It’s not every day you see a teeny, tiny little display under an ultra-wide one. But today’s M2 MacBook Air setup sports its dual screens that way by putting an iPad mini at the center under the big external monitor, flanked by paired HomePod minis.
The setup’s interesting highlights include a gaming handheld and a full-sized mechanical keyboard we rarely see.
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iPad mini takes center stage in M2 MacBook Air setup
Redditor Prestigious_Fox_5531 showcases the workstation in a post entitled, “Current Setup.”
Technically, it’s a dual-display setup — if you count the iPad mini at the center. It sits beneath a 29-inch LG wide-screen 1080p external monitor that the M2 MacBook Air (16GB RAM) drives. You can see the laptop lurking in the back on a vertical stand.
“Everyday computing and school work on the Mac,” Fox wrote in his post. “Casual gaming on the ROG Ally.”
“ROG Ally” refers to the Asus ROG Ally Gaming Handheld, which features a 1080p screen and an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme Processor running Windows. The device sits in between the iPad mini and the HomePod mini on the right, which is paired with another one on the left.
Hexgears G5 mechanical keyboard
“What’s the keyboard?” asked a commenter. And we’re glad someone did, because it’s a full-sized, wired keeb we don’t see often in Setups.
“Hexgears G5 with Kailh Brown switches,” Fox replied. “And some random double shot PBD caps. Had to do a decent amount of modding to get it the way I like it … It was a project for me, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you just want a plug and play experience.”
Neck strain a thing of the past
It turns out Fox’s setup wasn’t always so nicely centered.
“I’m thinking of something similar … everything centered,” a commenter said. “I’ve got displays to the left and right and the neck strain is just way too much.”
“A hot minute ago I had a vertical monitor to the left and I felt it in my neck too. This has helped my posture a lot,” Fox replied.
1080p external display is just good enough
“How is the text clarity on that resolution?” someone asked about the 29-inch 1080p ultra-wide external display.
Another commenter explained it’s 2560 x 1080 pixel resolution making 94PPI [pixels per inch], the same as on a 24-inch 1080p display, adding that it’s a low PPI for use with macOS.
“It does the job,” Fox agreed. “For casual computing and schoolwork it’s good, but that being said I’m not doing anything professionally on it.”
Turning down the bright light
“Is the bulb too bright when ur staring at the screen?” another commenter asked about the interesting smart-bulb lamp on the left. “I feel like it would distract me.”
“Honestly, most of the time I have it off when I’m actually on my computer, or set to 5%,” Fox replied. “But I can be very distracting if it’s any higher than 10%.”
Shop these items now:
Computers:
Display:
Input devices:
- Hexgears G5 mechanical keyboard with Kailh Brown switches
- Logitech MX Master 3S wireless mouse
- Magic Trackpad 2
Audio:
If you would like to see your setup featured on Cult of Mac, send some high-res pictures to info+setups@cultofmac.com. Please provide a detailed list of your equipment. Tell us what you like or dislike about your setup, and fill us in on any special touches, challenges and plans for new additions.
iPad mini 6 is Apple's latest small-sized tablet with big performance. It includes the A15 Bionic chip, 8.3-inch Liquid Retina Display, Wi-Fi 6, 12MP front/12MP back camera, Touch ID and more.
