Anker Prime TB5 Docking Station, 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock with 120Gbps Max Transfer, 140W Max Charging, Ambient LED Lighting, Cooling System, Up to 8K Display for Thunderbolt 5/4 Laptops

Anker is really upping the game with their gear, build-quality-wise. Like my Mac Stdio M4 Max, it appears this unit is carved out of a single aluminum block, and is built like a tank. And it is heavy, and not the best choice if you want portability. But I got this to replace a failed T3 hub for the M4 Mac, and could not be happier. All the ports you would need (despite some reviewers complaining about the "slow" ethernet port, which I don't use) and more for desktop use. Yes the price is steep but imo its build quality and feature set make it worth the $$. Plus Anker has a rep for quality and value; I have not had a single product of theirs fail on me.I might add: NO POWER BRICK! AND note if you use an M-chipped Mac, you have to upgrade to OSX 15 Sequoia.And for the reviewer who compared it to the new CalDigit T5 Hub, that is still not available as of this review (late June is the word), so that's not a fair comparison. Stick to comparing what available NOW.

Amazing product! It does what I need and then some! I am fully emerged in the apple eco system for everything I have but... my job... for work I unfortunately have an HP laptop for. Granted, the laptop works great and everything, but it was always a pain in the you know what to swap between my work computer and my personal computer when needing to use the dual monitors. Until now! This docking station charges both laptops very fast! And it allows me to use both monitors on my Mac! Huge win! Made my life so much easier!

The media could not be loaded. After searching for more than 2 years for the perfect dock solution, this was finally the one that convinced me to take the plunge. Anker Prime TB5 Docking Station works great with my setup. It easily connects my MacBook Pro Max to two big Samsung 4K screens without any delay or blurry images. My mic and speakers work perfectly when plugged in.I can charge several things at once - my iPad Mini, MacBook Air, and Apple Watch - and everything charges fine. The dock looks nice and doesn't take up much space, which keeps my desk tidy and gets rid of all those extra cables and adapters.Bottom line: The Anker Prime TB5 Docking Station is a solid choice if you use multiple devices. It makes work easier and keeps everything organized.Heads up! Before buying the Anker Prime TB5 Docking Station, make sure it works with your computer, especially if you want to hook up more than one screen. For Mac users with M1, M2, or M3 chips, you'll need to have a MacBook Pro Max model to connect to three displays. If you have a regular M1-M3 Mac, you'll face limitations. Only the newer M4 Pro models can properly handle multiple external displays without being a "Max" version.Important to know: This isn't just an Anker TB5 dock issue - it's how Apple designed their chips to handle displays. All docking stations will have the same limitations when used with Apple computers, as the restriction comes from Apple's hardware, not the dock itself. So be aware that switching to a different brand of dock won't solve this problem.Some computers don't play nice with multiple displays through docking stations, so check your computer specs first to avoid disappointment.

The best part about the Anker Prime TB5 dock is style. It looks really good on your desktop, unlike all the other docks you find which are just ugly. It also stays quite cool, although I don't use it to charge anything, just for data transfers.Function-wise, it has 2 downstream TB5 ports, meaning you can connect to up to 2 external drives or up to 2 external monitors via these TB 5 ports. It also has 2 USB-C 3.2 ports as well as 3 USB-A 3.2 ports, as well as 2.5Gbps Ethernet. Two video ports, one HDMI and one DP, are provided but you can only use ONE of the two at a time, not both simultaneously.The HDMI and DP one-or-the-other choice is one of the compromises Anker has made regarding this dock; the other compromise is more unforgiving given its price (unless the high price is explained by Trump's tariffs): the microSD (TF) and SDXC slots are only UHS-I with up to 104Mbps speed, which is 1/3 of what you get with fully compliant UHS-II SD slots. You can get a Mac-compatible strip hub with full UHS-II support for like 30 bucks, so it's unforgiving of Anker to include such lowly SD support in such an expensive dock.All in all, though, this is a worthy docking station because it looks pleasing! When you work hard in front of your Mac and multiple monitors, an eye-pleasing dock makes life more enjoyable. The LED light is more of a gimmick but maybe you're into these things so that's a plus in some way. The USB ports all perform as advertised, and the overall build quality is excellent, too. Comes with a very high-quality TB5 cable.BTW, it doesn't come with a manual but you can scan a QR code to get the manual online. It mostly deals with how to set up multiple monitors for Macs and other OSes.UPDATE (05.20.2025): Earlier this month I encounted, several times, an issue whereby after waking up from sleep, the SD and microSD slots are no longer functional; the dock needed to be turned off and back on to fix this (using the power button at the front). Originally I suspected it to be a bug with the docking station; later, when I restarted my MacBook, the problem went away and the SD slots have been working consistently since. So I'm bringing the rating back to the original 4 stars. Overall I'm happy with the performance of this dock -- save for its slow SD readers. As you can see from one of my attached photos, I actually use a Lexar UHS-II SD/microSD reader for my SD data transfer needs, as it's more than thrice (!) as fast as this dock's built-in reader.

I've been looking for a new dock station and debated between the Anker Prime TB5 dock and the CalDigit 5. This is a nifty dock for both my work (PC) and personal (Mac) computers. Set up was super simple. I had concerns with that the internal power supply would end up being loud, but mine has been silent. There are plenty of ports to do everything I need for my work station. When unboxing the dock, I was a bit surprised at its weight, but not an issue, especially since I dont need to worry about an external power brick. Overall, i'm quite pleased and impressed!