When the pandemic forced me to work from home, I realized two things. For one thing, I’m not very good at hiding the rat’s nest of cables on my desk, and second, laptops these days don’t have enough ports. Laptop docks solve both of these problems, making them an integral part of most office settings, but not all docks are created equal, nor are they particularly stylish. is not.
At $399, the Logi Dock is a step above the rest. Designed as an all-in-one docking solution, you can completely do away with your laptop’s built-in microphone headset and poor quality audio recording/playback during calls. In addition to the extra ports and laptop charging features typical of docking stations, Logitech has included in-meeting controls, a built-in speakerphone, and some funky underlights. It’s a much more jazzy dock than the usual boring boards handed out in company offices.
Logi Dock can support up to two 4K 60Hz displays while delivering up to 100W of power to a connected laptop. That’s enough power to charge almost anything other than power-hungry gaming hardware. It weighs just over 2 pounds and has non-slip rubberized feet so it won’t slip on any surface. This dock is primarily intended for a permanent office setup, but it’s lightweight enough to keep in your bag. absolutely The required power brick is quite large, making it cumbersome to carry around.
Most of the connections are on the back of the dock, making it a great way to keep cables tidy in your workspace. On the back there are 2 USB-A ports, 2 USB-C ports, 1 HDMI 2.0 output and 1 DisplayPort 1.4 output. These features include an input for the 230W power brick included with the Logic Dock, a Bluetooth 5.1 pairing button, a Kensington lock slot, and a dedicated USB-C upstream (marked with a purple port) that connects the dock to your laptop. is provided.
There’s also a third USB-C port on the side of the dock, so you don’t have to hunt around the back of your device to connect additional peripherals. This particular port and one of the USB-A ports on the back are marked with a lightning bolt icon indicating that they support 7.5W fast charging.
It’s… well, not necessarily “fast” these days. It took about 3 hours to fully charge my iPhone 14 Pro Max at that speed, but the Logic Dock’s remaining USB ports can only output up to 4.5W. More affordable products like the $130 Plugable Docking Station can support 20W charging on the secondary port.
Logi Dock does not have Thunderbolt or USB 4 ports, connectivity standards that can deliver power, high-speed data, and video signals in a single connection. Instead, all USB ports are 3.1 Gen 1, supporting transfer speeds of a meager 5Gbps. It’s a shame given the price, but it’s not the end of the world for most day-to-day office workers. The biggest advantage of Thunderbolt is its faster data transfer speeds (up to 40Gbps for Thunderbolt 4), so it can be used when you need to optimize the speed of your peripherals or move large data files frequently. Unless you don’t have Thunderbolt, you’ll be fine without it.
Besides the obvious lack of Thunderbolt support, there are some port-related complaints. First of all, none of the USB-C connections support display output, so you can’t connect a monitor. (You’ll have to rely on HDMI and DisplayPort ports.) Also frustratingly, the Logi Dock lacks the standard 3.5mm audio jack and Ethernet port you’ll find on other docks.
However, this is commendable. The Logic Dock is the best looking docking station I’ve seen so far. Available in black or white, with ambient underlighting and a wraparound fabric skin, it complements most modern office setups nicely. It’s the same aesthetic used in Logitech’s StreamCam, reminiscent of the optional cloth keyboard cover featured on recent Microsoft Surface Laptop generations. After a few weeks of testing, the fabric coating didn’t get particularly dirty, but if you tend to make a mess or live with kids, you might want to consider that.
We provide this warning because we expect to touch it often. The top of the Logi Dock has a variety of touch controls that you can use to quickly join or leave calls, adjust speaker volume, and enable/disable your webcam and microphone. When disabled, both the webcam and microphone buttons are red. You can also sync your dock with Microsoft Office 365 or Google Calendar. Doing so enables the Logic Dock’s One Touch Join feature. The ambient underlight turns purple when the meeting starts, and you can instantly join by tapping the circular join button at the top of your device.
