Short answer:
The docking station you link will work for basic office work, but not for multimedia or watching movies. It is based on USB 3 and uses compression technology which will cause the displays to lag.
Get at least a USB4 certified, or better a Thunderbolt certified docking station from a reputable brand which has been tested to 100% work with Mac. Refer to a comparison article such as this one for help. If in doubt, contact the OEM per email: a good OEM will respond within 24-48 hours.
Long answer:
To fully understand the choices the market offers you, you need to consider the following
- USB-C is the connector type. It can deliver as little as 5Gbps or as much as 120Gbps of data speed, depending on the protocols and hardware used.
- USB 3 (3.2, 3.1, 3.0) is a data protocol which can run over any USB connector. It usually maxes out at 10Gbps (though 20Gbps is possible) and does NOT support displays. Any docking based on USB 3 which promises HDMI, will apply data compression using your CPU.Typically, as in the docking station you have linked, this is achieved using DisplayLink. The CPU compression of the GPU signal causes considerable lag, causing video and audio to be out of sync and inconsistent frame rates. This is usable for office applications, but not for multimedia! (I have previously fallen for the DisplayLink marketing, as detailed here).
- USB4 (without space!) confusingly, is a 'connection-oriented, tunneling architecture' (as I've detailed here), which supports tunneling for USB 3.2, Display Port and PCIe. However, it is up to the OEM to include or not the various connection types and other features. Minimum requirement for USB4 connections is support for 1 Display and 20Gbps data rate.
- Thunderbolt 4 (supported by M4) and Thunderbolt 5 (supported by M4Pro & M4Max) are certified specifications based on USB4, and running over USB-C connectors. They deliver 40Gbps or 80Gbps of bidirectional data speed respectively, are guaranteed to support at least 2 4k@60Hz displays through Displayport tunnelling, and support PCIe tunneling, which is essential if you want to connect a high-speed external SSD (reference).
- Power delivery. There are docking stations which have their own power brick, and others which have pass-through power delivery, meaning you'll need to connect your Mac's power brick to them to get power delivery. The latter is useful for traveling. For use at home, choose one with its own power brick. Important is that it can deliver 100W of power (Not 100% sure, but I think the M4 uses up to 96W).
SUMMING UP:
- You will need either a "USB4 Docking Station", or a "Thunderbolt 4 Docking station" (such as this one). Don't fall for the "Thunderbolt compatible" / "USB4 compatible" marketing strategy, usually used for slower devices based on USB 3 standard.
- If you choose Thunderbolt, the device is already certified to work with your mac. If you get the USB4 label, make sure it has been tested with the M4 Mac, as sometimes there can be compatibility issues.
- When looking at the rather high prices, take into consideration that the docking station might survive longer than your Macbook, and that in future you might want to have some 4k displays, or a fast external SSD to keep connected to your dock.
Side Note: Thunderbolt 3 is an older standard which should work fine and might allow you to save some buck. It should be 100% compatible with Thunderbolt 4, but I'd make sure someone has tested it with an M4 Mac.
