Should you buy a Surface Dock 2 for Surface Pro 6?
Best answer: The refreshed Surface Dock 2, connected with the proprietary Surface Connect port, will do wonders for the Surface Pro 6. Add modern ports, improved charging, and better external display support.
What ports does the Surface Dock 2 offer?
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It's been a long wait, but a refreshed Surface Dock has arrived. The Surface Dock 2 most notably offers a selection of ports for the modern world, better-charging capabilities, and improved support for external displays. No worries; it still uses the proprietary Surface Connect port to hook up to the Surface Pro 6.
On the front of the dock are two USB-C 3.2 ports, each with 15W of charging power to juice up any connected accessories. The back holds the majority of the port selection, with dual USB-A 3.2 (10Gbps), 3.5mm audio, Ethernet, and two more USB-C 3.2 that can be used for external displays. For improved security, especially in an office setting, the side of the dock includes a Kensington lock slot.
Whereas the original Surface Dock was relatively limited in its external display support, the Dock 2 can handle up to dual 4K displays at a 60Hz refresh rate or dual 5K displays, each with a 30Hz refresh rate. If you'd like to set up a workstation for your Surface Pro 6, the Dock 2 should be all you need.
Surface Dock 2 charging and compatibility
It's not as much of an issue with the Pro 6 due to its lack of a dedicated graphics card, but the Dock 2 now offers up to 120W of charging power. That's up from 90W in the original Surface Dock, which posed a problem for devices like the Surface Book 2 that required more power to run. As long as your Pro 6 is connected to the Dock 2, you shouldn't have to worry about a dead battery when you want to go mobile.
The Surface Dock 2 should work with all modern Surface products (released 2017 or later), including the Pro 6. Other products on the list include:
- Surface Book 2
- Surface Book 3
- Surface Pro (2017)
- Surface Pro 7
- Surface Pro X
- Surface Go
- Surface Go 2
- Surface Laptop
- Surface Laptop 2
- Surface Laptop 3
- Surface Studio 2
Grab the Surface Dock 2 to take advantage of your Surface Connect port
The Surface Dock 2 provides your Surface Pro 6 with tons of extra ports, allowing you to connect external accessories and up to two 4K displays at a 60Hz refresh rate or two 5K displays at 30Hz each.
Add ports to your Surface Pro 6
With an updated port selection, better charging, and improved display support, the Dock 2 is a great companion for your Surface Pro 6.
What about an alternative?
If you're invested in your Surface Pro 6 and want to use it for everything, you might find that Kensington's SD7000 docking station makes a lot of sense despite the rather high asking price. Slide your Pro into the matching stand, connect with Surface Connect, and take advantage of a ton of extra ports, including USB-C, four USB-A 3.1, Ethernet, DisplayPort, HDMI, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
The stand is built from a combination of plastic and metal that matches the Pro, and it's completely adjustable to work as a standard PC monitor or an angled drawing tablet. It's a functional, smart design that just works, and if you'd like to turn your Pro into a desktop PC, this is the accessory for you.
It's pricey, but totally worth it
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.
