Popular third-party accessory company CalDigit has announced its new Thunderbolt 4 Station. This beefy Thunderbolt dock has 18 ports and can deliver up to 98 watts of passthrough power.
According to the company, that makes it the largest Thunderbolt 4 dock to date, and it seems like a compelling purchase for Mac power users.
The Thunderbolt Station 4 isn’t only compatible with Mac, but Mac users certainly have the most to gain from it. Aside from the latest MacBook Pros, most Apple users are limited to a handful of Thunderbolt ports. CalDigit’s dock is compatible with Intel and M1 Thunderbolt 3 Macs, as well as the M1 Pro and M1 Pro Max Thunderbolt 4 Macs. The device is also compatible with Thunderbolt 4 PCs, as well as Thunderbolt or USB-C iPads and Chromebooks. Just note that USB-C devices may have limited functionality compared to full-fledged Thunderbolt devices.
The front of the device has an SD and microSD card reader, an audio in/out jack, a USB-A port, and two USB-C ports. One of those USB-C ports supports 20 watts of power passthrough.
The real story is on the back of the device. There are four USB-A ports, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, dedicated audio in and audio out jacks, another USB-C port, a Display Port 1.4, and a 2.5GbE Ethernet jack. As if all of that wasn’t enough, the Thunderbolt 4 Station has a lock mechanism so it can be securely attached to your desk.
There are a few other perks for Apple users on this device, too. It’s been optimized for the Apple SuperDrive (if you’re one of the people still using those), so it doesn’t have to be plugged directly into your device. CalDigit has also developed a Mac utility that lets users manage their connected devices right from the menu bar.
The CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4 isn’t cheap, but that’s to be expected. You can order it today if you’re in the United States for $360.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.