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Brydge has a history of producing PC and mobile accessories that let you use tablets as if they were laptops or laptops as if they were desktops. The new Brydge ProDock falls in the latter category.
It’s a vertical docking station that effectively a 2021 MacBook Pro or 2022 MacBook Air into a Mac Mini. Just slide your notebook into the Thunderbolt 4 dock to connect displays, chargers, and other accessories. The only catch? With a $400 price tag, this dock costs almost as much as a Mac Mini.
That’s not hugely surprising, as Thunderbolt ports are generally expensive, and this one packs a lot of functionality. Ports include:
- 3 x Thunderbolt 4
- 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C
- 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
- 1 x Gigabit Ethernet
- 1 x 3.5mm audio
- 1 x SD card reader
There’s also a DC power input jack for connecting the dock’s 135W power supply. There’s an upstream Thunderbolt 4 port that connects the dock to a MacBook and which supports 90W USB power delivery, allowing you to charge the laptop while it’s docked.
The Brydge ProDock also has a built-in Qi wireless charging pad with support for 15W charging, which means that you can charge your phone and laptop at the same time. And the USB-C and USB-A ports can also be used for charging, although they’ll only carry about 5.5W of power each.
Brydge says the ProDock works with 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pro 2021 laptops as well as the new 13.6 inch MacBook Air.
via NotebookCheck
Or I dunno you could buy/make a desktop 5 times as powerful and spend the other 3k on literally anything else your heart desires, don’t be sucked into the ‘Mac’s are superior’ trap, simple fact is they aren’t, maybe at some point in the distant past they held the edge in certain areas, now they are made for pretentious twits.
A few years ago I bought similar vertical dock for my MBP made by Henge Docks. It featured similar connectivity (just slide your MBP and enjoy), only with some caveats:
1) Unplugging your device was a two hand operation since it was a tight fit.
2) Lots of scratching on the MBP, especially where the connection was (near the ports)
I googled and it seems like Henge was bought by Brydge (check Henge twitter).
So this seems like an upgraded/rebranded version of that dock. Hopefully it now makes sense, but proceed with caution.
This is interesting. The 2022 MacBook Air is fanless, so that’s another advantage it has over the Mac Mini. But can any laptop remain cool in a lid-shut configuration?
Ridiculous.
Go buy a $70 stand that can accommodate a laptop and a screen (actually more useful x2 screens) and spend the rest on a charger ($50) and $280 on some extra ports…
If you do not need a Thunderbolt 4 dock, then I 100% agree; stick with USB4, and get 90% of the same functionality.
If TB4 is necessary and you want a drop-in-and-go setup like this, then this stand/dock/Qi-charger combo is more or less in line with the general market’s prices…
Yea, this really is not out of line for Thunderbolt 4 docks… Dell’s is currently selling above $500: https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-thunderbolt-dock-wd22tb4/apd/210-bdqh/pc-accessories
Granted, Razer is selling theirs for ~$300 too… https://www.razer.com/gaming-pc-accessories/razer-thunderbolt-4-dock/RC21-01690200-R3U1
And CalDigit’s with a few more/better ports is at $380: https://shop.caldigit.com/us/Docking%20Stations?product_id=212
Still, Brydge’s dock looks like you just slide the Macbook Pro/Air on, and start working (but giving up flexibility of compatibility). Plus it has the Qi charger. Can’t really fault them for this kind of pricing, and will allow you to use the M1 Pro/Max in the MBP (throttling on the MBA will suck tho).