Thunderbolt 4 technology was first announced in January 2020, and the market has seen an increasing stream of new Thunderbolt 4-enabled devices. New technology can be exciting, but it’s not always clear how new features will provide a practical advantage in your specific environment. Here are three unique features of Thunderbolt 4 you may want to consider when deciding on new technology purchases for your home office or office.
Dual External Displays
When equipped with Thunderbolt 4, your laptop is guaranteed to support a minimum of two external 4K displays when using a Thunderbolt docking station. This was not always the case in the past where some Thunderbolt 3 Hosts required a dock with alternative technologies like DisplayLink or MST (multi-stream-transport) to achieve dual external displays. When peak productivity matters most, pair a Thunderbolt 4 laptop with a Thunderbolt 4 docking station and rest easy knowing your setup will work as expected with dual external 4K displays.
Hub Ports
Do you have multiple Thunderbolt devices you need to connect at the same time? Thunderbolt 4 now supports accessories with up to three additional Thunderbolt 4 ports, enabling multiple devices to be connected to a single dock or hub. Previously, devices needed to be daisy-chained 1:1 and not all Thunderbolt 3 devices included a second port for this purpose. This added flexibility is ideal when a user has multiple high-performance Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4 devices that need to be connected to a single host computer.
Universal Cables
Gone is the day of wondering what cable is needed to support the full functionality of your Thunderbolt peripheral. Thunderbolt 4 introduces universal 40Gbps Thunderbolt cables with support for 100W Power Delivery and USB-C displays, with lengths up to 2M. Look for the Thunderbolt 4 symbol on cables to ensure broad compatibility with Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 3, USB4, and USB-C.
StarTech.com is actively developing Thunderbolt 4 connectivity accessories like the TB4CDOCK to help you take advantage of these features and more, enhancing productivity and workstation flexibility.