CalDigit TS4 Review: The BEST Thunderbolt Dock For MacBook Pro!
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- Опубліковано 2 сер 2024
- The CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4 -- or TS4 -- is a new Thunderbolt 4 Dock for Mac and PC. I walk through its best feature, the various ports, and why this is my new favorite dock for my 16-inch MacBook Pro!
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Read the full review: appleinsider.com/articles/22/...
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:14 Hands on with CalDigit TS4
1:45 Customizable Orientation
2:01 CalDigit TS4 Front Ports
2:38 CalDigit TS4 Rear Ports
3:43 Some Great TS4 Features
5:01 CalDigit TS4 VS TS3 Plus
6:07 Offline Charging
6:37 One missing feature...
8:39 Summary and recommendation
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Do you use a Thunderbolt hub with your Mac or PC? If so, which one!
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I personally love everything the TS3 had and now the TS4 once i get around to buying one.
The only thing i wish it had was support fo 144Hz refresh rate monitors therefore gaming with laptops or perhaps desktops with displayport out would be a simply plug and play design.
Could I use dual 4k monitors and a 16TB HHD on this dock without a noticeable performance drop? Great video! Thanks!
Do you happen to have a link to the wallpaper you use? Looks great!
Great video, does it support dual monitor set up for the MacBook M1 Pro?
Awesome & Thanks :)
Hey, thanks for the review! As a triple screen user, would I be able to use triple 4k@60hz? I'm on a MBP M1Max, running with all ports full. Looking forward to use just 1!
Think this guy is going to be my next gadget for my MBP M1 :D
I think that asking for the inferior HDMI instead of a DP port is extremely nitpicky, but totally valid considering everyone has their preferences.
From what I've seen though most if not all monitors accept DP and even modern productivity monitors often support USB C or Thunderbolt as well. Additonally to my knowledge HDMI is an inferior connection based on the data transfer capabilities. Therefore I don't see why they would LIMIT the dock by adding the inferior port. But if there is something I'm missing like maybe monitors that are based on color accuracy only take HDMI or something similar please let me know so that I may be better informed on the topic!
I was looking at getting this but I'm sticking with my OWC Thunderbolt 4 Dock. Check out the reviews on the TS4 from quite a few people who came over from TS3's. A LOT of disconnects. I'm sure CalDigit will update the firmware thought.
any fix on this yet? was thinking of grabbing one for Mac Studio M2 ultra but if disconnects are still an issue, ill probably pass
Any thoughts on this vs the Hyperdrive GEN2 Thunderbolt 3 Dock 16-Port Docking Station? It almost seems like the Hyperdrive is a middle ground between the TS3 and TS4
I'm interested in using the DisplayPort 1.4 with my 16-inch M1 Max Macbook Pro. When I connect it to this dock and a monitor that uses DisplayPort 1.4, will I get all of the benefits?
I specifically got this port because of DisplayPort! My Monitor uses DP1.4... There are many Docks with HDMI2.0 & HDMI2.1
Displayport 1.4 offers 10bit/RGB colors. WIth HDMI you can get only 8bit/RGB. For color accurate-work, HDMI2.x is just not enough.
Does this help with the fan issue with external displays?
Can't seem to be able to find it anywhere. Can I actually use that DisplayPort to daisy-chain two monitors or would I have to use Thunderbolt/USB to connect to one and DP to another?
Where can I find the wallpaper on the MacBook Pro at 6:53?
All sounds good, BUT will it work with a MacBook Pro 14 with two Apple Studio Displays. When I contacted their online support, they said it hasn’t been tested by them. (The new Apple Studio displays do not support daisy chain between them.)
How about a XQD or CFExpress card slot?
I don’t see a need to upgrade from my Anker usb c dock to this for my M1 IMac.
Nice review! @AppleInsider Important question: Do you know if the TS4 dock is compatible with Elgato's video capture cards? Our Cam Link is an essential part of our zoom and streaming setup, and it's notoriously finicky. We connected it to an OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock, and the Cam Link image started freezing randomly. Does someone at AppleInsider have a CamLink you can test with the CalDigit dock?
this should be able to support a dual Apple Studio Monitor correct?
