MacBook Accessories You Probably Haven't Heard Of In 2024

as you can probably see from my videos I get to play with a ton of different Mac accessories docks monitors mice but after two years of doing this channel what do I actually use on a day-to-day basis and why do I use this 65 Thunderbolt cable let's get into it firstly let's cover the actual MacBook I'm using with these accessories at the moment I'm rocking a base model 14-inch M2 Pro MacBook Pro this thing is probably one of the best bang for buck laptops you can get right now now I've gone with a 14 inch because I'm traveling more often now and this is just so portable and don't have to compromise on performance too much and that performance extends to using the MacBook at my desk so let's start off the accessories with this The Humble Thunderbolt cable now these are pretty much a dime a dozen nowadays but the problem with most of them is that they're simply too short and there are a ton of reasons why having a longer Thunderbolt cable comes in handy so this is the one that I have it's two meters or 6.6 feet long and it's also Thunderbolt 4 which is the same Thunderbolt technology used in apple silicon MacBooks now this longer length is great for a few reasons number one if you're attaching your MacBook to a USBC or Thunderbolt monitor a longer cable vastly improves cable management and lets you position your MacBook on any part of the desk and this extra reach also applies to almost any scenario I mean charging a phone from your laptop connecting to a Nas that sits a few feet away or charging your MacBook and not being locked to the wall outlet by a short cable again great for traveling or when away from home and the outlet is just in a weird spot I mean sure for just charging or if you just want a standard connection to your devices a simple USBC cable will get the job done but there's something quite functional about having one single super high quality Thunderbolt cable that can do everything from charging your MacBook up to 100 watts to sending and receiving data at the fastest possible speeds without being chained to a short cable now I personally have this Cal digit cable but they're all pretty much the same some Brands I recommend are anchor OWC and cable matters just make sure they're certified and you really can't go wrong I'll link this Cal digit cable which is the most popular one on Amazon in the description speaking of Cal digit and I promise I'm not sponsored by them I'm also currently rocking their ts4 Thunderbolt 4 dock now I'll be the first to admit this is like the Ferrari of docs it very very good but also very expensive so if you're after something with similar functionality but much cheaper go for the older TS3 plus from Cal digit or the OWC Thunderbolt dock now a dock is something that I went without for a long time at my old job for example I had to plug in like two cables and a crappy dongle into my MacBook every single time I moved it which was upwards of 10 times a day having a dock instead just simplifies and streamlines everything so well especially because even with the new 14 and 16-inch Apple silicon MacBooks connectivity is still very limited I mean you're still going to need adapters for most things like keyboards printers monitors and other accessories this thing just sits on my desk giving me every connectivity option I could possibly want and charges my laptop and outputs to a monitor with just a single cable again super functional and that's just something that I really value now speaking of docs this brings me to the monitor I'm currently using because I totally understand that these docks can get expensive but did you know that a lot of monitors these days actually have USB hubs built into them which means you can likely skip the dock altogether and save yourself a few hundred bucks that's right just like the docs I mentioned these USB hub monitors will output an image charge your laptop and connect it to any accessories also attached to the monitor all with one cable for those looking for the best bang for buck you can't go wrong with the 4K 27 inch USBC monitors from LG this one is about 380 dollars you get everything I just mentioned plus a 4k monitor with good color accuracy and decent Port selection for a more premium option go for the Dell u2723q and I've reviewed both of these monitors on the channel so I will link them in the description for the last six months I've been rocking this Behemoth of a monitor the LG Ultra wide 40 wp95c-w awful name aside this one has a built-in USB hub but it's been upgraded with Thunderbolt 4. and I've really been enjoying using an ultra wide monitor recently having switched from your standard 16x9 aspect ratio monitors like the 27 inch LG in Dell I mentioned it just before you just get so much more room lengthways and this is perfect for me because I often spread my work across three and sometimes even four app windows I can have them all open at once and not have to use different desktops or cram everything together now this LG ultrawide has a 40 inch screen with a 4K resolution and before any of the Apple Fanboys in the comments section start bashing these monitors for only being 4K and not scaling perfectly with Mac OS okay sure I mean it doesn't scale perfectly and may impact performance on Apple silicon a tiny bit but what are the Alternatives I mean you can go with a 1440p screen that comes with a significant decrease in pixels and image quality due to the lower resolution or you can go with the Apple Studio display the 5K resolution that scales perfectly and is overall a pretty solid monitor for MacBook users but doesn't come in an ultra wide version and it also costs 1600 US dollars is it really worth four times as much as the budget 4K LG monitor I just talked about well I made a video about that if you're interested basically what I'm trying to say is that don't listen to all the misinformation out there saying that 4K monitors are the technological equivalent of Satan when it comes to MacBooks it's just not true I mean if you want 4K just get it now just before we get into the next accessory a quick word from the sponsor for this section of the video If you believe your laptop deserves the best you should check out tomtok's Defender a13 laptop sleeve which features a trendy design with military grade protection Tom Talk's original Corner armor technology equips the bag with four rubber corner protectors saving your device from unexpected drops inside the bag you'll find Ultra thick and soft padding for Scratch and bump protection the sleeve itself is durable water resistant and and made from recycled fabric with high quality YKK zippers running across the bottom and sides there's a convenient accessory pocket on the front for storing charges cables and other small Essentials plus there's a strap