DockPort

DockPort (originally codenamed Lightning Bolt¹) is a backward-compatible extension of DisplayPort, adding USB 3.0 and DC power, in addition to DisplayPort's video and audio signalling. Standardised by VESA, it is the first royalty-free industry standard to combine these four interface functions in one connector.²³ DockPort was developed by AMD and Texas Instruments, two member companies of VESA, as a low-cost alternative to Thunderbolt, for use as a docking interface for laptops and other mobile devices.

The Texas Instruments HD3SS2521, as one example, is a DockPort controller that routes DisplayPort and USB 3.0 signals along with power over a standard DisplayPort cable. It was unveiled in 2013, and used as the basis of the final DockPort standard.⁴ The docking, for instance, can provide MST hub implementation for multiple displays (through DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, or D-Sub), a SuperSpeed USB hub, alongside audio and full bandwidth Gigabit Ethernet.

DockPort had little marketshare and a relatively short life. The release of USB-C in 2014 brought the ability to transfer video over a standard data port. USB4 takes this further, requiring the availability of DisplayPort, USB 2/3, and PCIe on every port. As such, it fully supplants DockPort.