From what we hear from our sources this is a matter of when, not if. And the only reason they haven’t already done so is an internal discussion on how to bring unique value(s) to an offering from MS compared to the plethora of 3rd party options.
Microsoft’s next Surface Dock might drop the proprietary connector for USB-C - The Verge
Why in heaven’s name would it have a base connector for a tripod-like stand?
Yeah that seems unlikely. Maybe it’s for hard mounting it to a desk or a presentation podium.
It’s actually available for sale:
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The Dell dock I have has a similar set of screw holes on the bottom. It turned out to be really convenient for mounting to the bottom of my desk. (Combined with a clever 3d printed design, it works perfectly). I’d imagine it works well for those who want to attach them to the VESA mount of a monitor out of sight as well.
Also, I know my preference here is uncommon, but I hate when docking stations have audio ports. It just always screws up my default audio devices, even after I disable them they come back as defaults sometimes (and my speakers use a built-in USB DAC that’s higher quality than what’s in these docks anyway). Part of why I settled on the Dell one.
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Something reliable that works as advertised. There. That’s 90% of the accessory market beaten.
I think its important to stress that this isn’t “Surface Dock 3” its “Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock”
Since there are likely going to be future devices that don’t use Thunderbolt (SE, GO, Laptop Go, AMD & ARM Models, etc) I think there is a good chance Surface Connect still has a long life ahead of it.
While this Dock will still work via USB-C for most devices, it loses dual monitor support to a single monitor. So for devices like a Laptop Go 2 (or 3 if they release it), you would be better off with Dock 2.
The Base connector on the bottom is for an accessory mount that keeps it secure on a table. (with numbered bumps above the ports so your when your fingers reach behind you can tell what port is what.
Both the Dock and its Power Brick are nice and slim, about half that thickness of Dock 2.
Its also worth nothing that all 3 USB-C ports on the Dock support Monitors. While 4K may be limited to 2, I suspect you could do 3 HD or Quad/HD monitors natively.
Also for anyone else as multi-monitor crazed as me…you can use both this TB4 Dock, in conjunction with Surface Dock 2.
I don’t have a 4th 4K monitor to test it, but three 4k would def be possible. And if you add HD monitors into the Mix, it should def be possible.
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