Image: Mark Hachman / IDG
Over the last two years, the average price of a Thunderbolt dock has averaged between $250 to $325. But two older Thunderbolt docks are on sale for less than $100 for Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, and that’s big news.
What we’re seeing now (and may continue to see through the holidays) are manufacturers clearing their decks of Thunderbolt 3 docking stations. You can pore through the details of Thunderbolt 3, 4 (and soon 5) in our roundup of the best Thunderbolt docks, but the short answer is this: There’s little practical difference between Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4, save the name. But retailers hate storing old hardware on their shelves. Ergo, big savings!
And that’s exactly what’s happening. The Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core is 50 percent off at Amazon, at $99.95. We love it — I love it — and we will continue to love it because it’s one of the few genuinely portable Thunderbolt 3 docking stations out there, as we note in our review. Belkin’s dock won an Editors’ Choice award, and for good reason: You just don’t see that mix of price and features in other docks. Yes, it’s bus-powered (use your laptop’s USB-C charger for best results) but that’s not the worst thing in the world.
We have less experience with the Monoprice Thunderbolt 3 Dual DisplayPort dock, available on Target for $94.99. We’ve tested Monoprice hardware before, and I think the reviews Target shoppers have left on this dock will be accurate. It will run hot, but effective, with slightly fewer port options than other docks offer. Still, it seems like a worthwhile investment without any noticeable flaws.
Quite frankly, we’d recommend the Belkin over the Monoprice dock, but the overall message is an auspicious one. Just a year ago Thunderbolt docks were paralyzed by component shortages and sharp demand. Now, it seems like those days are over, and both a plentiful supply and intense competition are bringing prices down. Take that, inflation!
Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor
As PCWorld’s senior editor, Mark focuses on Microsoft news and chip technology, among other beats. He has formerly written for PCMag, BYTE, Slashdot, eWEEK, and ReadWrite.
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