This roundup begins with the very best Thunderbolt docks, including budget options. Good Thunderbolt docks, whether Thunderbolt 4 or 5, can also charge your smartphone. Thunderbolt 5 won’t be available until 2024, but will support three 4K displays, at 144Hz each.
Thunderbolt 4, with its 40Gbps, allows for two 4K displays at 60Hz apiece. A 10Gbps USB-C hub can only power a single 4K display at 30Hz. (Look for the “lightning bolt” logo to distinguish them.) But displays, especially 4K displays, consume gobs of bandwidth. Thunderbolt docks use the same USB-C connector. The best USB-C hubs and dongles provide legacy ports (USB-A, microSD, and others) for connecting PC peripherals like mice, printers, external hard drives, and more. Why buy a Thunderbolt dock? Because of the bandwidth it provides.
