If you own one of Apple's latest Mac mini or MacBook Pro models with M4 Pro and M4 Max processors, you may be interested to learn that CalDigit today announced its first Thunderbolt 5 product, the Element 5 Hub.
The Element 5 Hub boasts nine ports, including four Thunderbolt 5 ports capable of up to 120Gb/s bandwidth, two USB-C ports at 10Gb/s, and three USB-A ports also running at 10Gb/s. The hub delivers consistent 90W charging to host devices, regardless of connected peripherals, thanks to its compact 180W power supply.
Display support includes dual 8K monitors at 60Hz or dual 4K at 240Hz refresh rates, leveraging Thunderbolt 5's new Bandwidth Boost feature. CalDigit notes that Windows machines can handle up to three displays through a single Thunderbolt 5 connection, but unfortunately Mac users are limited to dual displays due to macOS limitations, even when using Apple's latest M4 chips.
The hub doubles PCIe bandwidth to 64Gb/s compared to its predecessor, allowing it to accommodate faster storage devices. Meanwhile, power delivery remains stable at 90W for host charging, with 15W available from each downstream Thunderbolt 5 port and 7.5W from USB ports.
The Element 5 Hub is available now direct from CalDigit in the United States for $249.95, with UK and EU availability expected in mid to late February 2025. Pricing is set at £249.99 in the UK and €249.99 (minus VAT) in the EU.
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Hey, I'm the CalDigit Community Manager. The macOS limitations (I assume in regards to the lack of triple monitor support), is a hardware limitation of current M4 computers to my understanding. No Thunderbolt 5 dock will be able to drive triple monitors on macOS until there's an update to allow it.
Why are we not talking about this snippet from the product page?
Many docks and hubs are not compatible with the Apple SuperDrive since it requires extra power from the connected USB port. In fact Apple recommends to connect it directly to a computer. CalDigit has solved this problem by creating a driver that will allow the SuperDrive to work through the Element 5 Hub.
This is huge! (for the dozens of people that care ?)
And why USB-A ports when all the shiny things now are made with USB-C.
Because there are abundant, less shiny things ALREADY in people's homes & offices that still function and probably will for the next 5 or 10 years that are USB-A. And there is still abundant brand new stuff shipping in 2025 for USB-A connections.
And yes, one could buy cheap adapters but dongles for dongles is not exactly a joyous proposition.
Note that CalDigit won't be selling this to only us Apple people. The Wintel crowd will be customers too. USB-A and all kinds of older accessories are in greater abundance there than all of the shiny new Macs sold worldwide in the last few years.
I don't usually do this (check my post history if you want to), but when I was looking for thunderbolt hubs a while back, the only one that worked well and consistently was CalDigit.