@AppleInsider Hei Can i connect one 6k monitor with the thunderbolt port, and two 4k monitors - one with the thunderbolt port and one with the display port to the Macbook pro 16” with M2 max! with this dock?
Can you please do a video comparing Caldigit TS4 versus Ivanky Fusion Dock?
Can these USBCs output video signals?
I’m love the TS3+ that I’m using on my 2018 Mac mini. Once there is an updated Mac mini with the M1 Pro (or an M2) I’ll definitely be getting a TS4 to go with it. For my use case I’m glad they kept the DisplayPort, but I also wish they had a second one. Right now I use the DisplayPort on the TS3+ and a USB-C to DisplayPort cable to go from my current Mac mini to my KVM switch, and unfortunately the USB-C to DisplayPort cable needs to get unplugged and replugged every now and then. I certainly understand that my use case isn’t everyone’s use case. If anything I’m kind of surprised they don’t have one of each, or different versions of the TS4 to support HDMI vs DisplayPort. I’m guess that just isn’t as economical for them.
It might be the specific cable you’re using, I use a DP to TB3 cable and never had any problems. With hdmi only version 2.1 is fast enough for 8k and even 2.0 can only do 4k at 60fps. Since not everything has 2.1 yet they probably figured most people would be using usbc adapters anyway.
I’ve had a few of these (not this newest version) and they all get RIDICULOUSLY hot just being plugged in. Anytime I would connect a USB thumb drive and it would be SO hot when I took it out. Not enough to burn me but felt close. I also wasn’t a fan of how my SD cards would get caught in the slot (and also come out hot). Conceptually I love them, all the ports I want with one connection to my computer… but for the price it they have all had these issues and I’ve now switched to much cheaper hubs and card readers that don’t have those issues. I’ve looked online and saw others with similar concerns. Not sure if it’s a bunch of defective ones or that is just how it normally functions.
Wish you would have done a quick what came in the box.
this looks great Display Port is where its at
Can this dock make 1 MacBook Pro using 1 tb4 cable to power 2 lg 5k/ studio display ?
Will the Caldigit TS4 power an Apple Superdrive?
Caldigit have really come out trumps with this new dock. As for the lack of HMDI... in my opinion having the Display Port is better.
Yeah. HDMI in addition to Display Port would be nice, but definitely don't want DP missing.
Nice review but I'm curious why no Black Magic speed test?
Partially due to the variables. Write and read speed on a connected drive will wholly depend on what drive you have connected. Is that drive Thunderbolt or USB? How fast is the HDD or SSD? Is it the top of the daisy chain or three devices down? Do you have multiple displays or other devices connected stealing bandwidth? It would be impossible to set up each person’s setup to test
Is it possible to connect the MacBook to it, without charging the MacBook ?
Do you have a problem with it being top heaving when standing on and a Display Port cable is plugged in? (curious why they wouldn't put the heaviest inputs on the bottom).
Here's the only thing I want to know - does it work RELIABLY? Can I dock and undock my Mac, and do the monitors come awake EVERY TIME? Without crashing?
I haven't had any issues so far at all.
Can my Apple Thunderbolt Display run through this doc?
If I have a 3 plus I dont see anything that I gain from changing, do you? I mean not that many 8K screens out there..... I would however LOVE to see support for three monitors
Between the TS3 Plus and the TS4, you have 8K display support, faster 2.5Gb Ethernet, more USB-C ports, faster 20W USB-C charging, offline charging for 3/5 USB-A ports, an additional Thunderbolt port, and now 98W power delivery from 87W. I think those are the big changes? Oh… and will work with non-Thunderbolt devices. Will work with TB3 and USB 4.0 devices too
So basically a little bit faster and a little bit better but does not offer enough to make the change from the 3 plus. Too little difference and 8k monitors is too soon. Three displays would have made all the difference
What's missing is a CF express card reader, my friend.
