At Microsoft"s Ignite 2016 conference, Logitech introduced the SmartDock, aiming to "revolutionize Skype for Business meetings". At the same conference in 2017, the firm showed off a new, unnamed accessory that makes cable management easier. That accessory is finally here, and it"s called the SmartDock Flex.
Logitech told me at Ignite last year that businesses were finding the existing cable bulky and hard to manage. Indeed, it"s thick and bulky, and the Flex aims to change that.
Attaching to the bottom of the SmartDock, the Flex has just two cables coming out of it (as you can see from the image above): HDMI and CAT6. Indeed, Logitech says that you can run audio, video, data, and power all through that CAT6 cable.
And then that connects to a box that can fit comfortable behind a monitor.
While there are two HDMI ports on the box, the reason for the additional HDMI on the Flex itself is so someone joining the meeting can easily plug in a laptop or other device. Passthrough access for local projection and participation allows "the room’s camera, speakerphone, and display can be used with Cisco WebEx, Zoom, BlueJeans, and most any meeting or webinar service."
The accessory for Logitech"s Surface Pro-powered SmartDock will come in at $799, and is expected to be available in March.