OWC announces the production of its Thunderbolt 4 docking hub . It succeeds Thunderbolt 3, which only supported two ports. This is a major advantage for those who have more than one Thunderbolt device to connect to their computer.
Thunderbolt 4 Features
This hub has four ports and provides 40 Gbps bandwidth. The current implementation of Thunderbolt 4 in Intel's Tiger Lake processors allows for only one such port per system, which is far from sufficient for those using more than one Thunderbolt device. OWC therefore offers the ultimate solution for adding more Thunderbolt ports.
The OWC Thunderbolt Hub features a Thunderbolt 4 port for connecting to its host at 40 Gbps , three Thunderbolt USB-C ports for connecting three additional Thunderbolt devices, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, and a power supply . The hub can deliver up to 60W of power to its host, 15W to each of the Thunderbolt 4 ports, and 5W to its USB-A connector. The device can support daisy-chaining multiple Thunderbolt hubs, allowing for more than five ports.
Which OWC controller does it use?
OWC hasn't provided any further details about the controller used. However, since Intel only offers one Thunderbolt 4 controller for accessories—the JHL8440 —it's highly likely that OWC is using this chip. The Intel JHL8440 primarily acts as a switch that splits a Thunderbolt 4 into three independent Thunderbolt USB-C branches, allowing for daisy-chaining of various peripherals. You can connect an external graphics card, storage drives, and so on. Input and output devices are also supported: keyboards, mice, etc. These can use the USB-A port.
You can pre-order this hub on the OWC website for a price of €167 including delivery.
