Officially, Black Friday takes place on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. Cyber Monday is the next Monday, or Nov. 27, 2023.

Early Black Friday gross sales have already begun at a number of retailers, although gross sales ought to ramp up as Black Friday nears. Retailers haven’t been shy about including early gross sales to unload stock earlier than the Black Friday craziness begins.

Prices differ, naturally, however we noticed costs vary from about $160 to $220 or so throughout the October Prime Day sale on Thunderbolt docks. We’d hope for extra of the identical.

In 2023, you profit from one key development: Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 are roughly the identical by way of throughput and options. But retailers hate protecting previous {hardware} on the cabinets. It’s doubtless that you just’ll nonetheless see substantial gross sales on older Thunderbolt 3 {hardware}, with lesser reductions utilized to Thunderbolt 4 docking stations.

Consult your laptop computer’s handbook. A Thunderbolt port might be labeled with a small lightning-bolt emblem, however that icon can generally be used to sign that the port can be utilized for charging, too. If nothing else, a USB-C dongle/hub will all the time work with a USB-C port.

USB ports have been round for years. USB-C changed USB-A (the sq. port) as a result of USB-C was extra versatile: The port connector was each reversible and allowed for increased speeds. USB-C ports may be rated for both 5Gbps or 10Gbps, similar to a traditional USB-A port. Some USB-C ports hook up with a Thunderbolt chip inside your laptop computer, although, and this enables the port to run at the next, 40Gbps pace. Physically, the connector appears to be like precisely the identical. It’s simply what it could possibly do this’s totally different.

Speed and options. A USB-C hub connects to a single 4K (or 1080p) show, and supplies a mixture of ports: USB-A, SD card slots, and so forth. You can normally plug your laptop computer’s USB-C energy cable (if it makes use of one) proper into it.

A Thunderbolt dock provides much more bandwidth for extra ports. There are two key variations: It has sufficient bandwidth to drive a pair of 4K shows, and plenty of docks include their very own energy provide that may cost your laptop computer in addition to your telephone. All that happens by way of the Thunderbolt cable that connects your laptop computer to the dock.

Yes and no. Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, and USB4 all run at 40Gbps throughout the identical connector. USB4 is similar to Thunderbolt 4. But in case your laptop computer runs USB4, it gained’t “understand” Thunderbolt 3 protocols.

USB4 laptops are nonetheless uncommon, and have an AMD Ryzen chip inside.

Physically, they use the identical USB-C cable. Functionally, they’re virtually the identical. Thunderbolt 4 was launched virtually as a patch to Thunderbolt 3, guaranteeing that every part labored correctly. If your laptop computer has Thunderbolt, it is best to in all probability be capable of purchase both a Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4 dock with none issues. Since Thunderbolt 3 is being phased out, you’ll in all probability discover extra reductions on the older Thunderbolt 3 {hardware}. (For the gory particulars, see our roundup of the best Thunderbolt docks.)

Possibly. Historically, the again of a desktop has been chock-full of I/O ports, particularly DIY fashions that you just construct your self. Desktops normally have additional room for inner SSDs, SD playing cards, and so forth. However, in case your desktop lacks this stuff, and contains an exterior Thunderbolt port, you possibly can all the time add these further elements externally by way of Thunderbolt.

Read the person opinions intently. While Macs adopted Thunderbolt first, a few of the Apple M1 silicon couldn’t sustain with Intel Thunderbolt controllers utilized by Windows PCs, and the Apple MacOS expertise suffered consequently. If a Windows person complains, concentrate; in any other case, you possibly can dismiss them.