Friday, November 22, 2024

Improve your Mac setup with these equipment

For those who’re seeking to take your desk setup to the subsequent stage, that is the information for you. Head under for a few of my favourite merchandise that may enhance your working setup, starting from equipment to decorations and extra. The entire issues on this listing are issues I’ve personally used and may vouch for.

For those who simply unwrapped a brand new Mac or different Apple product for the vacation season, these equipment can assist take your setup to the subsequent stage.

Wi-Fi 6E routers

Wi-Fi is right here, and it affords some substantial efficiency and reliability enhancements. For those who’re seeking to make an improve to your property setup, now’s a good time to do it. Right here’s a rundown of Apple’s units that assist Wi-Fi 6E:

  • iMac (24-inch, 2023)
  • MacBook Professional (14-inch, Nov 2023)
  • MacBook Professional (16-inch, Nov 2023)
  • MacBook Professional (14-inch, 2023) or MacBook Professional (16-inch, 2023) 
  • Mac mini (2023)
  • Mac Studio (2023)
  • Mac Professional (2023)
  • iPhone 15 Professional or iPhone 15 Professional Max
  • iPad Professional 11-inch (4th technology) or iPad Professional 12.9-inch (sixth technology)

Our favourite Wi-Fi 6E {hardware} comes from Eero, which affords whole-home mesh methods at compelling costs.

Satechi desk mat

Visually, one among my favourite upgrades to a work-from-home desk setup is the addition of a pleasant desk mat. My advice on this class comes from Satechi, which affords an eco-leather desk mat in a trio of various colours at a compelling $39.99 value level.

I’ve been utilizing these for some time and discover them to be very sturdy and versatile, because of the dual-sided design. Notably, one of many sides doesn’t characteristic a Satechi brand, which makes it one of the best aspect.

200W USB-C 6-port GaN charger

You may by no means have too many USB-C ports for charging your varied equipment and units. Satechi’s USB-C 200W GaN Charger packs six USB-C ports that may cost any of your equipment or units at full pace.

I’ve grown to love having this factor on my desk, so I all the time have a spot to cost no matter gadget wants some juice at any given time. It’s dear, however it’s definitely worth the funding.

OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock

One of many extra integral additions to my setup this 12 months was the OWC Thunderbolt Dock, a model 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 assist 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 way in which, however its ports are nonetheless accessible.

Laptop computer stands from Twelve South

For those who or the individual you’re shopping for for makes use of a MacBook at their desk, the addition of a devoted laptop computer stand is usually a appreciable ergonomics enchancment. I’ve been a fan of the Twelve South Curve for over 4 years and may extremely suggest it to MacBook customers.

Twelve South additionally affords the ParcSlope as another choice for MacBook customers, and it even is available in an up to date matte black end that appears glossy on any desk.

Another choice from – you guessed it – Twelve South is the Curve Flex, which you’ll be able to see above. This one incorporates a premium aluminum construct that’s adjustable. It may be raised or lowered proper to your liking.

Nomad Stand One

Nomad makes a few of my favourite equipment for iPhone, and the corporate’s newest Stand One isn’t any exception. The Stand One is a premium vertical charger with built-in MagSafe assist. It’s produced from aluminum and options an built-in 2-meter braided USB-C cable. It may well cost your iPhone at as much as 15W speeds.

The Nomad Stand One is obtainable in two colours: silver/white or carbide.

Whereas the Nomad Stand One is a beautiful iPhone charger, you may want one thing with a 2-in-1 design. My favourite choice right here is the Belkin 2-in-1 Wi-fi Charging Stand with MagSafe, whereas one other extra inexpensive choice is obtainable from Satechi.

This stand from Belkin is expensive, nevertheless it incorporates a sturdy design with an upright MagSafe stand on your iPhone and an built-in spot on your AirPods within the base. It may well cost your iPhone on the quickest doable MagSafe speeds, as much as 15 watts. It makes use of a single-cable design for powering the MagSafe charger and AirPods charger.

Keychron Q5 mechanical keyboard

I made the bounce to a mechanical keyboard this 12 months, and I haven’t regarded again since. I’m personally utilizing the Keychron Q5, which incorporates a backlit design, a built-in quantity knob, USB-C connectivity, and a customizable design.