These controls are supported by Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Google Voice, Zoom, and Tencent Meeting. I’ve only tested it with Teams, Zoom, and Meet, but the controls worked as expected for all features. Technically, there are two models of Logi Dock available. One with the Teams logo as a “join call” button and the other with a solid circle. Both models have no real difference other than design choices and both models work with any of the supported conferencing software.
Audio quality is surprisingly good. Of course, you’ll get better results with a dedicated mic or desktop speakers, but the Logi Dock still performs great in comparison. It has 6 beamforming mics built in (see the little holes at the top) that picked up my voice well during calls. There were no obvious issues with clarity, but playback sounds a little crunchy.
Logitech’s touted “noise-cancelling” results were pretty mixed. For example, it completely eliminated the sound of hitting a mechanical keyboard or clicking a mouse. I also didn’t get any echo from picking up its own audio output. However, I managed to hear some domestic sounds in the background of calls, such as my electric dryer and my neighbors vacuuming.
Omni-directional speakers deliver just the right amount of volume and clarity. I personally don’t want to hear background music while working, as I can hear some interference when playing the audio at a low volume. At high volumes, you’ll hear plenty of bass. Its quality is likened to that of an old Bluetooth speaker. Other than that, I had no trouble understanding what was being said during the call. Placing the dock on its side narrows the soundstage and can sound a bit disorienting, so we recommend mounting the dock directly in front of you if possible.
Bluetooth support is a great feature. You can pair wireless peripherals like keyboards, mice, and headsets to the Logi Dock (although most laptops these days come with his Bluetooth support). You can also connect your phone to the Logi Dock if you want to use it as a speakerphone or Bluetooth speaker. . Logitech touts this as a home solution as well as an in-office solution, but let’s be real here. Loud meeting audio for everyone to hear in a busy office is not fun for everyone involved. Don’t be that person.
There are some other Logitech-flavoured quirks. Logi Dock is designed to work well with other products in the Logitech ecosystem. I didn’t have the Zone True Wireless earbuds handy to test the Easy Audio Switch feature with, but I was able to easily hook up a Bolt-enabled keyboard and mouse. Via a single Logi Bolt receiver. This is exactly the kind of ecosystem support I look for when I want to streamline my work setup.
That’s why I’m still disappointed with Logitech software. To enable the Logi Dock’s calendar sync feature, you’ll need to install Logi Tune, a program that optimizes his Logitech headset and webcam for meetings. This, along with Logitech Capture, Logitech Options, and Logitech Options Plus, is another of her Logitech apps that clogs my laptop (yes, really). I couldn’t even install Logi Tune on my work device without my system administrator’s permission. This is not a unique situation, and can be particularly frustrating given that the Logi Dock is aimed at working professionals.
Does all of this mean the Logic Dock is a bad product? Absolutely not. Almost everything you promise will come true. There were no issues with the peripherals I connected and they worked fine on both the M1 MacBook Air and the Dell XPS 15 I tested (although the M1 MacBook Air can only natively support one external peripheral). Noteworthy) screen). It’s reliable, incredibly compact, and perfect for keeping your desk clutter-free. Audio quality is also good enough to reassure those who don’t want to compete with clunky USB mics and headsets, and offers more ports and features than similar competitors such as the $249 Microsoft Audio Dock. .
The biggest issue here is its $399 price tag.Omit both ethernets and It’s hard to justify having Thunderbolt on such an expensive dock. If you frequently switch between many accessories and peripherals, the lack of forward facing his IO can also be annoying, and moving the Bluetooth pairing button to the top or side of the dock likewise improves accessibility.
If you ignore these drawbacks and find the idea of a speakerphone conferencing system in combination with a USB hub appealing, then there aren’t many other options. I’m not converted after a few weeks of testing myself, but I am enthusiastic about my Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones and Rode NT1 XLR mic. It can’t match the Logi Dock’s audio quality, and I don’t expect it to. This is a great option for those looking to add a few more ports with minimal setup. Personally, I would like to wait for the release.
