Because it's not USB it's Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt taps directly into the PCIe bus where USB doesn't. It only makes sense it is going to be much more than just a USB switch/hub. It's basically one of those PCIe expansion chasis that allowed extra expansion cards when your case only had 3 slots. Except, this is a nice neat little box on top of your desk.

> Customers: "We want one cable that does everything, super fast!"

> Engineers: "Okay... but it's going to be expensive and complicated..."

> Apple: "Money is insignificant next to the power of user experience."

> Intel: "Oh, people are actually using this thing we created?"

> USB-IF: "But us, b..."

> Intel: "So the USB won't let me B. Or let my TB be USB, so let me C."

> USB-IF: "You are again our hearts' delight."

> Customers: "Why is this so complicated? Remember when one connector meant one kind of cable? Those were great days."

And that's how we got here.

The original LaserWriter had

> Motorola 68000 CPU running at 12 MHz, 512 KB of workspace RAM, and a 1 MB frame buffer.

vs the Mac 128K with

> Motorola 68000 microprocessor running at 7.8336 MHz, connected to 128 KB RAM shared by the processor and the display controller

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaserWriter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_128K

> As has often been said, that dock really is a computer.

No it isn't, lol. Thudernbolt/usb-c docks are a solution to a made-up problem.

It is absolutely possible to have all the necessary ports on a modern slip laptop.

Just look at the Dell Latitude 7390:

- https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/dell-latitude-7390

- https://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-Latitude-7390-i5-8350U-SS...

I have a Dell Latitude laptop. It absolutely doesn't have enough video ports for the monitors on my desk. And while it's got enough ports for my USB peripherals (barely), it's certainly a lot more convenient to connect one cable than to connect 5-6, when I bring it back from using it as a laptop.

Which is great on the road. When I'm in the office using my laptop as a desktop I want one plug for everything and that is what usb-c gives me, so it is easy to grab just the laptop and go. (On my current laptop it is two usb-c plugs on one connector as usb-c doesn't allow enough power or data for one port to work - I have to use their official hub which who knows how long they will make).

Made-up problem? Maybe if you use your laptop as a desktop and never take it anywhere. I don’t want to plug in a dozen cables whenever I come home or go to work, or after each and every meeting.