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Dual 5K displays and giant DIY desk distinguish this rig [Setups]

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MacBook Pro setup
Cleaned, reorganized and beautifully underlit, this MacBook Pro and Studio Display rig is ready for work in the new year.
Photo: dominicmannphoto@Reddit.com

People often compare LG’s UltraFine 5K display to Apple’s Studio Display because they’re directly comparable, with the same size and resolution. But rarely do you find the two in the same setup. That makes today’s dual MacBook Pro and dual 5K display setup something of a rarity.

That, along with the rarely seen Wacom drawing tablet and the truly massive DIY desk, fashioned from a kitchen countertop and mechanized legs.

Cheap LED strip lights give coder’s MacBook rig a moody vibe [Setups]

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Two cheap LED lights strips create that whole effect, and with many light strips the colors can change endlessly.
Two cheap LED lights strips create that whole effect, and with many light strips the colors can change endlessly.
Photo: Xtraipel@Reddit.com

Deliberate lighting choices, especially those featuring vibrant colors, can do a lot for a computer setup. They can improve mood and vision, and they can even give humdrum gear in a boring room a dazzling look and feel.

Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup belongs to a coder in Panama who used some basic, cheap LED strip lights to transform his workstation into a light show — to the delight of viewers on social media.

Bright and beautiful Mac Studio rig gets a lot right [Setups]

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A lot of people want to know what that delightful wallpaper is. See below.
A lot of people want to know what that delightful wallpaper is. See below.
Photo: ursureiks@Reddit.com

A well-lit and well-equipped computer setup can evoke peace and productivity at the same time. Today’s Mac Studio rig exudes a zen-like calm despite being a total powerhouse.

It features a well-mounted Studio Display, a slick mechanical keyboard with wrist rest, a sleek external drive as well as tidy pegboard storage for AirPods Max.

Learn to tame cable clutter with Basic Apple Guy [Setups]

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See any cables here? We didn't think so.
See any cables here? We didn't think so.
Photo: Basic Apple Guy

Today’s featured computer setup comes from Mac maven and designer Basic Apple Guy. We know him from the free wallpapers he offers for download. Who knew he was such a cable-management Jedi?

We came across his powerful setup with nary an unsightly cable while writing about his new “Flow” wallpaper — which was actually inspired by his fight with cable clutter.

This is how you make your computer setup a thing of beauty [Setups]

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It took months to put together this well-put-together setup.
It took months to put together this well-put-together setup.
Photo: Sygnul@Reddit.com

There’s nothing like stained wood to make a computer setup look like a class act. Today’s featured M1 Max MacBook Pro and custom PC workstation places those powerful machines on shelves off to the side that more-or-less match the desk.

Relocating the computers makes more room on the beautiful wooden desktop, which ups the quality even further with a handsome wooden desk shelf for the external display and other items.

Mounts make the most of this MacBook Pro workstation [Setups]

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A dual monitor mount is used for the external display and the MacBook Pro.
A dual monitor mount is used for the external display and the MacBook Pro.
Photo: MDevonL@Reddit.com

Monitor mounts and the like may not be terribly glamorous or exciting, but they can do an awful lot for a computer setup.

Today’s featured MacBook Pro workstation uses them to make the laptop and two other crucial pieces of hardware easy to move around. And they keep the hardware off the desk, creating space for other items.

WFH gear to get when the boss pays for it [Setups]

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An M2 Max MacBook Pro and a 42-inch OLED display? Yes, please.
An M2 Max MacBook Pro and a 42-inch OLED display? Yes, please.
Photo: Swagdaddy123456@Reddit.com

Oh, what a joy to go computer-setup shopping — when your employer readily agrees to pay for everything. Today’s featured M2 Max MacBook Pro setup, which features a gorgeous 42-inch OLED smart TV as a display, came into being that very way.

Check out the setup’s gear, below, and see if that’s what you’d buy if your boss handed you a blank check.

Mac mini drives affordable ‘DIY Studio Display’ [Setups]

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The user learned how to convert the 5K iMac display from a video.
The user learned how to convert the 5K iMac display from a video.
Photo: fromthecouv@Reddit.com

It’s great that Apple put out a high-quality display that costs a lot less than the $5,000 Pro Display XDR. But the Studio Display, at $1,600, is still too pricey for many folks. If you’d rather have a 5K display for way less than a grand, today’s featured M2 Pro Mac mini setup is for you if you’re willing to do some work.

Following an instructional video included below, the user converted a 5K iMac to a 5K standard USB display for about $700.

Here’s how you put together a tight triple-display rig [Setups]

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Mounted devices make for a space-saving triple-display setup.
Mounted devices make for a space-saving triple-display setup.
Photo: ursureiks@Reddit.com

The sometimes-overlooked heroes of computer setups are stands and mounts. They make a big difference. They free-up space on the desk. They bring screens to eye level for better ergonomics. And they can even help turn a one-display setup into a three-display workstation, as they do in today’s featured MacBook Pro and iPad mini rig.

