As I’ve overhauled my setup all through the Apple Silicon transition and in conjunction with the Mac Studio and MacBook Professional, I’ve used this as a chance so as to add some new equipment as nicely. This features a new OWC Thunderbolt Dock, a nifty Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad accent from Twelve South, and extra. Head under for the main points.
Greatest Mac Accent: OWC Thunderbolt 4 Dock
One of many extra integral additions to my setup is the OWC Thunderbolt Dock, a model of we additionally went hands-on with earlier this 12 months.
The OWC Thunderbolt Dock I’m utilizing in my setup affords 4 Thunderbolt 4 ports with help for as much as 40Gb/s switch speeds, 4 USB-A ports, an SD card slot, a 3.5mm audio jack, and gigabit ethernet. I’ve the dock mounted on the underside of my desk so it’s hidden and out of the best way, however its ports are nonetheless accessible.
The OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock is admittedly not fairly as helpful with the brand new Mac Studio because it was after I was utilizing my 14-inch MacBook Professional in clamshell mode. It’s because the Mac Studio affords its personal versatile collection of ports.
If you happen to’re in search of a approach to unencumber the ports on the Mac Studio itself, nevertheless, this OWC dock is a good choice. It’s additionally good for cleansing up your desk and having as few cables as potential snaking from the again of the Mac Studio. If you happen to’re putting an order from OWC, I also can extremely advocate the firm’s Thunderbolt 4 cable, which is considerably cheaper than Apple’s.
Magic Keyboard with Contact ID
If you happen to’re utilizing an Apple Silicon-powered Mac and also you haven’t added a Magic Keyboard with Contact ID to your setup, you’re severely lacking out. Lastly with the ability to use Contact ID with a desktop Mac is a sport changer. This consists of Apple Pay authentication, accessing password managers, and making App Retailer purchases.
After all, which means you need to be happy with the shape issue and design of Apple’s Magic Keyboard, which isn’t the case for everybody. I’m nonetheless holding out hope that Apple releases a standalone “Magic Button” with Contact ID in some unspecified time in the future, however for now, this must do.
Greatest Mac keyboard accent: MagicBridge
Talking of the Magic Keyboard, if you happen to use the Magic Keyboard alongside a Magic Trackpad, the favored accent maker Twelve South affords a very nifty MagicBridge accent. The MagicBridge turns the standalone Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad right into a “one piece management floor, tidying up your workspace.”
You do lose a number of the flexibility of being about to maneuver your trackpad round in your desk, however in my setup, I a lot want the only piece design. I exploit a Logitech MX Grasp alongside my Magic Trackpad, so I can transfer the MX Grasp round as wanted, and have a clear setup that mixes my Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad due to the Magic Bridge.
Stream Deck
I’ll have one other story going extra in-depth on this later, however I’ve additionally not too long ago added a Stream Deck to my Mac’s setup. I’m nonetheless studying my approach world wide of the Stream Deck, however proper now I’m utilizing it for Mac automation and sensible house management functions.
Listed here are a number of the guides I’ve been following as I study extra about Stream Deck:
Satechi Leather-based Desk Mat
Final however not least, and perhaps the accent I get requested about most frequently after I function it in product imagery, is the Satechi Eco-Leather-based Deskmate. It is a purely visible addition to my setup, bringing a leather-based desk mat to accommodate my keyboard and trackpad. It’s made out of high-quality eco-leather and is designed to guard your desk whereas additionally serving as a mushy resting place in your wrists and fingers.
Joli Leather-based Sleeves
I’ve been singing the praises of Joli’s handmade leather-based sleeves for MacBook since 2015, and nothing in any respect has modified. Each time I purchase a brand new MacBook, I at all times make sure that to get a Joli leather-based sleeve to go together with it. The Joli sleeves are handmade from clean premium Italian leather-based, utilizing “luxurious full grain waxed leather-based which exhibits marks as you utilize it.”
Joli’s leather-based sleeves come at a premium, with costs beginning at round $130 for the brand new 14-inch design. With their beautiful leather-based materials and handmade touches, nevertheless, I discover them to be nicely well worth the value.
Greatest Mac cleansing product: Whoosh Cleansing Spray
Final however not least, if you wish to maintain your new MacBook Air or MacBook Professional wanting model new, you’ll want a great way to maintain the show good and glossy. My go-to advice right here is the WHOOSH! Display Cleaner Equipment, which packs all the things it’s essential maintain your Mac clear at a value level below $20.
The display screen cleaner package consists of each 3.4oz and 0.3oz bottles of cleansing answer in addition to three 6″ x 6″ cloths. The truth is, the WHOOSH! spray is what many Apple Shops world wide use themselves.
What are a few of your favourite Mac equipment proper now? Tell us down within the feedback!
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