One of the downsides you hear about the M1 MacBook Air and the M1 MacBook Pro is that they officially (natively) support just one external display in addition to the laptop’s screen, not dual external monitors.
Well, that may be true in the user manual. But Redditor ImajiiMac is among those discovering that “official” ain’t everything.
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.
Redditor UGenya806, who works in marketing for San Francisco-based DocuSign in Germany, takes appearances on Zoom calls seriously. After all, their job has always been remote and will remain so, even when others return to offices following the COVID-19 pandemic.
UGenya806’s setup centers on an M1 Mac mini tethered to dual Dell 24-inch 4K monitors and a CalDigit TS3 Thunderbolt 3 Dock. The mini is connected wirelessly to a Magic Keyboard and a Magic Trackpad.
A stand-mounted MacBook Air rounds out the mix, but is usually used separately as a standalone machine, not with the peripherals.
To be fair, when Redditor No-Top-5065 posted pics of their MacBook Air-based computer setup, they asked for suggestions on how to improve it.
“Any recommendation on how can I improve my desk setup? Not into gaming, work and study most of the time,” said the post’s headline.
Arizona-based Tyler Botha, aka theallseeingeye on Reddit, is a TV-focused copywriter for a San Francisco startup and a retired pro DJ. The setup and epic gear list he sent to our attention does triple duty with a capable “WFH Desk,” a powerful “Gaming Corner” and a remarkably complete “DJ Desk.”
Talk about “complete.” Botha’s gear list, represented in the links below, is probably the longest one ever published in a Cult of Mac Setups article. You don’t have to be a DJ to appreciate it, but it helps.
While London-based dental student and Redditor callum-edw studies how to fix your teeth, maybe you should study how he builds a classy computer setup with solid tech plus a few swanky details and DIY touches.
Callum’s rig centers on a MacBook Air M1 tethered to a 24-inch Dell U2419HC UltraSharp external monitor.
How many large displays is “overdoing it” in a computer setup? Redditor dm-86 suggested they’d gone too far with four, but that only ties one of our other favorites.
Some commenters joked around that they saw plenty of space for more in the imposing setup, or bank of screens, if you will.
It’s not every day you come across a high school student running a successful tech-based business – never mind one whose 3D renderings are routinely seen by thousands of people. But that’s the case with 17-year-old New Yorker Ian Zelbo and his RendersbyIan.
His detailed and realistic renders of leaked tech products, including Macs, get loads of exposure on social media from his clients, the likes of Jon Prosser of @FrontPageTech and Sam Kohl of iupdate.
The big open window shown in the photo above certainly helps keep the place lit for free in bright daylight. But what does Redditor Kwipz do about cheap lighting for the darker hours?
They spend a few bucks. Literally.
OK, maybe it’s a tad premature to freak out over couples’ setups being some sort of thing now. After all, the sample size here is just one, and we have no intention of carrying out any kind of exhaustive and exhausting survey or study on the matter.
Redditor thateconomistguy presents a “couples study space” where he and his girlfriend pore over economics research side by side under the frames in which they plan to display their upcoming master’s degree diplomas.
Redditor KunalBH bought a compact, no-frills Anker keyboard to use with his iPad in 2017. Now he’s asking the universe for help finding a worthy replacement (or additional) keyboard for his MacBook Pro-based setup.
Passionate suggestions are pouring in. See below for some of the leading contenders.
Redditor XTJ7, a programmer and photographer based in Germany, knows how to make a setup last and do just what he needs it to do. As his recent post declared, his setup’s core is two “trash can” Mac Pro towers from 2013 plus a racy gaming PC.
Yeah, you heard right: That’s two computers running from 2013 to now. Eight years might as well be a few decades as far as computer performance goes. But he has his reasons to wait on the upgrade.
Canadian iOS developer and YouTuber Stewart Lynch got lucky when he broke the USB-C port connector on his brand new 27-inch LG monitor the first day he had it. Huge-upgrade lucky.
Lynch, who hails from North Vancouver, British Columbia, took the stricken display, under warranty, to a repair shop.
“About a week later LG called me and said they did not have any 27-inch monitors in stock so they offered me a 38-inch upgrade at no cost,” Lynch told Cult of Mac. “I took it and sold my dual monitor arm that was holding the 27- and 24-inch monitors and went with the setup I have now.”
If one thing catches your eye first about Redditor arnaki_gkioulmpasi’s setup, it’s probably the interesting light show on the wall behind it. That array is made up of Nanoleaf Shapes that can be arranged any which way.
Those cool-looking lights, along with a Yeelight Screen Light Bar Pro atop the Dell 32-inch curved 4K monitor and a standing lamp next to the desk, keep eyestrain to a minimum.
iOS software engineer Christian Roman has a “love-hate relationship” with his impressive triple 5K display setup.
“It’s fantastic when it works,” he told Cult of Mac. “It’s a nightmare when macOS suddenly decides to stop working with triple screens.”
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.
An amazing 49-inch LG UltraWide monitor dominates the sweet work-from-home setup of front-end developer Justin Chua from San Jose, California. A second 32-inch Dell monitor floats above, adding even more screen real estate to this eye-blasting battlestation.
And check out his sweet, custom-made mechanical keyboard!
The impact of the continuing coronavirus pandemic is starting to show its true colors with an almost 13% market share drop for Apple’s Mac computer line in the first quarter compared to a year ago.
Integrating your iPhone with your Dell computer just got far easier. A significant update to Dell Mobile Connect lets users mirror applications running on their iOS handset to their Windows computer. Wireless files transfers between the two were also added.
The post-holiday tech fest that is CES shutters its doors today for another year. This week’s event has been as weird and as wonderful as any other, giving us a glimpse of all kinds of innovative gadgets on the way in 2020.
Better AirPods alternatives. Wireless chargers that achieve what Apple couldn’t. iPhone cases you can throw on the compost heap when they’re no longer needed. Here are the biggest trends from CES 2020.
Apple could be about to sell back its stake in Toshiba Memory less than a year after acquiring it.
A new report claims Toshiba plans to buy back the shares it sold to Apple, Dell, Kingston, and Seagate after securing billions in loans from Japanese banks. It’s thought Toshiba later plans to become a public company.
Apple has added another high-profile hire to its team of engineers developing AR and VR headsets.
Serial entrepreneur Arthur van Hoff reportedly joined Apple this month after leaving Jaunt, a VR-focused startup company that he founded that eventually scored funding from Disney
New MacBook Airs could launch as soon as the end of Q3 2018, according to a new report out of Taiwan that signals the wait for an affordable new MacBook is nearly over.
Apple hasn’t updated the MacBook or MacBook Air since June of 2017, but with a new update on the horizon, it could bring a big boost to Apple’s market share.
Worldwide personal computer shipments are finally making a comeback after a six-year slump in sales.
The latest report from Gartner estimates that during the second quarter of 2018 PC shipments finally grew year-over-year for the first time since the first quarter of 2012. With 1.4% overall growth for the market, PC makers have a lot to be happy about, and Apple’s shipment numbers were some of the best in the bunch.
Global notebook shipments increased more than expected last year, and part of it came down to Apple’s strong MacBook growth.
According to a new report from market research firm TrendForce, Apple recorded a 9.6 percent market share in global notebook shipments, up from 8.3 percent the previous year. As a result, Apple overtook Asus to become the fourth largest notebook maker by shipments, compared to the fifth largest in 2016.