Must have Mac accessories you can't live without?

[daneoni]

For on the go;
- Noise cancelling Headphones with decent mic.
- Extension plug for the AC adapter. It used to come in the box. But it seems Apple stopped including them. Thankfully kept mine from previous macs.
- Apple World Travel Adapter kit
- Logitech MX series mouse (I use MX Master and MX anywhere)
- Nice plushy sleeve/case
- External storage. I made an M2 SSD, and bought a USB C/USB A compatible thumb drive.
- Powerbank to charge peripherals or even the Mac itself
- Cables (USB C, USB A, Lightening etc)
- Bosvision portable laptop stand. For ergonomics (and cooling back in the day), if i'll be sat for a while.
- Pen and notepad, cos you never know.
- Microfibre cloth and gentle cleaning wipes.
- Nice backpack, messenger, or briefcase.
- Airtags

For docking my MBP with my ASD at home;
- Griffin Elevator stand. Provides clearance for cooling, and facilitates using the laptop as an additional screen.
- Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad
- Multi-charging station
- Comfy chair and desk, preferably with standing option

 

[kimjongbill]

I have an M1 Air and for the three things I can't live without, the first one is the Ugreen 100W 4 port USB charger, along with 2x 10ft USB-C cables, which means I can basically charge whatever I have, wherever I am. I also always use a sleeve (compared to case) for my Macs, and I really can't live without my AirPods Pro 2nd gen. I'm a student and I can basically study anywhere because the noise cancelling is that good.

 

[Alameda]

I don't use mice that require a USB transmitter dongle, but I am curious: do those transmitters work on the same frequency bands as Bluetooth, or do they use some other band? I always thought that they were used for computers that didn't have a Bluetooth transceiver onboard (which is kind of a rarity nowadays for laptops, anyway) to enable Bluetooth communication with external peripherals like mice, but maybe I was mistaken and the USB dongles function differently.

The FCC only permits a narrow range of frequencies for public use — 900Mhz, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 60 GHz. They can be used for all sorts of things, not just WiFi and Bluetooth.

But the point is that, in my experience, the Kensington mice with USB dongles work better than Bluetooth mice. They pair instantly and the system sees them as USB devices and operation is excellent. Bluetooth devices have a tendency to drop or fail to get recognized. For desktop use especially, Bluetooth keyboard and mice, including Apple’s, haven’t been as reliable and foolproof as Kensington’s.

These days, I use the Kensington MX mouse and keyboard and they’re both excellent. I keep an Apple Magic Mouse in my travel bag in case I want a mouse while traveling, but it is not as comfortable as the Kensington mouse.

 

[KaliYoni]

I travel internationally a lot.

Here are a few of my must-haves for travelling with a laptop:

Apple World Travel Adapter Kit

The Apple World Travel Adapter Kit lets you connec to electrical outlets around the world with unique seven AC plugs. Get fast, free shipping.

www.apple.com

The Best Extension Cords for Your Home and Garage

The U.S. Wire & Cable 50 FT. Extreme All-Weather Extension Cord is the most flexible, durable cord we found, and should last years even in harsh environments.

www.nytimes.com

Kensington UltraThin Magnetic Privacy Screen for 13" MacBook Pro/Air

The Kensington UltraThin Magnetic Privacy Screen seamlessly attaches to the laptop's magnetic frame, allowing it to close completely and enter sleep mode. Buy online now at apple.com.

www.apple.com

The Best VPN Service

A virtual private network (VPN) is a useful way to improve security or privacy in certain situations, but it’s difficult to find one that’s trustworthy.

www.nytimes.com

Authority Laptop Backpack Deluxe

Free Shipping & Lifetime Warranty on Timbuk2's Authority Laptop Backpack Deluxe. A supremely organized monster of a work backpack, Authority is an organized, bringing-the-office-with-you bag. Featured with beautiful base fabric, tuck-away sternum straps, and an air mesh back panel.

www.timbuk2.com

(assuming you're based in the US and eligible)

TSA PreCheck®

Securing America's Borders

www.cbp.gov

Global Entry

Securing America's Borders

www.cbp.gov

 

[jchap]

What's the idea here? That you jack up the back of the laptop and then use the keyboard at a crazy angle with your wrists bent upwards? That runs counter to every ergonomic best practice you'll find, and is not a "decent typing angle" in any way. (Unless by some chance you mean jacking up the front of the machine, which would be better on your wrists but with the screen at a very awkward angle IMO)

The better way to do this is to raise your laptop as close to eye level as practical (a stack of books will do just fine), and then use an external keyboard and mouse/trackpad down at desk level. This lets you minimize neck and wrist strain, and as a bonus gives you a much better camera angle for Zoom calls.

