Hey guys, it’s Kevin, and welcome back to another video.
In today’s video, I’ll talk about my favorite accessories for the MacBook Pro.
But you can use these on any MacBook or iPad for that matter.
I’ll go over a wide range of accessories:
protection, audio, peripherals, storage, and more.
So, without further I do, let’s get started!
Ok, the first thing I want totalk about is protection.
With a smartphone, you can protect it by putting it in your pocket.
But with a notebook, it’ll be in and out of your backpack,
so, you’ll want some peace of mind knowing it won’t get scratched
from the other accessories that are in there.
And that’s where this sleeve from tomtoc comes in.
I used a different sleeve before, but it wasn’t a good fit,
so the MacBook Pro was sliding around.
But this is literally a perfect fit.
The inside has this soft, circular, fleece material,
and the edges absorb impact and shocks.
The sleeve also passed the military standard drop test.
The outside is spill resistant, and it’s made out of 100% post consumer material from PET plastic bottles
It’s always a plus when companies create a product with the planet in mind.
The zipper is really nice too, and it won’t scratch your MacBook Pro since it goes over the thick padding.
And there’s a front pocket, enough room for a charger, cable, and AirPods.
If you’re interested, I’ll leave a link to this in the description box below
as well as anything else I mention.
Alright, next up is audio.
These are my go to wireless earbuds, AirPods Pro.
They’re small, lightweight, and they have great sound and noise cancellation.
And these are so comfortable that I can wear them all day,
and they won’t fall out of my ears like the original AirPods.
I use these for music, videos, phone calls, and FaceTime.
Plus, with seamless switching, they will automatically switch to what ever device I use.
I also have AirPods Max.
The excellent sound quality and noise cancellation
combined with Spatial Audio gives you that theater-like experience.
I also use them with the Lightning to 3.5 mm Audio Cable when I’m video editing,
so, I can hear the audio as accurate as possible and without any latency.
Next, I want to talk about some peripherals.
This is my mouse of choice, the Logitech MX Master 3.
I did use the Magic Mouse 2 because of the multi-finger gestures and smooth scrolling,
but it’s not the most comfortable mouse.
The MX Master 3 is a lot more comfortable and customizable.
For example, I set the thumb button to activate Mission Control,
and the side buttons to go back or forward in Safari,
go to the next or previous song in Music,
or switch between the Select and Blade tool in Final Cut Pro.
This mouse also has a scrollable wheel which is great for scrolling through timelines
The shift wheel on the top adjusts the vertical scrolling mode,
but I set mine to refresh a webpage in Safari or do a screen capture.
As for the keyboard, it’s the Keychron K2.
This is actually my very first mechanical keyboard.
I didn’t like them at first since they’re loud and chunky, but they eventually grew on me.
It has a 75% layout, brown switches, RGB backlit, and in this aluminum frame.
It checks all of the boxes I look for in a mechanical keyboard too:
wireless, multiple device support, Mac compatible, and USB-C.
The keys are very nice to type on, and they're very clicky.
I only use this when the MacBook Pro is docked in a stand, but more on that later.
So, the M1 MacBooks have incredible battery life.
The 14” MacBook Pro can last me at least a day on a single charge.
So, I don’t need to worry about having low battery or bringing a power adapter.
But for the times that I do need extra juice, a power bank will help.
This is Anker’s PowerCore Speed.
It has a 20,000 mAh battery inside and supports Power Delivery.
I bought this several years ago, so it only provides up to 24W,
but it can still fast charge an iPad, iPhone, or Galaxy device.
It has a USB-C and USB-A port for simultaneous charging.
The next accessory is storage.
MacBooks come with blazing fast SSD storage,
but it can get a little pricey if you want to upgrade the storage.
I know it’s more convenient to have all of your files with you
without needing to carry an external SSD and having cable plugged in.
But for the files that you don’t need access to all the time,
I would highly recommend the Samsung T7.
I got the 1 TB version last year on Amazon for about $110.
And if I were to add the same amount of storage to the MacBook Pro,
then it would cost $400.
The read and write speeds are about 1 GB/s, so not as fast as internal storage,
but it’s still fast enough to edit off of.
I also have a T5 for backups and a Western Digital HDD for a backup of my backup.
And I can connect these drives to the iPad Pro.
That’s the beauty of USB-C.
And the last accessories that I want to recommend are stands.
The new MacBook Pro screens are so nice, that it’s a shame to use it in clamshell mode.
But sometimes, you just want to have a clean work area and use an external monitor.
And this is where the Twelve South BookArc comes in.
It basically turns the MacBook into a portable desktop.
You just place the MacBook Pro on it, plug in a cable, and you’re good to go.
The aluminum design keeps the notebook upright and saves desk space.
It’s also improves airflow, and the rubber inserts keep the MacBook Pro secure and scratch free.
This next stand is for the times you want to enjoy using that 120 Hz mini-LED display,
but don’t want to be hunched over.
Shoutout to my cousin for telling me about this.
This aluminum stand by Omoton brings the MacBook Pro closer to eye level,
so you don’t have neck and shoulder pain later on.
There are six different height levels you can choose from,
and it allows more airflow under the notebook.
The stand is super portable since it can fold up and be stored in the included sleeve.
There are also rubber pads on the stand to prevent it from sliding around or the MacBook Pro from scratching.
And one more thing.
If you already own an iPad, then this is an added bonus.
An iPad can act as a portable display with Sidecar or Universal Control.
Both of these are built into macOS and iPadOS,
so, there’s no need to set anything up.
With Sidecar, you can still be productive on the go
with multiple apps and windows spread across both displays.
And with Universal Control,
you can enjoy the best of both worlds with a single keyboard, mouse, and trackpad.
And that’s it for my MacBook Pro accessories video.
Again, I’ll have everything I mentioned in the description box.
Let me know what your favorites are in the comments down below.
If you enjoyed this video, then please like, comment, and subscribe.
And I’ll catch you guys in next one. Bye!