It did sound very promising for the couple years that it was in development, but the reviews don't make it sound like it is really worth it.

- The USB 3.0 connection operates at half speed

- The Thunderbolt Display also includes most of the same connectors: ethernet, firewire 800, 3xUSB-2.0

You get the audio interface and faster USB with the Belkin dock, but it sounds like it is much further from the plug and play without thinking about it compared to the monitor, which also includes a monitor.

If you compare a Belkin Dock ($300) + 2560x1440 IPS Monitor ($500 ?) to a Thunderbolt Display ($1000), the savings aren't that significant, and it is probably more of a hassle, even if you have to plug any USB-3.0 drives in separately.

It just seems surprising that Apple hasn't upgraded something that makes so much sense as part of a well-integrated and carefully designed system.

Oh, I definitely agree Apple should update its external display to include USB 3. The Belkin dock is not ideal. My point was merely that it’s possible to connect USB 3 devices.

I do think Apple will release a new display this year. I’m hoping for the introduction of a model with 4K resolution, geared towards creative professionals and (medical) science.

When the new Mac Pro was announced, Apple made a big deal about the Mac Pro being able to drive three 4K displays, it’d be odd if they didn’t come up with a best-in-class display of their own.

I suspect it’s not going to be cheap, though. 4K displays currently go for $3500, and Apple’s current display costs $1000. So if it happens, the 4K display is likely a high-end option, not a replacement for the current model.

And, perhaps, versions of the 4K display with and without a GPU would fit into their m.o. of making pretty high end stuff requiring low effort on the part of users.

and then if the monitors could also run iOS on their own when the computer is elsewhere ...

With as much cash as Apple has on hand it must be difficult not to just put out a single continuum Nano-Touch-iPhone-Mini-iPad-monitor-TV with OS X computers only occasionally filling a role for content creators.