I’ve covered a lot of Thunderbolt 3 docks in recent months, but there’s one more upcoming model that’s worth taking a look at. The TBT3-UDV is Plugable’s upcoming flagship Thunderbolt 3 dock, featuring five USB 3.0 Type-A ports, Gigabit Ethernet, DisplayPort, stereo in/out, and a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports. The dock isn’t available for purchase yet, as Plugable is still awaiting Thunderbolt certification, but the company tells me it’s aiming for an early October launch assuming the certification comes through in a timely fashion.
In the box, you’ll find the typical components including the dock itself, an external power brick, and a 0.5-meter Thunderbolt 3 cable. One nice touch I haven’t seen with other docks is an included DisplayPort to HDMI 2.0 active adapter, normally sold separately for $19, which makes it easier to hook up a broader array of displays, televisions, and projectors to the dock.
Notably, the TBT3-UDV can be oriented either horizontally like most other Thunderbolt 3 docks or vertically using an included stand. It’s a nice feature that the dock has in common with CalDigit’s TS3, but differences in their designs mean the Plugable dock is taller and more slender in its vertical orientation compared to the TS3’s block-like design.
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