Double Your Speed, Double Your Ports: Introducing the OWC Thunderbolt 5 Hub
Break those workflow bottlenecks with the new OWC Thunderbolt 5 Hub. Connect more drives, more displays, and get more speed than ever before.
Wayne Grayson • Nov 12, 2024
With the recent introduction of the latest M4 Mac mini and MacBook Pros, we're extremely excited to announce a new product that will help you get even more out of Apple's latest Macs for content creation and other professional workflows: the OWC Thunderbolt 5 Hub.
As its name suggests, the OWC Thunderbolt 5 Hub is built upon the latest version of the Thunderbolt port standard, which boasts double the bi-directional data speed at 80Gb/s and delivers transfer speeds that are 2x faster than Thunderbolt 4 and USB4.
By connecting a single cable to a Mac or PC's Thunderbolt 5 port, the OWC Thunderbolt 5 Hub expands that single port to three USB-C Thunderbolt 5 ports and one USB-A port.
Thunderbolt 5 is now offered on Apple's new Mac mini with the M4 Pro chip and the new M4 Pro/M4 Max MacBook Pro. When you connect the Thunderbolt 5 Hub to one of these new Macs, you essentially double the amount of Thunderbolt 5 ports available to you. Plus, Thunderbolt 5 Hub supports multiple Thunderbolt daisy chains, allowing for even more expansion possibilities.
Thunderbolt 5 not only unlocks faster data transfer speeds, it also offers up to 120 Gb/s for higher display bandwidth needs. With an OWC Thunderbolt 5 Hub, you can connect up to three 8K displays @60Hz with DSC. Plus, because Thunderbolt 5 is universally compatible, you can use it with USB-C host devices and connected devices that do not have Thunderbolt 5.
Daisy chaining and the power of Thunderbolt 5
So, let's tie all of the above together.
Take the above image, for example. In this image, we're taking full advantage of the Thunderbolt 5 Hub's daisy chaining capability, backwards compatibility, and the improved display support of Thunderbolt 5.
If you've never daisy chained Thunderbolt devices, you might be wondering what daisy chaining is in the first place.
Daisy chaining is simply connecting multiple non-host Thunderbolt devices together as a chain via their Thunderbolt ports. Meanwhile, each chain of devices only only uses a single Thunderbolt port on your host device or connected hub. It's a huge benefit of the Thunderbolt standard.
In the image above, we've used multiple daisy chains to connect three high-resolution Thunderbolt displays and an OWC ThunderBlade SSD (a Thunderbolt 3 drive) to our host device. To achieve this, you could connect the Thunderbolt 5 Hub directly to your Mac, then run a Thunderbolt cable from one of the Hub's ports to the pictured OWC ThunderBlade SSD. Then you could run another Thunderbolt cable from the ThunderBlade's second Thunderbolt port to one of the three Thunderbolt displays. (To connect the other two monitors, you could create a second daisy chain between the Hub and the two additional monitors.)
In the end, you've connected four devices to your Hub while only using two Thunderbolt ports. Of course, there are a few other ways to make this combo and many others work and that's the power of daisy chaining!
The Ultra upgrade
Of course, if you want to fully upgrade your workflow to Thunderbolt 5, you should grab a Thunderbolt 5 Hub and the new OWC Envoy Ultra.
That's because Thunderbolt 5 also lies at the heart of the Envoy Ultra, our fastest external SSD to date. Envoy Ultra is capable of speeds exceeding 6,000 MB/s, providing speeds that in many cases match or exceed that of the latest Macs' internal SSDs.
By connecting Envoy Ultra to your Thunderbolt 5 Hub, you keep open two of your M4 Pro or M4 Max Mac's precious built-in Thunderbolt 5 ports while benefitting from the Envoy Ultra's full 6,000 MB/s data transfer speeds.
Thunderbolt 5 Hub feature set at a glance
So, here's how the main features of the new OWC Thunderbolt 5 Hub break down:
- More Ultra-Fast Ports: With a single cable connection, Thunderbolt 5 Hub instantly adds three additional Thunderbolt 5 ports to a Mac, PC, or other host device with Thunderbolt 5 support. These ports support up to 80 Gb/s of bi-directional data speed and up to 120 Gb/s for high display bandwidth needs.
- Ultimate Backwards Compatibility: Like all Thunderbolt 5 devices, the Thunderbolt 5 Hub connects to Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 3, USB-C, or USB4 host and/or connected devices with 100% compatibility. Note: Achieving full Thunderbolt 5 data speeds requires Thunderbolt 5 Hub to be connected to a host device with Thunderbolt 5 ports, such as the new M4 Pro Mac mini or M4 Pro/Max MacBook Pro.
- Support for Multiple Daisy Chains: Thunderbolt 5 Hub allows you to daisy chain your Thunderbolt devices. You can create three separate daisy chains—including bus-powered devices—and you can remove devices from one chain without affecting other chains.
- Astonishing Display Support: Connect to the latest and future Thunderbolt, USB-C, and DisplayPort displays for incredible 4K, 5K, 6K, and up to three 8K displays.
Pricing and availability
The OWC Thunderbolt 5 Hub is available now for pre-order for $189.99 and begins shipping in December. For more information and specs, or to place an order, click here.