In a new Thunderbolt 5 world, the Minisforum TB4-1 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock is a reasonably inexpensive way to add legacy ports plus 2.5 gigabit Ethernet to any Mac made since 2016.
It’s seemingly not hard for a company to create a dock for a Mac or PC user to add to their setup. But, with the market getting saturated with very similar hardware and a few top-tier options, you have to offer something a bit different to catch a potential buyer’s attention.
Sometimes, that can be by creating an interesting exterior design. Others tweak the specifications to offer a bit more benefit than the generic models.
The Minisforum TB4-01 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock tries to offer both at the same time. And it does a pretty good job at it.
Minisforum TB4-01 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock review – Physical design
The typical USB-C or Thunderbolt dock aimed at Mac users typically consists of a cuboid with a brushed metal aesthetic. They’re all a brick with ports on up to four of the six sides, and generally make an effort to look vaguely like an Apple product.
It’s the nature of the beast. There are a few reference motherboards made by a small handful of companies, that are then sourced by vendors that slap what controllers and port mix they want on those boards. Engineer an enclosure that by definition is the motherboard’s size, design a port fascia, box it up, and get it on the market.
I’ve reviewed so many docks since 2016. So. Many. They all conform to this general ethos and design, based on two or three different motherboard sizes, depending on what year you’re in.
Minisforum has taken the board that I think CalDigit uses, and certainly Anker does, and has made their own. Measuring 5.8 inches long by 3.4 inches wide and 1.6 inches thick, the dock is a pretty regular size for its type. It’s got enough surface area to host the ports on the front and back, without being too imposing on the desk.
At 1 pound 4 ounces for the dock alone, it’s not massively heavy. But, since the power brick weighs just over a pound, it’s not a great option for portability either.
It’s fairly compact, which is assisted by having that external power brick instead of an internal one. That power brick is practically the size of the dock itself, but at least it’s able to be hidden behind the desk and out of view.
The sides with the ports are black, with a blown-out appearance where the panel bulges slightly. Around the edge, it’s a dark sleeve for an enclosure, with a diagonal slice taken out from the top to display the logo and a power LED.
It may be an aesthetic that’s a bit edgy and not Mac-like, but not everyone wants to have an all-Apple desktop either.
Minisforum TB4-01 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock review – Ports and Connectivity
As the name of the dock certainly explains, it is a 12-in-1 dock, in that it has 12 connection ports in total, excluding its power connection.
One side has the power button, as well as a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports. One is intended as the uplink port to the host Mac, while the other is meant for connecting to other hardware.
The host connection’s 85 Watts can be used to recharge a connected MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. The other is capable of 15 Watts. These are ably powered from the power brick, which can output at up to 180 Watts.
Its use of the Intel JHL8440 Thunderbolt 4 controller is a good sign when it comes to getting it working with a Mac. It should be a solid connection for the long term, and in our month with it, we haven’t seen any connectivity problems.
Like any dock, though, expect to have to replace the cable. The included one is just too short to be practical on most desks.
Minisforum TB4-1 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock review: The rear port panel and the 2.5Gbps Ethernet port.
However, it’s a bit of a shame that it’s not using Thunderbolt 5 to connect to the Mac. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s a little disappointing in 2025.
The same side also has one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A port and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C connection, with the latter offering another 20W of power delivery. Rounding out the panel are a memory card slot that operates at around 100MB/s, and a 3.5mm audio combo jack.
The other side is certainly intended as the rear of the dock, with it having the power port as well as a pair of USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A connections, and an SD card slot capable of 300MB/s transfers.
Our testing bore out the memory card slot speeds.
There are also two video connections, with HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 on offer. Minisforum claims that the connections both support 4K screens at 120Hz, an 8K screen at 30Hz, or multiple 4K displays. A 6K display at 60Hz on Thunderbolt plus a 4K at 60Hz on HDMI worked fine.
The last connection is Ethernet, which operates at 2.5Gbps. This is a step up from the typical Gigabit Ethernet that’s included in many docks, and could be seen as a way to improve the networking capabilities of a desktop Mac’s built-in networking.
There is no M.2 slot for storage, but at this price point, we didn’t expect one.
Minisforum TB4-01 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock review – A neat allrounder
Minisforum has come up with a Thunderbolt dock that does a lot to push itself forward as a great pick for consumers. It covers the main bases without any major missing elements, while also differentiating itself in a few ways.
The inclusion of 2.5Gbps networking for a Thunderbolt dock at this price point is certainly a big feature. This is especially true for creative users who need that high-speed networking on enterprise networks, and without needing to buy a separate high-speed networking dongle.
Minisforum TB4-1 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock: From the top, AirTag for scale.
The appearance of it is also a nice differentiator, while not being entirely obnoxious.
The Minisforum TB4-01 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock is a solid choice for expanding your Mac’s utility or to get better networking. The price is good, the port selection is a good mix of USB-C and USB-A, and that 2.5 gigabit ethernet is very nice.
All-in-all, it’s a great offering by Minisforum.
Minisforum TB4-01 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock review – Pros
- 2.5Gbps networking
- Good port selection
- Reasonably priced
Minisforum TB4-01 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock review – Cons
- Thunderbolt 5 would’ve been nice to have
- Weight including the power brick makes it less portable
Rating: 4 out of 5
Where to buy the Minisforum TB4-01 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock
The Minisforum TB4-01 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock is available from Minisforum directly for $199 with a $50 discount, and from Amazon for $249.90.
This story originally appeared on Appleinsider
