An 18-port Thunderbolt 4 dock with 98W laptop charging, two downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports, eight 10Gbps USB ports, DisplayPort 1.4, 2.5GbE Ethernet and UHS-II SD and microSD readers. Owners rate it one of the most capable single-cable docks, but it runs warm and has needed firmware updates and workarounds for sleep, display and Ethernet quirks.
This entry is written from the 5 sources listed at the bottom of the page. The numbers are our editorial estimates drawn from that material, not measurements, and no statistical sample sits behind them.
On the evidence gathered here, yes. 86% of owners say they would buy it again, and satisfaction is still 8.2 out of 10 two years in. Many owners report trouble-free use on current firmware.
Most owners have settled into a reliable one-cable desk, though some had to update firmware or tweak Ethernet settings to get there. The dock's warmth and occasional macOS-update hiccups are the issues that keep coming up.
macOS updates have broken Ethernet or triggered sleep-related crashes. Some firmware fixes had to be flashed from a Windows PC. Support responses frustrated some owners.
Many owners report trouble-free use on current firmware. Sentiment across the ownership period stays close to flat, which is rare: it reads 8.3 out of 10 in the first week and 8.2 two years later.
Worth it for: Mac laptop desk setups; Photographers using sd cards; Users with many usb-a peripherals. Think twice if: Hdmi-only monitor owners; Budget buyers; People who only need a few ports.
Our reading of how sentiment moves across an ownership period, drawn from the sources below. It is an editorial estimate, not tracked longitudinal data.
| At purchase | 8.5 / 10 |
|---|---|
| First week | 8.3 / 10 |
| One month | 7.8 / 10 |
| Six months | 8.0 / 10 |
| One year | 8.2 / 10 |
| Two years or more | 8.2 / 10 |
Owner reviews move this score. The researched figure stays visible next to it, so you can always see what the sources said before anyone voted.
Leave a review on the live pageEvery complaint and every piece of praise above traces back to these. The summaries are ours; nothing is quoted, and no link, quote or username anywhere on this site is invented.
Launch review listing the 18 ports, 98W charging and $360 price; praises 10Gbps USB throughout and two downstream Thunderbolt ports, with downsides of price, a big power supply and a front LED that can't be turned off.
Gives it five stars, praising power delivery, port selection, build and offline charging, with price, bulk and no HDMI as the main drawbacks.
Long-term test on an M3 Pro MacBook Pro: strong ports and SD speeds, but it runs warm, has a large brick, and needs firmware v39.1 for sleep/wake drive ejects plus an Energy Efficient Ethernet tweak for stable 2.5GbE.
Owner posts from mid-to-late 2023 cover a firmware update for monitor and wake issues, heat complaints, Sonoma sleep-related crashes with mixed fixes, and several owners reporting trouble-free use.
Owners report Ethernet failing after a macOS update, a promised firmware fix that needed a Windows machine to flash, and frustration with CalDigit support, while valuing its dual-5K-display capability.