![]() Their - and other tech users - wish for an Ethernet port was our command to make the best even better. The OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock is available in Silver and Space Gray directly from OWC for $299.When the gadget pros at Ars Technica called the OWC TCDK6P2SG USB-C Travel Dock the "Best Hub for iPad" and the "Best Travel Hub" overall, we thought our work was done. This level of convenience makes the OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock worth a look, especially if a Mac laptop is your primary computer. Disconnecting a fistful of cables and dongles isn’t a terrible hardship, but being able to grab your laptop and go, then quickly reconnect when you return, is certainly better. ![]() By reducing that process to a single connection point, the OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock has made it easier to get away from my desk, which has made testing macOS a better experience this summer. Last year, I found myself sitting at my desk testing Mojave more than I would have liked, in part because of the friction of disconnecting my MacBook Pro from Ethernet, external drives, an external display, audio gear, and power and then reconnecting everything again later. I can’t speak to the OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock’s longevity given the short time I’ve used it, but setting it up was simple, and it’s been entirely trouble-free the whole time I’ve used it. The hallmark of a quality dock is that it just sits there handling inputs and outputs and powering your Mac without the need to fiddle with it. It’s a thoughtful software addition that makes the hardware better than it would be on its own. With OWC Dock Ejector, a single click safely ejects every external drive attached to my dock, so I can yank out the Thunderbolt cable and be on my way. If you have multiple drives attached to a dock, the process of ejecting each one before disconnecting the dock defeats some of the convenience of having a single Thunderbolt cable connected to your Mac. One especially nice touch that I appreciate is a free menu bar utility OWC offers called OWC Dock Ejector. Because so many displays support HDMI, I would have preferred that type of connector to Mini DisplayPort. The Mini DisplayPort is probably the connection I’m least likely to use on the Thunderbolt 3 Dock. ![]() The other side of the dock features Ethernet, Thunderbolt 3 ports, Mini DisplayPort, and an input for the dock’s power adapter. It’s not an inexpensive solution, but compared to the cost of purchasing multiple over-priced dongles, it’s not as extravagant as it might seem at first. I took them up on the offer, and having used it for a while now, I love the convenience of being able to connect everything to my MacBook Pro with a single Thunderbolt 3 cable. ![]() I had been thinking about ways to improve my summertime beta setup when Other World Computing offered to send me its OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock to test. I’ve been trying to work on the macOS beta from a MacBook Pro as much as possible over the summer, and the experience has caused me to revisit the frustration of unplugging cables and dongles every time I want to leave my desk and work elsewhere. ![]() Because I work from home now, I don’t use my MacBook Pro that way very often anymore, except in the summertime when that laptop becomes a testbed for the latest macOS beta. At the end of the day when I returned home, I sat the laptop on my desk and plugged in a bunch of cables and dongles, which was a pain. When I commuted to downtown Chicago for work, I carried a 2016 MacBook Pro with me. When you’re back at home or work, connecting legacy USB-A devices, SD and microSD cards, and Ethernet and HDMI cables requires an array of often expensive dongles and cables that quickly fill up the available ports on your Mac. However, if an Apple laptop is your primary computer, the number and lacking diversity of ports is problematic. By limiting its laptops to Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C ports, Apple has been able to continue its relentless pursuit of thinness. ![]()
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