Should you buy a Surface Dock 2 for the Surface Pro 7?
Best answer: The updated Surface Dock 2 is a compatible addition to the Surface Pro 7. It connects with the proprietary Surface Connect port, bringing a modern selection of ports, external display support, and charging.
What's so great about the Surface Dock 2?
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While in the past, we advised against adding a Surface Dock to your Surface Pro 7, the new Surface Dock 2 has been overhauled to work accordingly with modern devices. The Dock 2 has been a long time coming, and Microsoft made sure to get it right with modern port selection, better charging and longer cable, and improved external display support. It still uses the proprietary Surface Connect port, so no issues there.
The front of the Dock 2 has two USB-C 3.2 ports with 15W of charging each to keep connected accessories topped up. The back has the rest of the ports, with two USB-A 3.2 (10Gbps), 3.5mm audio, Ethernet, and two USB-C 3.2 that can be used for external monitors. There's also a Kensington lock slot on the side of the dock, so it doesn't walk away in an office environment.
One of the major improvements over the original Dock is external monitor support. The Surface Dock 2 can handle up to two 4K displays, each with a 60Hz refresh rate, or two 5K displays each with a 30Hz refresh rate. If you're looking for a docking station with external monitors in mind, the Dock 2 should make a great choice.
Surface Dock 2 charging and compatibility
Along with a longer cable to connect to your Surface Pro 7, the Dock 2 boosts available charging power up to 120W from 90W in the original Surface Dock. It's not as much of a deal for the Pro 7 that doesn't have a dedicated graphics card (GPU), but something like the Surface Book 3 with dedicated GPU will benefit greatly.
The Dock 2 is said to be compatible with any Surface products released 2017 or later. These other devices make the list with the Pro 7:
- Surface Book 2
- Surface Book 3
- Surface Pro (2017)
- Surface Pro 6
- Surface Pro X
- Surface Go
- Surface Go 2
- Surface Laptop
- Surface Laptop 2
- Surface Laptop 3
- Surface Studio 2
Check out the Surface Dock 2 for a modern solution
If you'd like to boost port selection and external monitor support, the Surface Dock 2 will make a great addition to your Surface Pro 7. It adds eight total ports, a Kensington lock slot, and up to 120W charging back to your device.
If you have a newer Surface Pro with Thunderbolt 4 (like the Pro 8 or Pro 9), be sure to check out our collection of the best Thunderbolt 4 docking stations for much better options.
The refreshed Surface Dock 2 adds eight modern ports, improved charging, and better external display support for your Surface Pro 7.