Along with these advantages, I’ve discovered my change to the Keychron Q5 to be a big ergonomics enchancment. The elevated design has considerably decreased wrist ache throughout lengthy writing periods compared to one thing like Apple’s Magic Keyboard.

The Keychron Q5 is considerably dear at just below $230, however there are additionally extra inexpensive mechanical keyboard choices on the market. One in every of our favorites is the Logitech MX Mechanical wi-fi keyboard, which can also be extra compact than the Keychron choice in addition to wi-fi.

Satechi headphone stand

Satechi’s 2-in-1 Headphone Stand is without doubt one of the issues on my desk that I get requested about most frequently. It incorporates a hook design to carry your headphones, with a base that doubles as a Qi charger on your iPhone or AirPods.

On the again of the 2-in-1 Headphone Stand are two separate USB-C ports. One in every of these is a UBS-C enter port that may be related to energy, whereas the opposite is a USB-C output port. 

The only USB-C enter offers sufficient energy for the Qi charger within the base, in addition to to energy the second USB-C output. The Qi charging pad offers as much as 7.5W of energy and works with any Qi-supported gadget, together with iPhones, AirPods, and extra. 

Underneath-desk headphone mount

Another choice for headphone storage comes from Elevation Lab. The Anchor Underneath-Desk Headphone Stand mounts to the underside of your desk utilizing adhesive and may maintain as much as two pairs of headphones on the identical time.

HomeKit gentle strips

For accent lighting, you possibly can by no means go unsuitable with some HomeKit gentle strips on your desk. Whether or not you place them behind your desk or beneath, they will present atmosphere and personalization on your desk setup. HomeKit compatibility means that you can management the brightness and shade out of your iPhone or utilizing Siri.

HomeKit gentle strips have gotten considerably cheaper through the years, with choices now coming in at underneath $50 from dependable producers on Amazon.

Philips Hue Play Mild Bar

A better-end choice for desktop accent lighting comes from Philips Hue and the firm’s Play Mild Bar. These can present some lovely accent lighting on your workplace and desk, both with a stand or by being mounted to the again of your show.

These, nevertheless, are pricier than a primary gentle strip, and also you’ll additionally want a Philips Hue Bridge for full performance.

HomeKit desk lamp

Rounding out our deal with lighting is a primary HomeKit-capable desk lamp. You may choose up a glossy HomeKit desk lamp from an organization like Meross on Amazon for underneath $50. I’ve personally been utilizing this Meross desk lamp for a very long time and haven’t had any issues with it.

The rationale I’ve included a number of totally different lighting equipment on this information is that I feel having refined and customizable lighting round you might be nice for productiveness. That is very true if you happen to’re working in a room or workplace with brilliant fluorescent overhead lighting.

Logitech MX Grasp 3S

I’ve been singing the praises of Logitech’s MX lineup of mice for years, and completely nothing has modified. The most recent Logitech MX Grasp 3S is a supremely glorious mouse on your Mac. Ergonomically, I discover it to be considerably higher than one thing like Apple’s Magic Mouse.

The MX Grasp 3S can also be totally customizable utilizing Logitech’s Choices software program on the Mac. You may assign the totally different buttons to macOS options, like mission management, expose, the app switcher, and rather more.

Underneath-desk Storage Shelf

Searching for a option to hold muddle off your desk? This HumanCentric Underneath Desk Storage Shelf is a superb choice. It attaches to the underside of your desk utilizing adhesive strips and can be utilized to retailer issues like your keys, pockets, AirPods case, and extra.

This won’t look like probably the most thrilling accent selection, however belief me after I say I’ve cherished including this to my setup.

Ember Temperature Management Good Mug

For those who’re a espresso drinker who finds themselves getting distracted and letting your espresso get chilly, the Ember Good Mug can assist clear up that drawback. There’s a companion app for iPhone that allows you to management the temperature, and the battery contained in the mug can hold your espresso heat for as much as 80 minutes.

Underneath $20 WFH upgrades

To spherical out this information, I believed it’d be useful to incorporate some extra inexpensive desk and work-from-home equipment.

FTC: We use revenue incomes auto affiliate hyperlinks. Extra.

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