I use this Thunderbolt 4 Dock with my Mac every day, and it's $50 off right now. Here's why I love it

CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 dock on a wooden desk

(Image credit: Gerald Lynch / Future)

Ports! We just can’t get enough of them! That’s why whenever Apple decides to add a Thunderbolt port here, or an SD card slot there on its latest MacBooks and desktop computers, we hail it like it’s the second coming. It didn’t used to be this way! Our search for ever-thinner devices means something’s got to give, and there’s no making those ports any smaller.

Thankfully, there are loads of docking stations designed to up the port count on our computers, and this Prime Day the absolute best one has got a discount: the CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 docking station. Usually priced at $449.95, it’s been knocked down to $399.99 — a tidy $50 saving.

How do I know it’s the best of the best? Because I use it every day — it’s connected to my Mac as I type up this post, in fact.

Why pick the CalDigit TS4?

So what’s special about the CalDigit TS4?

In a nutshell, if there’s a port you need, the TS4 almost certainly has it. There’s a whopping 18 ports on the CalDigit TS4, including 3x speedy Thunderbolt 4 ports and 5x USB-A. There’s also support for 8K video output, 98W fast-charging, and more. Whether I’m popping in my high-impedance wired headphones into the dock, or digging an SD card out of a camera and into my MacBook Air through the TS4, the TS4 has me covered. It’s become a mainstay of my professional life.

This image does a great job of wrapping up what’s so special about the TS4 — just look at all the features it offers!

In my full CalDigit TS4 review, I wrapped up with these words:

“If your desk and workload demands many connection options, there’s no better docking device on the market than the CalDigit TS4. Its port selection is near perfect, its port placement is convenient, and its performance is top-notch, whether in data transfer speeds or power supplies. Of course, it’s expensive, but its convenience makes it the finishing touch to any self-respecting workstation and a great companion to the best MacBooks.”

That ‘expensive’ comment gets a little easier to bear thanks to the Prime Day sales. I can’t recommend the TS4 highly enough, and it would boost any Mac-lover's workspace that chooses to grab it.

Gerald Lynch is the Editor-in-Chief of iMore, keeping careful watch over the site's editorial output and commercial campaigns, ensuring iMore delivers the in-depth, accurate and timely Apple content its readership deservedly expects. You'll never see him without his iPad Pro, and he loves gaming sessions with his buddies via Apple Arcade on his iPhone 14 Pro, but don't expect him to play with you at home unless your Apple TV is hooked up to a 4K HDR screen and a 7.1 surround system.

Living in London in the UK, Gerald was previously Editor of Gizmodo UK, and Executive Editor of TechRadar, and has covered international trade shows including Apple's WWDC, MWC, CES and IFA. If it has an acronym and an app, he's probably been there, on the front lines reporting on the latest tech innovations. Gerald is also a contributing tech pundit for BBC Radio and has written for various other publications, including T3 magazine, GamesRadar, Space.com, Real Homes, MacFormat, music bible DIY, Tech Digest, TopTenReviews, Mirror.co.uk, Brandish, Kotaku, Shiny Shiny and Lifehacker. Gerald is also the author of 'Get Technology: Upgrade Your Future', published by Aurum Press, and also holds a Guinness world record on Tetris. For real.