Great review. Suggest you use a better microphone to record your videos.😊
Supply chain delays are crazy....can't find this dock ANYWHERE!!!!
I had a CalDigit TS3+, and I had an issue with the computer thunderbolt port. It didn't make a good connection, and if you touched the cable, it would disconnect the dock. That was very annoying. Hopefully, it works better n the TS4.
Was it the connector inside your Mac? Or the cable itself? Or the connector on the dock?
@@AppleInsider It was the connector in the dock.
@@waynepeterson4876 Ahhh ok, that makes sense. It sounded like it was the computer's Thunderbolt port. That would certainly be on CalDigit then!
it can only be a dream if it had 2 display ports and 149 walt power output.
I can't get the ethernet port to work with my M1 Max, and I can't get much information on how to solve it.
Yes, the hdmi but also a power button. When you cut off the Mac, you have to unplug and replug the box. It sucks.
Does it wake up from sleep reliably? I’ve heard the TS3+ had some issues with that… And if I plug a USB keyboard/mouse, will they also be able to wake my MacBook up from sleep reliably?
No, it doesn't.
On my M1 MBP, if it goes to sleep I'll lose my second monitor, and will have to open the laptop, unplug the Thunderbolt connector, then reconnect it and wait 8-10 seconds for the second output to start working again, at which point I can close the laptop again.
My work Intel MBP will lose USB, and they only way I can get it back is to reboot.
Its very silly to spend $360 on this now in this current state, but here I am.
@@damnitdan4evar I guess the one cable dream is a lie
For the price it should have a power switch and some other reviews on their support are questionable
Andrew you can pick up a DP 1.4 to HDMI cable, no adapter. (I’m assuming you know this?). I just don’t see the complaint ultimately.
This is definitely a decent upgrade though from the TS3.
Then if you really wanted to expand your IO could always connect the TB4 hub by Caldigit also, if you felt the need for additional TB4 ports.
Not too bad for £324 to be honest considering you can get the previous generation for £290.
I personally think it’s worth it but other people may differ and that’s okay.
It boils down to which is more commonplace? HDMI or DisplayPort? HDMI. So that’s what I think should be on the dock. But it’s not a huge deal regardless
@@AppleInsider Displayport is a higher bandwidth connector than HDMI though. So it makes sense that it would be preferred on a high-end device.
When going from DisplayPort to HDMI, make sure the cable is Active, not Passive. Your best bet would be to only purchase monitors with DisplayPort as it is the superior connector.
@@AppleInsider First of all I think this is completely intentional because DisplayPort offers better features, second more common place where? monitors rarely don't have DisplayPort available, third for the price this better support 8K 60hz 10bit color, 4th as suggested before just get a DP to HDMI cable if your display doesn't have DP.
You have completely missed the point of the DisplayPort port. DP can be daisy-chained to support multiple monitors; HDMI cannot. This works fine on Windows; Apple has chosen not to support daisy-chaining over DP. Maybe you should petition Apple to support MST? Or join the Windows world? ;)
Such a sweet dock, agree hdmi is a much better choice. My ONLY knock on it is the HIGH price, wish it was around $250
these are nice but cant get them now, month out..
Hello :) Im confused, can you operate these docks without using power delivery?
Do you mean use MagSafe at the same time?
@@AppleInsider more like bypass the PD all together, like using it unplugged from magsafe yet no getting power from the TS4. Basically im afraid that the TS4 would shorten the life of my battery if i keep it on charge all the time. I hope im making sense, thanks again!
Tagging me in
No HDMI?
why doesnt it have an HDMI? Incase PC users want to use it also.
There will be some limitations 8:16 but ...
Does support two LG 5k displays at 60Hz? I haven’t seen a definitive answer on this.
Hi Jason! Here is the response from CalDigit!
Yes, the TS4 supports two LG 5K 60Hz UltraFine displays.
Dual displays are supported on M1 Max and M1 Pro computers.