The user relies on one main external monitor — a Studio Display — but raising the MacBook and the iPad up to eye level and using Universal Control gives him three prominent screens. And that’s without having to buy and make room for multiple external monitors.

M1 MacBook Pro with Studio Display excels at intensive gaming [Setups]

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A powerful M1 Max MacBook and Studio Display have no trouble with World of Warcraft.
A powerful M1 Max MacBook and Studio Display have no trouble with World of Warcraft.
Photo: Ursureiks@Reddit.com

Who says Macs aren’t good for gaming? M1 Macs seem to be improving Apple’s reputation on that front, as shown in today’s featured M1 Max MacBook Pro computer setup.

With Apple’s most powerful laptop driving a stunning 5K Studio Display, this player is in gaming paradise. And he digs the display’s sound, too.

Sleek, dual-display MacBook Pro rig gives off serious Tron vibes [Setups]

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This is how you take a picture of a setup if you want people to think it's an ad.
This is how you take a picture of a setup if you want people to think it's an ad.
Photo: DylanAN4@Reddit.com

When you look at a lot of computer setups showcased on social media, it’s not difficult to see that many of them are staged. They’re so well put together and photographed, you just can’t see normal slobs owning them.

But sometimes the internet tricks you with a surprisingly slick photograph of a real person’s setup. That seems to be the case in today’s featured dual-display MacBook Pro setup, photographs in a cool-gray wash.

“This looks like a render advertising the mouse or something,” one commenter said. “Tron vibes,” added another, referring to the 1982 sci-fi film known for its then-cutting-edge computer animation.

iPhone shipments grow while smartphone market shrinks

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iPhone 13 Pro
The iPhone 13 sold well in Q2 2022.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

iPhone shipments grew 3.3% year over year during the second quarter of 2022, according to a market-research firm. That’s in contrast to the global smartphone market, which declined 7%.

Apple made up 16% of the total market, its highest second-quarter performance in more than a decade.

iPhone pulls in double the revenue of any rival

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iPhone shipments grow while Android tanks
Apple takes in far more revenue from iPhone sales than any Android-maker.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Everyone knows that Android outsells iPhone, but that’s not the whole picture. Apple takes in a lot more revenue than any rival smartphone-maker. It’s more than double Samsung’s, and no other company gets even that close.

And in the quarter before that, iPhone pulled in more revenue than all its rivals combined.

Wish you could make that cable go away? Here’s how. [Setups]

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What would you do with that cable on the left?
What would you do with that cable on the left?
Photo: Dialect_117@Reddit.com

Many a near-pristine computer setup is marred by one pretty ugly thing: a power cable. People pride themselves on having “one-cable” setups, where gear plugs into other gear or works wirelessly, and the whole shebang depends on one cable going into the wall outlet from a hub or a power strip. Others get as close as they can to that Zen-like state of near cableless-ness.

Today’s featured setup has that one, nagging cable. And we’re here to help make it go away.

iPhone leads the pack in 5G smartphone share and profits

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5G iPhone
Apple continues to beat Samsung in 5G handset sales.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

iPhone is the biggest, most profitable 5G smartphone in the world, according to the latest data from one research firm. As 5G adoption skyrockets, Apple continues to hold a lead over Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, and other vendors.

That’s despite an increase in demand for foldable devices and more affordable 5G handsets from brands like Honor.

Where did you get that wonderful wallpaper? Here are 11 sources. [Setups]

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Fine setup, but where did you get that wallpaper?
Fine setup, but where did you get that wallpaper?
Photo: hugoaperezh@Reddit.com

One of the questions you see most in the comments sections of posts about computer setups on social media is: Where did you get that wallpaper? To many folks, the setup may be fine and dandy, but what they really care about is not so much the fancy hardware, but the imagery on the display that they might easily get for themselves.

Today’s setup is a prime example. It made us look back at 10 great wallpaper sources we’ve come across, below. That’s 11, actually, including today’s subject.

Clean M1 Mac mini station is an audio-visual beast [Setups]

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This clean, M1 Mac mini-based setup packs a lot of audio-visual firepower.
This clean, M1 Mac mini-based setup packs a lot of audio-visual firepower.
Photo: Halzen@Reddit.com

Some computer setups are remarkably cool for their awesome computing power. Others wow you with incredible displays, with several high-def monitors. And still others blow you away with premium sound. Or, in the case of today’s featured setup, premium audio-visual gear many people would be psyched to get their hands on.