I can see what you’re saying. Indeed, you don’t want to raise the angle too high, which would put stress on your wrists.

I think the point of these is to raise the laptop display a bit higher to reduce neck strain and improve screen visibility, while also helping to raise your wrists a bit so that the edges of the laptop don’t cut into your palms. The latter is particularly an issue with MacBook Pros and with the non-wedge shaped Airs. Sometimes it’s difficult to raise your seat height to effectively raise your wrist height when you’re in a public place, but it’s easier to raise the laptop height (usually the back) if you’ve got these. I find that using these laptop risers or jacks or whatever you want to call them do help a lot with that, at least for me.

Also, the OP did mention that they want to use their Mac for travel, and that is why I mentioned these—it’s not always easy to pull out an external mouse or keyboard when you’re working at a cafe or on a smallish airplane tray table.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

I'm going to say TB4 NVMe DAS for backups.

 

[calliex]

For on the go;
- Noise cancelling Headphones with decent mic.
- Extension plug for the AC adapter. It used to come in the box. But Apple it seems Apple stopped including them. Thankfully kept mine from previous macs.
- Apple World Travel Adapter kit
- Logitech MX series mouse (I use MX Master and MX anywhere)
- Nice plushy sleeve/case
- External storage. I made an M2 SSD, and bought a USB C/USB A compatible thumb drive.
- Powerbank to charge peripherals or even the mac itself etc
- Cables (USB C, USB A, Lightening etc)
- Bosvision portable laptop stand. For ergonomics (and cooling back in the day), if i'll be sat for a while.
- Pen and notepad, cos you never know.
- Microfibre cloth and gentle cleaning wipes.
- Nice backpack, messenger, or briefcase.
- Airtags

For docking my MBP with my ASD at home;
- Griffin Elevator stand. Provides clearance for cooling, and facilitates using the laptop as an additional screen.
- Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad
- Multi-charging station
- Comfy chair and desk, preferably with standing option

which USB C/USB A compatible thumb drive did you buy. I am looking for one.

 

[Queen6]

Been traveling & working internationally for decades from the office in a distant city to the jungles of Papua New Guinea. Generally travelling with both a Mac & PC;

• Good quality backpack or if not too much weight a messenger bag
• Good quality padded sleeve for notebook
• Power adapter with anti surge if possible, I have a small single block & a multi black from Belkin
• Spare charger & power cable Apple's own or Anker, latter has more ports
• Ergonomic mouse, I use a Razer Death Adder as it's designed for normal sized hands. Forget Apple's own is useless
• Mouse mat
• External SSD's for backup/media
• USB C/A thumb drive
• Multi port dongle for USB A, HDMI, SD Card, Ethernet etc
• Dongle USB C to A
• Dongle USB C to Ethernet
• Cable management bag
• Apple AC power cord extension
• Flat HDMI cable as they rollup to a small size, every hotel has a TV so may as well make use of it
• Risers to lift the rear of the notebook slightly, helps if needing to type a lot. In a pinch tops of the hotel's water bottles can work
• Power Bank
• If in hotels a VPN is mandatory
• Portable router, data only SIM's are generally cheap and the router can also be used as repeater in the hotel which puts another layer of security into the mix as they have HW firewalls and further hide your IP. Also Mac's dont always play well with all access points having your own guarantees connection. Has saved me the headache a few times
• Pack everything in travel bags/pouches is easier that way at airport security. The level of scrutiny varies country to country and in my experience the security personnel generally recognise the professional traveller if your gear is packed well

Don't skimp on the quality as will only bite you later down the line generally at the worst possible time. If critical and travelling to less developed and or populated areas double up on the import items. If on the go, pack a small backpack just for the Mac and essential's. The rest can be left in the hotel safe, out of sight and out of mind.

Q-6

 

[daneoni]

which USB C/USB A compatible thumb drive did you buy. I am looking for one.

This one

 

[calliex]

This one

do you have any heat issues with it?

 

[daneoni]

do you have any heat issues with it?

Nope. Been fine for me.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

I'm a Mac Mini user so I'm deskbound.

Nuphy Air75v1 - Great keyboard, looks great (imo) with an all-white keycap set. V2 is supposedly even better.

Keychron M6 - Good MX Master alternative, slightly smaller/taller, no rubber coating, great battery life.

LG C1 48" - Beautiful 4K OLED. Can't run at 120Hz unfortunately, but looks great otherwise.

Sonos Beam - Great sounding sound bar. MacOS gets weird if I feed audio to the Beam via the TV/eARC, so I connect it via AirPlay instead.