Users on original M1 laptops can only connect 1 display through Thunderbolt, as this is a limitation of those laptops.
I would buy it IF Apple is able to deliver me my MacBook Pro i ordered back in october :-( no estimated time for delivery yet 😭
That sucks. That’s like 4 months. It will be half way time for another MacBook Pro. Soon.
@@Cam_Galaxy yesterday out of nowhere i got my notification that my MacBook has been shipped 🙊
Yes 4 months…
Tomorrow i should have it in my hands… 🙈
Ok now i have to look around where i can buy a TS4 😇
Does it work if not plugged in power?
Lol no
Out of stock on site and amazon...
Not cool that you have to buy a dock! This connectivity should be built in
Display port is better. Most monitors have displayport, tvs do not.
Announced… not released since it’s preorder only at the moment. :-(
Well, it was released. Then sold out immediately. Now is back to preorders for the next wave. TB4 docks are so hard to keep in stock right now! Every brand is selling through!
@Chris. It’s been released. I ordered one when it was announced on Feb 8th and I got it on Saturday.
@@mavfan1 it must have sold out in just a few hours. I tried to order it the day it was announced but it wasn’t available from CalDigit or Amazon. I contacted aupport and they said end of feb. :(
it looks very useful but I feel like it needs a redesign
It was redesigned. It’s noticeably larger and the design is a little different too.
@@mavfan1 yeah but it looks like its from 2010 they should for example give it a futuristic look not make it look like a mini server but it's overall useful
You have every right to be wrong about preferring HDMI!!!!
$399 and no HDMI?
DP1.4 is downward compatible with HDMI but it does work the other way around. Having HDMI over DP is idiotic.
What? DP and HDMI are different specs.
I got some Chinese shit for like 60 bucks and it works just fine
Eighteen ports and only one of them is DisplayPort? That's disappointing. I prefer my CalDigit USB-C Pro dock which has two DisplayPort outputs. There's also a version with two HDMI outputs if you prefer that.
Amazon? To purchase?
no HDMI? 🤷🏽♂️👎🏽
7:38 let's just say we're better of with people like you reviewing things rather than designing them.. HDMI 2.0 over DP 1.4? Tell me you've never used a display that's over 60Hz without telling me you've never used a display over 60Hz.
For the MASSES HDMI is better. It’s more prevalent and commonly used despite its shortcomings. I also think that HDMI 2.1 should have been used which does more easily allow higher refresh rates
@@AppleInsider I disagree, I think there's only two choices, HDMI 2.1 like you mentioned (M1's aren't capable of that even with an adapter) and DP 1.4 since you already have an HDMI 2.0 on the device itself. Everything else is just beyond questionable.
$359 👀
It's so effinexpensive
Before buy this device and waste your money go to amazon and read the amount of problem and negative review that have.
Display-Port to HDMI cable. Problem solved.
450$ just to use some displays and usb peripherals 😂
Caldigit docks are definitely the superior choice. Going to get this when the M2 MBA hits. I have to laugh at the comments about not wanting to plug the HDMI cable directly into the laptop. It’s almost like it’s absurd to thicken a portable device to put an HDMI port in it versus keeping it thin with another TB4 port and using a dock….🤦♂️. Yet here is the internet: Hooray! Apple loves pros again! They brought back the HDMI port! Sure, the famously svelte MBP is now a brick, but ports! I would like to slap whoever is plugging their monitor directly into the laptop. Here is MagSafe again! Hooray! Now is the HDMI port MagSafe? Hope your kids don’t run into that cable instead! Apple is marketing these new ports well though. They thickened it up which is against the norm, and tossed in some ports to distract us. Now their competitors will follow suit and in a few years they can start the race back to thin again. A game they’ve already one!
If he's really used this Dock for a while, how come he hasn't noticed the sleep/wakeup problems? And why is he repeating himself so much?
@fransmeijer5332 is this still an issue? I wanted to get one for the Mac Studio M2 ultra, will this still be a problem?