Sonnet has announced the launch of a new Dock called Echo 11 Thunderbolt 3 which can connect multiple peripheral devices to your Mac via an included Thunderbolt 3 cable (40Gbps).
Through the same cable, the Echo 11 offers up to 87 watts to charge and power compatible laptops, such as the 15-inch MacBook Pro, allowing users to leave the power adapter behind when docked.
The device uses its Thunderbolt 3 port main to provide a 40 gig data connection and up to 87 watts of power for connected laptops. The Dock is further reused with five USB 3.0 ports, individual HDMI 2.0, 3.5mm audio, and Gigabit Ethernet connections, plus a UHSII-compliant SD card reader. A second Thunderbolt 3 port allows you to daisy-chain or connect peripherals such as monitors.
There are plenty of Thunderbolt Docks on the market that skimp on USB ports or power delivery, or both, said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies.
The Echo 11 Thunderbolt 3 Dock offers a full range of ports, including five USB 3.0 ports plus the 87 watts of power supply a 15-inch MacBook Pro needs to operate and charge, all at an affordable price.
Two of the USB ports are facing forward, although only one is enabled to charge devices such as the iPhone and iPad. Charging will continue even if a MacBook is offline.
The Echo 11 can handle two 4K, 60Hz monitors, or a single 5K screen. When using multiple monitors, one has to connect via HDMI while the other uses Thunderbolt.