Monday, 2 November 2020

The Kensington SD7000 Docking Station is the best dock you can buy for the Surface Pro (including the new Surface Pro 7) and Surface Go right now, featuring an excellent design, plenty of ports, but at a high price. Even so, you get what you pay for. These docks will be great for those currently working from home, too!

Our pick

Kensington SD7000 Docking Station

$419 at Amazon $491 at Walmart

Brilliant design

For those heavily invested in the Surface Pro or Surface Go, the new Kensington SD7000 Dock is a pricey, but outstanding accessory that lets you have one PC instead of two.

Who should buy the Kensington SD7000 Docking Station?

This docking station is built for people who use their Surface Pro or Surface Go as their only PC. It's a great desk dock that makes it super easy to dock up your Surface Pro to a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and any other USB accessories you might want to be plugged in. If you have the budget for such a dock and think you'll need all its features, it's worth it.

Is it a good time to buy the Kensington SD7000 Docking Station?

Yes! The Kensington SD7000 is compatible with the Surface Pro 2017, Surface Pro 6, and Surface Pro 7. There's also an option available for the Surface Go. It's highly unlikely that a new Kensington dock for the Surface Pro will be out anytime soon.

Reasons to buy:

  • Excellent built quality
  • Articulating hinge allows for different modes
  • Plenty of ports including multiple displays
  • Re-purposes Surface Pro as a desktop PC
  • Perfectly matches Surface line

Reasons to not buy:

  • Very expensive
  • No SD card slot
  • No front-facing ports

A great all-around dock that looks stylish too

The Kensington SD7000 Docking Station is an excellent Surface Pro dock designed to look like the Surface Studio base. It features one USB Type-C, four USB Type-A 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet, DisplayPort++ v1.2, HDMI 2.0, and a 3.5mm combo audio port, making it a jam-packed dock with all the ports you could ever need. It also keeps the Surface Pro connected to power, so you don't need to worry about it running out.

For the best Surface Pro dock, the Kensington SD7000 is where it's at.

It also features a hinged mounted stand, which can fold down and lay the Surface Pro at an angle just like the real Surface Studio. It's super cool, and while it isn't as "magical" as the hinge mechanism built into the Surface Studio itself, it's good enough for what it is. You can also mount the Surface Pen to the side of the Kensington dock, which is super handy for keeping your pen in one place.

Alternatives to the Kensington SD7000 Docking Station

If the Kensington SD7000 isn't to your liking, or you don't want to spend that much on a dock, check out or alternative options for Surface Pro docking stations.

Runner-up

Surface Dock 2

Premium dock from Microsoft

$180 at Amazon

This is Microsoft's own Surface Dock, and it features plenty of ports. It's weighty, giving it a premium feel that you'd expect.

The Surface Dock supports all the Surface devices from the Surface Pro 5 and up. That includes the Surface Pro 6, Pro 7, Pro X, Surface Go, Surface Laptop 1 and 2, and Surface Book 2 and 3. It comes with four USB-C 10Gbps ports, two mini-display ports, one audio port, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. It also powers the Surface Pro while docked, keeping the battery topped up, so you never run out.

Budget pick

WAVLINK USB 3.0 Dock

Docking on the cheap

$80 at Amazon

It features six USB ports, compatible with HDMI, DVI and VGA, and has an Ethernet jack.

This is an excellent option if you're looking to save a few bucks and don't want to shell out too much money for the more premium docks. Compatible with all Surface Pro's with a USB-A port.

Travel pick

Microsoft USB-C Travel Hub

Lightweight USB dock

$99 at Amazon

While not a "true" docking station, the Microsoft USB-C travel hub is a great choice for when you need to connect to a large display or connect multple USB devices at once when on the go.

The Microsoft USB-C travel hub connects up using USB-C on the Surface Pro itself. It sports 1x USB-C port with passthrough charging, 1x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, VGA, HDMI 2.0, and Ethernet. Since it's not a true dock, it doesn't require its own power supply and doesn't charge your device while in use either.

Bottom line

We think the Kensington SD7000 is the best docking station you can buy for the Surface Pro right now. It's classy, modern, has all the ports you could ever want, and makes your Surface Pro look like a mini Surface Studio. What more could you possibly want?

Our pick

Kensington SD7000 Docking Station

$435 at Walmart

Brilliant design

For those heavily invested in the Surface Pro, the new Kensington SD7000 Dock is a pricey, but outstanding accessory that lets you have one PC instead of two.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

Zac Bowden is a senior editor at Windows Central, which means he covers a wide array of software and hardware here at Windows Central. Joining Mobile Nations in 2016, you can usually find him playing with new Windows 10 builds or secret unreleased prototype devices. Hit him up on Twitter: @zacbowden.

Daniel Rubino is the executive editor of Windows Central. He has been covering Microsoft since 2009 back when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, Surface, HoloLens, Xbox, and future computing visions. Follow him on Twitter: @daniel_rubino.



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