for your air tag or keys or if you want more space check out the defender a42 laptop shoulder bag this bag is bigger and offers the same water resistant Fabric and Corner armor technology protection in addition it features two separate compartments a back pocket and a detachable shoulder strap did I mention that both of these cases come in different sizes to perfectly fit your Macbook so check out the link in the description below to give your device the protection it deserves okay let's get back to the accessories I'm currently using now you've likely seen me using this weird Contraption on top of my monitor in a few of my videos this is called a monitor light bar or sometimes just a screen bar and its purpose is to provide lighting from a specific angle so that it doesn't cast glare on the screen and also illuminate the desktop in front of you without casting Shadows this is super super helpful for those who draw or write at their desk because with a light source directly above and slightly in front of you you won't get any Shadows like you would from a lamp or overhead light coming from a different angle they're also flicker free that color temperature and brightness can be adjusted and you can also rotate the light bar up or down to make sure there's no glare on the screen now I personally use the BenQ screen bar Halo the difference between this model and other light bars is that it also has a light source at the back to provide bias lighting behind the monitor which can help with eye stream now I really enjoy using this product and highly recommend it again not sponsored I bought this particular product with my own money and if you want a full review on the screen by Halo I made a separate video that I'll link down below now if you want a product that will give you 90 of the benefits of the BenQ models without the price tag check out some budget options from kuntis and xiaomi at the end of the day there's not much of a difference between them all moving on now you might be surprised to hear that I actually use the official Apple charger but just hear me out for a second when I'm at home I'll obviously have my MacBook plugged into my dock which keeps it charged but when I travel that's when it gets interesting now trust me I've tried a lot of travel charges and adapters all of them have issues they're either too big don't fit in a wall socket very well or just feel really cheap and dodgy and I'm afraid they'll just burst into flames this is the smallest and lightest Apple charger available or the 35 watt dual USBC Port compact power adapter as Apple calls it seriously they've called their keyboard simply magic keyboard but they couldn't come up with a better name for this charger whatever now I use this charger when traveling for four reasons one you just pay an extra 20 bucks when buying a new Macbook to get it two it is super small and lightweight three it has two USBC ports for charging multiple devices and four you can simply remove the charging head and replace it with one that will work in whatever country you're traveling to Apple sells a world travel adapter kit for 29 bucks that has almost every plug you'll ever need when I travel I just pop the appropriate adapter in and the charger works perfectly no matter what country I'm in sure it won't charge my specific 14 inch laptop super fast because it's meant for a smaller and less powerful 13-inch laptop but I'm traveling I'm not using my laptop all day long I just pop it on charge overnight if it's running low on battery and I'm good to go and sure you can get hardcore stuff like this 150 watt charger from anchor for 100 bucks but these can get expensive once you add additional travel adapters and I personally just like to travel really light and minimal and this setup just works for me this is also where my long Thunderbolt cable comes in handy it allows me to charge my laptop and not be stuck next to the wall and if I have any other devices that need charging or I need to attach an external drive to my MacBook for example I carry a second super short and portable Thunderbolt cable by the way a bonus accessory is the T5 SSD from Samsung you just can't beat its price and performance if you want Ultra performance though the xtrm-q from sabrant is my recommendation and as what I use for 4K video editing on the go now this wouldn't be a proper accessories video if I didn't talk about keyboards honestly I just can't make up my mind between a few different keyboards but one thing they all have in common is that they're all low profile now if you haven't tried a low profile keyboard I highly recommend it it allows your wrists to stay flat while typing and puts less strain on the muscles and tendons in your forearms and fingers for me personally this seems to work really well and I have noticed less fatigue and tightness when typing for long periods of time these are the low profile keyboards I'm using right now the Apple magic keyboard it's a bit of a rip-off and lacks functionality but it's ultra low profile and it just feels really comfortable to type on for me personally and it has built-in Touch ID then there's the MX mechanical from Logitech which is mechanical as the name suggests and has a ton of software features and insane battery life or there's the k-pro series from kikron that is possibly the highest quality but most cost effective lineup of keyboards I've ever used the K3 Pro specifically is the low profile board in this lineup then there's the air 75 from Newfie that everyone keeps telling me to get but as of this video I don't currently have one one thing's for sure I'm really enjoying low profile keyboards for now I'm mostly using the magic keyboard and the keycon K3 Pro but I am planning on making a video comparing all of these popular low profile keyboards comment down below if you'd be interested in watching that and that's it these are the MacBook accessories that I use on a daily basis after testing and experimenting with a ton of stuff over the two years I've been making videos on this channel stay tuned to see why I use this gaming mouse with my MacBook instead of the stereotypical MX Master 3 from Logitech that every other YouTuber uses but I'll leave that for another video

Channel: Created Tech

Views: 132,432

Keywords: mac, macbook, macbook pro, macbook air, mac accessories, macbook accessories, best accessories for macbook air m2, best accessories for macbook pro, best accessories for macbook air, best monitor for mac, best mouse for mac, best keyboard for mac, best ssd for mac, best external ssd, best external drive, best dock for macbooks, caldigit ts3, screenbar, monitor light bar, m2 macbook air, best macbook pro accessories, macbook pro accessories, must have mac accessories

Id: RWwg7mheJqM

Length: 14min 3sec (843 seconds)

Published: Wed May 24 2023