Does the CalDigit TS3 Plus Work With Thunderbolt 4 Laptops?

The catalogue does not record a compatibility statement between the CalDigit TS3 Plus and a Thunderbolt 4 laptop, so it can neither confirm nor rule the pairing out. What it does record is the protocol on each side, the TS3 Plus as Thunderbolt 3 and the CalDigit TS4 as Thunderbolt 4, and the display behaviour the manufacturer states for Apple silicon.

That is a thinner answer than most buyers want, so this page sets out what the record does hold and where it stops.

What the record settles

• The TS3 Plus records the protocol Thunderbolt 3.
• The TS4 records the protocol Thunderbolt 4.
• The TS3 Plus records 15 ports, up to 87 W of laptop charging and 1 GbE Ethernet.
• The TS4 records 18 ports, up to 98 W of laptop charging and 2.5 GbE Ethernet.
• The TS3 Plus records two displays at up to 4K 60 Hz each, or one display at up to 5K 60 Hz over Thunderbolt.
• The TS4 records up to 8K on one display on compatible Windows computers, up to 6K on macOS and dual 6K on Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max.
• Both record an external power supply as the power source, and the TS3 Plus records a 180 W adapter.
• The TS3 Plus records macOS 10.12 or later and Windows 10 or later as its supported operating systems.

The Apple silicon condition the manufacturer states

The manufacturer's own statement is the part that answers the question a buyer with a recent Mac actually has. Apple M1 and M2 laptops support only one external display through their Thunderbolt port, while M1 Pro and M1 Max support two.

On a base M1 or M2 Mac that limit sits on the laptop rather than on the dock, and it applies before any question about which dock is plugged in. On an M1 Pro or M1 Max the dock's recorded two-display support is available, which is where the TS3 Plus's recorded 4K 60 Hz per display figures apply.

What the record does not settle

There is no recorded compatibility matrix, no recorded statement about a Thunderbolt 4 host recognising a Thunderbolt 3 dock, and no recorded note about what a host does with a device that negotiates the older protocol. The catalogue holds no price for either dock, so the cost comparison cannot be made here either.

It also holds no record of how the two docks behave with a particular host, because neither dock was connected for this page. Every value here is documentation.

The practical reading

If the laptop on the desk is a Thunderbolt 3 machine, the TS3 Plus is the recorded match, with Thunderbolt 3, up to 87 W of charging, two displays at up to 4K 60 Hz each and 15 ports. If the laptop is a Thunderbolt 4 machine and the requirement is Thunderbolt 4 bandwidth, 2.5 GbE Ethernet, a microSD slot or the higher charging figure, the TS4 is the product the record points to.

For a Thunderbolt 4 laptop buyer who simply wants a desk dock with power and two displays, the honest position is that the record does not settle the TS3 Plus against a Thunderbolt 4 host, and the manufacturer documentation for the exact machine is where that has to be confirmed.

Verification state

The protocols, the port counts, the charging figures and the Ethernet speeds were read from the manufacturer's own product and support pages, and the Apple display statement comes from the same manufacturer. None of it is a result from our own use.