Everybody wants this guy’s 3D-printed Magic Tray [Setups]

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The 3D-printed tray for Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad has generated a lot of interest.
The 3D-printed tray for Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad has generated a lot of interest.
Photo: leroy_pylant@Reddit.com

When a Reddit post draws big interest, it typically gets dozens of comments in a few days. Such is the case with leroy_pylant’s post about 3D printing his own Magic Tray for Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad. It generated 76 comments over five days, with a lot of inquiries about how to get the thing.

You, too, can achieve pleasing symmetry and soft lighting [Setups]

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A desk with a metal frame and a bunch or clips and magnets help make a great setup.
A desk with a metal frame and a bunch of clips and magnets help make a great setup.
Photo: QasimZafaraYouTube@Reddit

Quasim Zafar’s neatly laid out computer setup serves as his filming area for YouTube product reviews, his general workstation using a 2020 M1 Mac mini and his Xbox Series S gaming station where he plays Call of Duty.

But that’s only incidental to what you’ll probably love about it and want for your own setup.

‘Mostly monochrome’ rig focuses on innovative storage, nice lighting, cool keyboards [Setups]

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It's amazing what you can do with a pegboard (left) and some inexpensive but effective lighting.
It's amazing what you can do with a pegboard (left) and some inexpensive but effective lighting.
Photo: carrotcakeblack@Reddit

Redditor carrotcakeblack wins more than a few style points for his “mostly monochrome! Also some keyboards” setup, as he calls it in his post’s title.

But he leaves out one of the factors visitors like most about his well-photographed MacBook Pro-based outfit. Namely, the way he hangs so much of his gear on a pegboard off to one side in such a visually appealing way.

Mantra behind orgy of screens: ‘Nothing exceeds like excess’ [Setups]

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Can you ever really have too many monitors?
Can you ever really have too many monitors?
Photo: KipKang@Reddit

A Mission Control-looking setup featuring an ultrawide monitor with a spacious screen above it and a portrait-oriented screen on either side of it was bound to get some attention — especially with ring lights sticking up from it like antennae. And it did.

“That just seems so excessive that it isn’t even funny,” one Redditor commented on KipKang’s post promoting his MacBook Pro setup and its relative orgy of displays. “I love it and I am jealous of it. Long winded way of saying NICE!”

“Thanks! ‘Nothing exceeds like excess,’” KipKang replied.

A 49-inch UltraWide is just the beginning of this incredible setup [Setups]

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MacBookPro Setup
Because a 49-inch UltraWide wasn't enough, he added a second monitor on top.
Photo: @chau_codes

If most UltraWide monitors are impressive, then a 49-inch UltraWide is jaw-dropping. That is just the start of programmer Justin Chau’s amazing setup, which took years to assemble. Above his 49-incher, he has a 32-inch Dell S Series Monitor, which gives him an insane amount of screen real estate.

HomeKit-powered lights give this setup a Star Trek vibe [Setups]

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A cozy but epic setup
A cozy but epic wfh setup
Photo: @mrisad

A set of origami-style lights illuminate the cozy setup of Instagram user @mrisad, an integration delivery manager. The Nanoleaf lights floating above his dual monitors evoke the control panels from some ’70s sci-fi show. And they’re integrated with HomeKit, Apple’s home-automation platform.

The heart of his rig is a beautiful pair of screens. The large main screen is a $1,000 curved, 38-inch screen from LG. The second screen is a 28-inch Asus gaming monitor. He hooked them both up to a Mac mini, and elegantly suspended them in midair by an inexpensive ($40) but fully articulated desktop stand.

To round out his setup, @mrisad has a Magic Keyboard and Trackpad from Apple, and a trio of chargers for his iPhone, iPad and AirPods. As for audio, he has a HomePod and a pair of Sennheiser noise-canceling headphones.

Samsung’s AirDrop clone will debut with Galaxy S20 next month

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AirDrop-hot-air-balloon
Incoming!
Photo: Marcus Dall Col/Unsplash

Samsung is developing its own AirDrop competitor that will make its debut alongside the Galaxy S20 next month, according to a new report.

Leaked Quick Share screenshots reveal the feature will let users “share instantly with people nearby.” This is separate from the AirDrop rival Google is reportedly planning for all Android devices.

iPhones sales in China dropped 13% in 2018

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iPhone sales are finally rebounding in China
iPhone sales were starting to pickup in China.
Photo: Tim Cook/Weibo

Investors just received a worrying report about iPhone sales in China ahead of Apple’s pivotal 2018 holiday earnings report slated for Tuesday, January 29.

Apple warned investors earlier this year that iPhone sales in Greater China came in lower than expected. We’ll have to wait for the official numbers from Apple tomorrow, but according to data firm Canalys, total smartphone sales dropped 15% year-over-year in Q4 2018 with Apple taking one of the biggest hits.