Thunderbolt 5 docks are new to a forward-thinking market. For Mac power users, this dock has a lot to offer — but at a price that’ll make you wince.
While modern Macs come with more ports than they used to, power users can still run out. Some ports just aren’t offered at all, and in both cases, a dock is the likely answer.
I’ve been using a Thunderbolt 4 dock with my 16-inch MacBook Pro for well over a year, and I couldn’t work as well without it. It’s like magic, because plugging a single cable in connects power, my monitor, peripherals, and more.
But with Thunderbolt 5 now here, and some modern Macs supporting the full 80 Gbps throughput, it’s time to look to the future. And with this Anker Prime dock’s 14-in-1 design and 140W power delivery, I was keen to look at that future.
That future looks bright, but it isn’t all good news. Yes, this dock has tons of ports and lots of options, but it comes at a price that some might not want to pay.
But if you do, and you need its specs, I’d wager that you probably can’t go far wrong with the Anker Prime 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 dock. Let me explain why, and where that “probably” comes from.
Anker Prime TB5 Dock review: Design
The first thing that you’ll notice when you look at this dock is its Mac-like design. To be specific, it looks like a Mac mini or Mac Studio, and I’m here for it.
Anker Prime TB5 Dock review: The blue light can be disabled, but I’ve started to like it
That familiar square, boxy look fits right in on my desk, and the shape means it takes up less space. Some docks are elongated, shorter boxes with a large footprint — I much prefer Anker’s approach here.
The dock measures 4.6 x 4.6 x 3.0 inches (or 11.6 x 11.6 x 7.5cm). That closely matches the M4 Mac mini’s 5 x 5 x 2 inches (12.7cm x 12.7cm x 5cm) dimensions
The shape also means there is plenty of room for all of the ports and slots, too. On top, you’ll find a handy LED light strip, but don’t worry, you can turn it off if you like.
Anker also went all-in on cooling, important considering the lack of an external power supply. I have plenty plugged into this dock, and I’ve never once heard its fan, so we can assume it’s doing its job well.
While the majority of the ports can be found around the back, you’ll find two memory card slots on the left side. On the front, there are two USB-C ports, a USB-C port, and a 3.5mm jack plus a button.
That button does a couple of things, including powering the whole dock off if you hold it. A press will turn the light strip on and off.
The bottom of the dock isn’t all that exciting, but it does have some non-slip feet. That’s handy because it stops the dock from sliding when you plug new things in.
Anker Prime TB5 Dock review: Ports and connectivity
This being a dock, we’re all here for the ports. And the Anker Prime doesn’t disappoint.
The good news starts with the Thunderbolt 5 upstream port with 140W of power delivery on tap. That’s more than enough to fast charge even my 16-inch MacBook Pro, so there are no concerns there.
Anker TB5 Dock review: There is no shortage of ports on offer here
Around the back, there’s the AC-in port as you’d expect, and it’s also where the upstream port is, too. A big thumbs-up for a clutter-reducing, rear-facing upstream port from me.
That port’s joined by two 80 Gbps downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports and a pair of USB-A ports that are rated for 10 Gbps. To the side of those, we have a future-looking 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port.
Wrapping up the rear-facing ports, we have a single HDMI 2.1 output and a DisplayPort 2.1 port. Coupled with the Thunderbolt/USB-C ports, you won’t be short of ways to plug in a monitor (or more).
The one catch to note here is that you can’t use the HDMI and DisplayPort connections simultaneously. It’s a downside, to be sure, but the flexibility of connector options is still welcome.
On the side, both SD and TF/microSD card readers are UHS-I rated. Not as fast as the UHS-II readers in modern Macs, but useful in a pinch.
Back around the front, there is that power button I mentioned earlier, as well as those ports. The USB-C ports top out at 10 Gbps with 45W of power delivery available across the pair.
Wrapping things up, we have a USB-A port that’s rated for the same 10 Gbps. If you have high-speed devices, this dock definitely has you covered.
For those who lost count, that’s 14 ports and slots. Although the uncharitable among us might argue that the HDMI/DisplayPort situation means you can only use 13 at once.
Anker Prime TB5 Dock review: The monitor situation
A lot of people who buy a dock like this are going to connect their monitor to it. Others will connect more than one, in fact, so what’s the state of play?
I’ve got my MacBook Pro running in clamshell mode and connected to a 49-inch ultrawide monitor running at a resolution of 5120×1440. It maxes out the monitor’s 144Hz variable refresh rate with HDR support just fine.
But the dock isn’t breaking a sweat, so what can it do when it stretches its legs?
Anker Prime TB5 Dock review: There’s something about a cool blue light when used right
Anker says that the dock can support up to dual 8K monitors at 60Hz, but you’ll need a Windows PC for that to work. That might not be of much use to most people reading here.
On the Mac side, single displays are supported up to 6K at 60Hz over Thunderbolt 5 and DisplayPort, or 4K at 60Hz over HDMI. Depending on your Mac, you can push the refresh rate higher at 4K via Thunderbolt 4/5.
The upshot? M4 Macs can reach 240Hz while earlier M-series Max top out at 144Hz, like my M1 Pro. Dual displays at up to 4K and 144Hz are also supported via Thunderbolt or a combo of Thunderbolt and DisplayPort — but only if you have a Pro, Max, or Ultra chip.
It’s a mess, sure, but these things always are. And much of what’s going on here is Apple’s limitation, not the dock’s.
Anker Prime TB5 Dock review: Pretty good, we’ll see with time how it stacks up with the rest of the field
During my testing over the last few weeks, this Anker Prime Thunderbolt 5 has been faultless, and I even decided to leave the light strip on. Don’t tell Jony Ive, he wouldn’t approve.
I currently have a pair of headphones connected via the 3.5mm jack and an external Time Machine USB-C SSD connected around the front. I don’t use the card slots, because I just don’t need to.
The back ports are very busy, though. I have Ethernet connected, plus USB-C speakers, a USB-A keyboard, and a USB-A dongle for my mouse.
Oh, and that monitor is connected via a USB-C/Thunderbolt port around the back as well. The only empty ports are the HDMI and DisplayPort ones.
To sum up, there is no way I could connect all of this to my MacBook Pro, and most docks wouldn’t be able to hack it, either. The Anker Prime dock hasn’t missed a beat, nor should it, given the price.
That price is a whopping $399.99, which perhaps isn’t all that surprising, and is in the league of other Thunderbolt 5 docks. You have to remember the cutting-edge Thunderbolt 5 magic going on here.
Sonnet’s Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock could be Anker’s nemesis
But things get a little more complicated when you consider the competition. We recently reviewed the Sonnet Echo 13, a similar dock with 13 ports that also sells for $399.99.
The key difference is that the Sonnet comes with a 1TB SSD built in, and you can choose other capacities up to 4TB for $669.99.
If you don’t want or need the storage, it’s perhaps a moot point. But if you could use the extra space, there’s a decision to be made. I suggest you check out our Sonnet Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock review to see what it has to offer.
Anker Prime TB5 Dock review: Pros
- All the ports you’re likely to need
- 140W power delivery for thirsty laptops
- Plenty of monitor connection options
- No big power brick to hide
Anker Prime TB5 Dock review: Cons
- It’s a costly beast
- Nobody would call it inconspicuous
Rating: 4 out of 5
Where to buy the Anker Prime Thunderbolt 5 Dock
The Anker Prime 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock is available from Anker directly, priced at $399.99. It’s also available from Amazon for the same $399.99 price.
