There are cases for MacBooks. And there are USB-C hubs. And external hard drives, too. Case X is all three of these. It clips to the top of the laptop, adding six extra ports and up to 4TB of additional storage.
Byrdbyte Creations’ product is still at the crowdfunding stage, though.
The Kingston IronKey Vault Privacy 80 External SSD includes a touchscreen and hardware encryption to protect user data. Unlock the XTS-AES 256-bit encryption by tapping in a password or numeric passcode onto the touchscreen.
It’s available in capacities up to 1920 GB.
★★★★☆
MacBooks with an Apple M1 processor can handle only one external monitor, but the OWC USB-C Dual HDMI 4K Display Adapter with DisplayLink doubles the number. And Mac mini users can connect to three monitors with it.
I put the USB-C HDMI adapter through a round of testing to be sure it lived up to the claims.
With the Anker 563 USB-C Docking Station, a MacBook with an Apple M1 processor can handle three external monitors – two more than Apple designed the notebook to support.
And the hub can do more than that. It also packs three USB-A ports and an Ethernet connection.
The Transcend JetDrive Lite 330 is a memory card that sits flush in the SD slot in the 2021 MacBook Pro. Use it to add up to a terabyte storage to the notebook or for backups. It’s ideal for people who otherwise have no use for the SD card slot.
I put the just-released 1TB version of the memory card. Here’s why I love it.
The HyperDrive USB4 Mobile Dock offers ports for both HDMI and DisplayPort, giving users additional options for an external monitor. And the just-launched USB-C hub also includes dual USB-A ports, Ethernet and more.
And all this fits into a package not much larger than a Magic Mouse.
Wouldn’t it be cool if you had something to slightly elevate your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro while you use it and to serve as a protective sleeve when you take it on the go?
Well, you can do both things with the SwitchEasy EasyStand Leather MacBook Sleeve. It’s available — and affordable — in the Cult of Mac Store.
The Samsung T7 Shield is a a credit-card size external SSD intended for outdoor content creators or travelers. It’s drop, water and dust resistant, and offers up to 2TB of capacity.
This new rugged version joins other SSDs in the Samsung T7 line.
The Transcend JetDrive Lite 330 is now available with 1TB of storage. This SD card is designed specifically to add to the capacity of the 2021 MacBook Pro, and sit flush with the card slot.
Once inserted, the card acts like any other drive. And data transfers are fast enough for Time Machine backups.
The HyperDrive Duo Pro 7-in-2 USB-C Hub plugs into the side of a MacBook to add a variety of useful ports. The standout is Ethernet, but there’s also USB-A, HDMI and microSD.
I did real-world testing of the 2022 version of this clip-on hub, and found that it lives up to the hype.
