The best Mac equipment: Thunderbolt 4 dock, MagicBridge, and more

As I’ve overhauled my setup all through the Apple Silicon transition and together with the Mac Studio and MacEbook Pro, I’ve used this as a possibility 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 more. Head beneath for the main points.

Best Mac Accessory: OWC Thunderbolt 4 Dock

One of the more 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 gives 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 MacEbook Pro in clamshell mode. This is as a result of the Mac Studio gives its personal versatile choice of ports.

If you’re searching for a technique to unencumber the ports on the Mac Studio itself, nevertheless, this OWC dock is a superb choice. It’s additionally good for cleansing up your desk and having as few cables as doable snaking from the again of the Mac Studio. If you’re inserting an order from OWC, I may also extremely advocate the corporate’s Thunderbolt 4 cable, which is considerably cheaper than Apple’s.

Magic Keyboard with Touch ID

If you’re utilizing an Apple Silicon-powered Mac and you haven’t added a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID to your setup, you’re severely lacking out. Finally having the ability to use Touch ID with a desktop Mac is a sport changer. This contains Apple Pay authentication, accessing password managers, and making App Store purchases.

Of course, which means it’s important to be glad 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 Touch ID sooner or later, however for now, this must do.

Best Mac keyboard accent: MagicBridge

Speaking of the Magic Keyboard, when you use the Magic Keyboard alongside a Magic Trackpad, the favored accent maker Twelve South gives a extremely nifty MagicBridge accent. The MagicBridge turns the standalone Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad right into a “one piece control surface, 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 favor the only piece design. I take advantage of a Logitech MX Master alongside my Magic Trackpad, so I can transfer the MX Master 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 more 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 around the globe of the Stream Deck, however proper now I’m utilizing it for Mac automation and sensible dwelling management functions.

Here are a number of the guides I’ve been following as I study more about Stream Deck:

• MacTales: ‘Getting Started with Shortcuts for Mac and the Stream Deck’
• Matthew Cassinelli: ‘How to run Shortcuts via the Stream Deck’
• Six Colors: Control ‘HomeKit via Stream Deck’

Satechi Leather Desk Mat

Last however not least, and possibly the accent I get requested about most frequently after I characteristic it in product imagery, is the Satechi Eco-Leather Deskmate. This is a purely visible addition to my setup, bringing a leather-based desk mat to deal with 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 comfortable resting place in your wrists and arms.

Joli Leather Sleeves

I’ve been singing the praises of Joli’s handmade leather-based sleeves for MacEbook since 2015, and nothing in any respect has modified. Whenever I purchase a brand new MacEbook, I all the time ensure that to get a Joli leather-based sleeve to associate with it. The Joli sleeves are handmade from easy premium Italian leather-based, utilizing “luxury full grain waxed leather which shows marks as you use 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.

Best Mac cleansing product: Whoosh Cleaning Spray

Last however not least, if you wish to preserve your new MacEbook Air or MacEbook Pro wanting model new, you’ll want a great way to maintain the show good and shiny. My go-to advice right here is the WHOOSH! Screen Cleaner Kit, which packs every part it is advisable preserve your Mac clear at a value level below $20.

The display cleaner package contains each 3.4oz and 0.3oz bottles of cleansing resolution in addition to three 6″ x 6″ cloths. In reality, the WHOOSH! spray is what many Apple Stores around the globe use themselves.

What are a few of your favourite Mac equipment proper now? Let us know down within the feedback!