Microsoft’s next Surface Dock could ditch the proprietary connector for USB-C

A new leak suggests the next Surface Dock could use Thunderbolt 4 over USB-C to connect to Microsoft’s line of laptops, rather than the company’s proprietary Surface connector. Windows headquarters reports that the device is codenamed Bergamo and says images of it were leaked via this eBay listing.

While other accessory makers have embraced USB-C as the single port of choice, Microsoft still prefers to use its own Surface connector to connect its laptops to external monitors and other accessories. It means devices like the $259.99 Surface Dock 2 will only work with Microsoft’s own gear, which is an unfortunate caveat given the cost.

But on the laptop side, Microsoft’s recent devices are increasingly shipping with both connection types. Last year’s Surface Laptop 5 and Intel-based Surface Pro 9 both supported Thunderbolt 4 in addition to Surface Connect, meaning they’re theoretically already primed to work with this leaked Surface dock. It’s unclear if future Surface devices will continue to use Microsoft’s proprietary connector when the company releases a Surface-branded Thunderbolt 4 dock, or if they’ll ditch it entirely in favor of USB-C.

Aside from its USB-C port, the unannounced Surface Dock appears to be slightly slimmer than the Surface Dock 2, and there’s at least one minor port change. One of the USB-C ports on the front of the second-gen dock appears to have been replaced with a USB-A port (which makes sense given the amount of USB-A accessories that remain). On the back, the I/O selection is similar with a power-in, an Ethernet port, a 3.5mm jack, two USB-A and two USB-C ports.

It’s unclear if this new dock will be fully supported on non-Microsoft devices, but it seems possible as the company’s other devices like mice and keyboards have no issues with other manufacturers’ hardware. Ditching the proprietary Microsoft connector would be good news for anyone who doesn’t want to be locked into a single hardware ecosystem.

A Microsoft spokesman did not immediately respond The edge‘s request for comment.