Back in January at CES, San Diego’s tech and lifestyle brand Satechi announced the launch of the CubeDock, its first Thunderbolt 5 device. The CubeDock has an enclosure for an SSD as well as plenty of ports and connections to turn a Mac mini M4 Pro into an even more powerful and well-connected workstation.
The new Satechi CubeDock is powered by the latest Intel Thunderbolt 5 chipset, which offers double the bandwidth and speed of Thunderbolt 4 and is backward compatible so that, even if you have a regular Mac mini M4 or any other Thunderbolt 4 computer, it will work just fine.
Because Thunderbolt 5 is the latest version of the interface’s standard, your next Mac will probably include Thunderbolt 5 ports. Currently, the new higher speed ports are only available on the Mac mini M4 Pro model and MacBook Pro laptop. That could change soon and Thunderbolt 5 may become the standard with its 80Gbps bi-directional bandwidth and 120Gbps turbo bandwidth for external graphics, including full support for high-resolution, multi-monitor setups.
Next-Generation Speed
The Thunderbolt 5 CubeDock positively bristles with connections so let’s dive in to see what Satechi has included in this innovative connectivity hub. The CubeDock comes with a 180W smart power supply that provides 140W host charging for your laptop as well as up to 30W PD to power and charge other accessories like smartphones, tablets or small notebooks like the MacBook Neo.
On the base of the CubeDock is a snap-open compartment cover that reveals a bay for an M.2 2280 NVMe SSD. The bay supports 2230/2242/2260/2280 M.2 NVMe SSD sizes with PCIe 4×4 with a maximum capacity of 8TB and a top speed of 6000MB/s depending on the SSD used in the bay. There’s enough space in the compartment for a substantial silicone thermal pad, which also comes with the CubeDock.
Thunderbolt 5’s maximum 120Gbps bandwidth can support multiple displays up to 8K resolution. All the power, data, audio and video signals are transmitted down one Thunderbolt cable running from the host computer to the CubeDock. Satechi includes a cable in the box to get you started.
Backwardly Compatible
Bear in mind, if you want Thunderbolt 5 speeds then any cable you plug into one of the three Thunderbolt ports at the rear, it must be a Thunderbolt 5 to achieve the full speed. However, you can use older generation Thunderbolt cables, you just won’t get the maximum speeds and bandwidth.
The CubeDock can support up to three 8K/60Hz or 4K/144Hz displays using the three Thunderbolt 5 downstream ports. There are no HDMI or DisplayPort outputs, so if you need either of those, you’ll either have to get a USB-C adapter or a display with a USB-C input.
At the rear there of the CubeDock is a 10Gbps USB-C and a 10Gbps USB-A port. For networking, there is a 2.5Gb Ethernet port which is becoming increasingly common on the latest routers and necessary for anyone with a multigigabit fiber internet connection.
At The Front
Moving round to the front of the CubeDock, there are a couple of slots for UHS-II SD and microSD cards, as well as 10Gbps USB-C and USB-A ports, plus a 3.5mm audio jack. To keep everything at an acceptable operating temperature, the CubeDock includes adaptive active cooling that uses an ultra-quiet fan which spins up when things begin to get a little toasty .
Milled from a solid block of aluminum, the CubeDock matches the look and size of Apple’s Mac mini M4. If you are lucky enough to own a Mac mini M4 Pro, you’ll probably know it has Thunderbolt 5 ports, so will work at full speed with the CubeDock. Even if you don’t have a Mac with Thunderbolt 5, it’s worth buying something like the CubeDock for when you eventually upgrade. Until then, it will work perfectly with computers with Thunderbolt 3 and 4 ports.
Thunderbolt 5 is a big leap forward and I can foresee Thunderbolt 4 replacing it over the next year or so. Thunderbolt is in a transitional phase now but if you don’t own a Thunderbolt dock yet, it’s worth considering something like the Satechi CubeDock or the Ugreen’s Maxidock Thunderbolt 5 dock.
Pricing and Availability:
Satechi’s Thunderbolt 5 CubeDock is available now from Satechi.net and is priced at $399.99.
Tech Specs:
- Thunderbolt ports: 1 x Thunderbolt 5 upstream and 3 x Thunderbolt 5 downstream.
- Thunderbolt speeds: 80/120Gbps with 140W host charging, 80Gbps data bandwidth each, 15W power output each.
- Single displays: Single display up to 8K @ 144Hz (Windows), 6K @ 60Hz (macOS)
- Dual displays: Up to 8K @ 120Hz (Windows) , 6K @ 60Hz (macOS).
- Triple displays: up to 8K @ 60Hz (Windows).
- Triple displays on M5 Pro and Max Macs: All previous Mac models support up to two extended displays. M1/M2 base models support one extended display.
- SSD enclosure: Supports 2230/2242/2260/2280 M.2 NVMe SSD.
- Maximum capacity: 8TB.
- Maximum speed: 6000MB/s depending on SSD.
- 1 x USB-C data with power: 10Gbps with 30W charging.
- 1 x USB-C data: 10Gbps with 7.5W charging.
- 1 x USB-A data 1 (front): 10Gbps with 7.5W charging.
- 1 x USB-A data (back) 10Gbps with 4.5W charging.
- 1 x SD Card Reader: UHS-II, up to 312MB/s.
- 1 x microSD Card Reader: UHS-II, up to 312MB/s.
- 1 x 3.5mm Audio Jack with output and input.
- 1 x 2.5G Ethernet port.
- 1 x DC Port: 180W smart power supply.
- Dimensions (L x W x H): 12.7 x 12.7 x 5.2cm.
- Weight: 588.9g.
