OWC's Upcoming Thunderbolt 5 Hub Adds Three More Thunderbolt 5 Ports to Latest Macs

Tuesday November 12, 2024 5:10 am PST by Tim Hardwick

OWC today announced its new Thunderbolt 5 Hub, one of the first accessories to support Intel's latest Thunderbolt standard, and offering Thunderbolt 5 compatibility with Apple's new Mac mini and MacBook Pro Models with M4 Pro and M4 Max chips.

OWC thunderbolt 5 hub desk ipad
The hub converts a single Thunderbolt port into three Thunderbolt 5 ports and one USB-A port, and delivers up to 80Gb/s bi-directional data transfer speeds. It can achieve speeds up to twice as fast as Thunderbolt 4, with bandwidth up to 120Gb/s available for display connections, and supports connecting up to three 8K displays at 60Hz with Display Stream Compression, making it suitable for demanding visual workflows.

In terms of charging output, the hub provides up to 140W power delivery, which is enough for a 16-inch MacBook Pro, while the aluminum enclosure features passive cooling for silent operation.

OWC is keen to emphasize backward compatibility with Thunderbolt 3/4 and USB-C devices, allowing users to connect both newer and legacy peripherals. The hub also enables the creation of three separate device daisy chains that can operate independently.

The OWC Thunderbolt 5 Hub opens a new world of workflow possibilities and performance with compact perfection. By turning a single cable connection into three Thunderbolt 5 ports and one USB-A port, the OWC Thunderbolt 5 Hub breaks the connectivity handcuffs of host machines not offering enough Thunderbolt 5 ports. With up to 80Gb/s of bi-directional data speed – up to 2x faster than Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 – and up to 120Gb/s for higher display bandwidth needs, the OWC Thunderbolt 5 Hub redefines productivity. Connect portable SSDs exceeding 6000MB/s, up to three 8K displays @ 60Hz with DSC, today's USB-C connector compatible devices, and yesterday's USB-A desktop accessories. All while keeping modern notebooks powered and charged up for mobile use with 140 watts.

The OWC Thunderbolt 5 Hub is available for pre-order at $189.99 from the company's website and will begin shipping in December. OWC announced a new Thunderbolt 5 external SSD earlier this month.

Tags: OWC, Thunderbolt 5

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Top Rated Comments

SanderEvers

25 months ago

It doesn't add ports, it splits one.

Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)

turbineseaplane

25 months ago

I hope they make a new version of something "stackable" to match the shape of the new Mini

Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)

anakin44011

25 months ago

To be honest...when I read the headline, I thought it was going to cost $350. I'm actually pleasantly surprised. Like all docks and hubs, everyone has their own opinions on the size, color, shape, number of various ports, etc - but this is a fair price for expanding TB5 ports.

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

G5isAlive

25 months ago

https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Delivery-Multiport-Adapter-Thinkpad/dp/B0BR3M8XHK

A similar USB dock for 12 bucks.

Again, I don't think that word means what you think it means. A dock that lets me crawl along with my 1990's usb A mouse and keyboard but provides no power to my lap top or a single video connection beyond 30hz 4k, is just not even close to similar to a dock that provides 145 watts of power, speeds up to 120 g/s (versus 5), multiple modern usb-C compatible ports, and can connect multiple 8k displays, and a fan to keep things cool. It's just apples to oranges. You will no doubt say, 'but the $12 hub does all I need to do', and I say, 'great', but it doesn't do what someone that wants to connect multiple high speed devices while being powered can do. And that is why they pay more. Have a nice Amazon day!

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

DEMinSoCAL

25 months ago

So, on a Mac Mini M4 do I plug this into a thunderbolt 4 socket and get thunderbolt 5 sockets via the dock?

TB5 is TB4 compatible so you get TB4 speed at the ports on the dock. Think of it like water pipes -- a bigger faucet at the end isn't going to feed more water than the mainline can supply.

Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Gabebear

23 months ago

I got a Trebleet TB5 enclosure and put a Samsung 990 Pro 2TB SSD in it.

Somewhat interesting(although not surprising) results when hooking up stuff and recording some rough speed readings from BlackMagic. As you would expect monitors do limit the write speed to an SSD, although not enough for most people to care. From looking at this I'm guessing there is a certain amount of bandwidth dedicated to each DisplayPort tunnel. The OWC dock as a USB-A port which likely gets some dedicated bandwidth.

* when plugged directly into the M4Pro-Mini

* ~6300MB/s write
* ~5800MB/s read

* when plugged into the OWC dock by itself

* ~6000MB/s write
* ~5800MB/s read

* when plugged into the OWC dock with only Samsung 5K

* ~6000MB/s write
* ~5800MB/s read

* when plugged into the OWC dock with only LG 5K

* ~4800MB/s write
* ~5800MB/s read

* when plugged into the OWC dock with Samsung 5K and LG 5K (LG running at 4K resolution)

* ~4800MB/s write
* ~5800MB/s read

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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OWC's Upcoming Thunderbolt 5 Hub Adds Three More Thunderbolt 5 Ports to Latest Macs

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