Microsoft's Surface Laptop 4 is a great PC, but one thing that it doesn't have a lot of is ports. Specifically, it comes with one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, one Type-C port, a Surface Connect port, and a headphone jack. If you want more than that, you're going to need a dock. There are two kinds of docks that you can get: Surface Connect and USB Type-C. It's worth noting that neither the USB Type-C port nor Surface Connect support Thunderbolt, so while Thunderbolt docks will work, they'll be limited in functionality.
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Microsoft Surface Dock 2
This is Microsoft's own dock, and it connects via the Surface Connect port. This dock includes four USB C, two USB A, Ethernet, a 3.5mm combo jack, and a 199W power supply.
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Microsoft USB-C Travel Hub
This USB-C travel hub is also from Microsoft, and the focus is on portability. This hub includes one USB-C, one USB-A, Gigabit Ethernet, an HDMI 2.0, and a VGA port.
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Anker 341 7-in-1 USB-C Hub
If you want a cheaper alternative to Microsoft's official USB-C Hub, the Anker 341 is an excellent choice. It has seven ports, including HDMI, two USB Type-A ports, and both SD and microSD card readers, plus it supports passthrough charging.
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CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock
- Ports
- Three Thunderbolt 4 (one host), three USB-C, five USB-A, DP 1.4, 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm combo, 3.5mm in/out, SD/microSD card reader (UHS-II)
- USB Power Delivery
- Up to 98W to host, 20W front USB-C, 7.5W USB-C, 7.5W USB-A
- Power supply included
- Yes
- Warranty
- Two years
- Max display res.
- 8K@60Hz, dual 4K@60Hz
Not many Thunderbolt 4 docks are as robust as this one. You'll get a total of 18 ports, including two downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports, DisplayPort, 2.5Gb Ethernet, and much more. It also looks and feels sturdy with its metal chassis.
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Plugable USB 3.0 Universal Laptop Docking Station
Plugable has a wide selection of solid docks, and this one is no exception. You'll get two USB 3.2 Type-A ports, four USB 2.0 Type-A ports, Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm audio in, 3.5mm audio out, one HDMI, and one DVI.
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Plugable Thunderbolt 3 Dock
This Thunderbolt 3 Dock includes a whopping number of ports. You'll get five USB 3.2 Type-A ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, one Thunderbolt, two HDMI, two DisplayPort, 3.5mm combo audio, and Gigabit Ethernet. Finally, it supports 96W Power Delivery.
Obviously, there are plenty of docks that you can use with the Surface Laptop 4. It's also worth noting that the Surface Pro 7 is a similar product with the same ports. That means that this list applies to Microsoft's tablet as well, and most Microsoft products in general. If you have a newer device like a Surface Pro 9 or a Surface Laptop 5, the Thunderbolt docks here will work even better, since Thunderbolt support is included in newer Surface devices.
If you're looking for something cheap and portable, the Anker 341 hub is a great starting point, one that serves the purpose without breaking the bank. If you have a higher budget, you can get the Microsoft Travel Hub too, which includes extra perks like Ethernet and an old-school VGA port just in case. If you want something fully featured that you'd use across multiple different devices, then the Caldigit TS4 is the way to go.
If you don't choose one of the docks and hubs above, the big thing that you have to look for is if the dock has the ports that you need. As for wattage, the Surface Laptop 4 is a regular ultrabook, so anything that delivers 60W of power is more than good enough.
If you're looking to connect two 4K displays, you might even need two docks, one of which will connect to the Surface Connect port. We did call the Surface Laptop 4's predecessor one of the best AMD Ryzen laptops, and this generation is no different, but it means that Microsoft didn't include Thunderbolt on it, even on the Intel model.