Might try it when it is released, I recently bought a TS3+ but couldn't get it to reliably work without multiple attempts at plugging it in each time, so returned it.

 

[dstyp]

I have that same dock at my office. I love it. For home, I picked up this TB4 dock. I use my 2021 16" M1 Max with both docks. They work great for my needs. Anker Apex 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock, Max 90W Charging for Laptop, 20W Power Delivery, Single 8K, Triple 4K Display, 2 USB-A 3.1 Gen 2, 2 USB 2.0, Et

*I know a lot of these say they don't work with the M1 MacBooks, but if you trial and error it, you can find a working configuration and it is, at least for me, solid. No blips or disconnects or drops of video, audio, or ethernet.

You have a Caldigit TS4 at the office??

 

[kissmyasthma]

You have a Caldigit TS4 at the office??

I misread the topic. I Have the TS3 at the office. I'm sorry. I would love to get my hands on the TS4 and see if it can really handle dual 6k displays on the M1 Max

 

[ikir]

A few days ago I stumbled onto an Amazon listing for a Caldigit TS4. Doesn't seem to show up now when I search for it, but here's the direct link:

CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock - 18 Ports, 98W Charging, 40Gb/s Thunderbolt 4, USB-A/C, 2.5GbE, 8K/6K Displays, Mac/PC/Chrome Compatible

The iconic Thunderbolt Station is back, now in its 4th iteration, featuring the classic design first introduced by CalDigit. Not only is the TS4 the most powerful dock ever created, the dock with the most ports, the dock with the highest charging capabilities, the first dock with 2.5GbE, it is th...

www.amazon.com

It's currently showing "not available", but when I first saw it I was able to place an order for it... order status is showing it will arrive March 12 - 18 (but I fully expect to receive one of those "sorry, we still don't know when this will arrive" emails).


View attachment 1955331

Oh yes I want it with 2,5Gbit ethernet too! The product is not listed on official Caldigit website.

PS: Caldigit website list TS4 under support but protected with password, I suppose it is a new products. Ignore Amazon listing date, because sellers can edit product maybe it was a duplicated TS3 listing.

TS4 Support – CalDigit

www.caldigit.com

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1490685659912282112

 

[appleArticulate]

I misread the topic. I Have the TS3 at the office. I'm sorry. I would love to get my hands on the TS4 and see if it can really handle dual 6k displays on the M1 Max

Does it say that it can? Pretty sure it won't otherwise. It will handle dual 4K displays, or (1) 5k - 8K display, like most TB4 hubs.

 

[joevt]

Does it say that it can? Pretty sure it won't otherwise. It will handle dual 4K displays, or (1) 5k - 8K display, like most TB4 hubs.

Even the TS3+ should handle two XDR displays - as long as the GPU is using DSC which also enables USB 3.0 speeds from the XDR USB ports.

 

[dstyp]

Does it say that it can? Pretty sure it won't otherwise. It will handle dual 4K displays, or (1) 5k - 8K display, like most TB4 hubs.

This is possible according to the link shared in OPs post.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/aplus-media-library-service-media/05a91dc7-1967-4a13-bbb5-e32ea01ef6c9.__CR0,0,970,600_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg

 

[appleArticulate]

Even the TS3+ should handle two XDR displays - as long as the GPU is using DSC which also enables USB 3.0 speeds from the XDR USB ports.

I don't know about that. I've never heard of anyone running 2 XDR displays off of 1 TB port. Happy to be proven wrong, but never seen it or even heard of it.

 

[appleArticulate]

This is possible according to the link shared in OPs post.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/aplus-media-library-service-media/05a91dc7-1967-4a13-bbb5-e32ea01ef6c9.__CR0,0,970,600_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg

Well I know the M1 Pro/Max can do that. But they don't do it with a single Thunderbolt port.

 

[killawat]

They replaced a Thunderbolt port with a DisplayPort. Seems like a waste of a Thunderbolt port which could have been used for Thunderbolt, USB, or USB-C DisplayPort Alt Mode display.

It don't look like they've replaced a TB port, it looks like they've added one to the TS4. DisplayPort was also on the TS3+ (and TS3 lite for that matter).

Looks like a great hub. 2.5 GbE is a little strange. I suspect this is due to bandwidth constraints. mGIG switches are still unreasonably expensive for some reason (compared to straight 10 Gbit hubs). 1 GbE would be cheaper and mGIG users can easily find USB-C and Thunderbolt based solutions.

 

[jaytv111]

I am curious about backwards compatibility - I assume a TB4/USB4 device like this will work with older TB3 machines. The hoops and occasional jankiness of the TS3+ with my HP work laptop makes me nervous.

What I've read about TB3 PCs is they work with TB4 docks but they can't take advantage of the TB hub ports. So you get 1 downstream port in earlier TB3, this one has 2 downstream ports that TB4 hosts or TB3 Macs can use, so basically the other ports work but you can't plug 2 TB devices in at once, only one. Apparently Macs with TB3 can use TB hub though, so it's a bit confusing.

Not to mention M1 (not Pro or Max) Macs can't use more than 2 displays at once unless they're using Displaylink for the additional video output. Further confusion for someone plugging in more than 1 external display.