Best MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro accessories

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  • Introduction

    Introduction

    Here's my list of must-have accessories for this popular mobile notebook.

    Most of these are products that I rely on daily to get my work done, and have been field tested for durability and reliability.

    Photo by: Apple

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock

    OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock

    The OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock features:

    • 2 x Thunderbolt 2
    • 5 x USB 3.0 (including two high-power ports for fast-charging devices such as smartphones and tablets)
    • 1 x FireWire 800
    • 1 x Gigabit Ethernet
    • 1 x HDMI 1.4b with 4K display support
    • 1 x 3.5mm audio input / mic
    • 1 x 3.5mm audio output / headphone

    Can theoretically connect up to 78 devices over a single Thunderbolt connection.

    Price: $250.

    Photo by: OWC

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • OWC Envoy Pro EX

    OWC Envoy Pro EX

    The 480GB OWC Envoy Pro EX is an ultra-portable, SuperSpeed bus-powered external SSD storage solution built around OWC's Aura Pro SSD, which is a fast SSD capable of transfer rates of up to 500MB/s.

    Price: $349.

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • OWC USB-C Dock

    OWC USB-C Dock

    The OWC USB-C Dock is the complete connectivity solution for the 2015 MacBook. Power your laptop and charge your mobile devices, connect fast external drives and other USB accessories, a 4K display, and much more with a single cable. With eleven ports, USB-C Dock is the gateway to possibility for your new MacBook.

    • 4 USB 3 Type-A ports
    • 1 USB 3 Type-C port
    • SD card reader
    • HDMI with 4K display support
    • Gigabit Ethernet
    • Audio in and out ports
    • Connection for your computer

    Photo by: OWC

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • Snuglet

    Snuglet

    The Snuglet is a precision-engineered metal ring that attaches to the MagSafe 2 connector that increases the strength of the magnetic connection while still allowing you to attach and detach the connector normally.

    Price: $20.

    Photo by: OWC

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • OWC Envoy Pro mini

    OWC Envoy Pro mini

    Here is the 240GB OWC Envoy Pro mini (also available in 120GB). On the outside this looks like a regular USB thumb drive, but it is in fact, a desktop-class SSD in disguise capable of transfer rates up to 433 MB/s. This performance means that you can move large files back and forth, run virtual machines off the drive, and even boot up an OS.

    Price: $199 for 240GB

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • ioSafe Solo G3 fireproof/waterproof external drive

    ioSafe Solo G3 fireproof/waterproof external drive

    Combining advanced technology and elegant design, the rugged ioSafe Solo G3 hard drive delivers an unmatched level of fire and water protection for all the digital assets backed up from your Mac—rather like an aircraft's black box—yet it's truly affordable. And if disaster does strike, the ioSafe Data Recovery Service is there to help restore your data and hardware, whatever the circumstance.

    • Fireproof—1550º F, 1/2 hour per ASTM E119
    • Waterproof—can withstand 10 feet of water for days
    • Comes formatted for Mac systems, so you can start using the drive immediately
    • Physical Theft Protection: Floor mount capable
    • One year of data Recovery Service (DRS) up to $2,500 per Terabyte
    • Option of extending DRS and hardware warranty up to five years
    • 3 terabytes of storage
    • USB 3.0
    • Tested per UL, FCC, and CE standards

    Photo by: ioSafe

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • LandingZone 2.0 PRO

    LandingZone 2.0 PRO

    The LandingZone 2.0 PRO includes 4 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 pass-through ports, a Mini DisplayPort and gigabit Ethernet port and a Kensington Security Slot to make sure that no one walks away with your MacBook while you're back is turned. The LandingZone also comes with its own power adapter for when you use all the ports at once.

    Photo by: LandingZone

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • Matrox DualHead2Go Digital ME

    Matrox DualHead2Go Digital ME

    The Matrox DualHead2Go Digital Mac Edition (ME) external multi-display adapter adds up to two monitors to your laptop or desktop computer.

    Price: $150.

    Photo by: Matrox

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • ChargeTech Portable Power Outlet

    ChargeTech Portable Power Outlet

    If you're planning on taking a notebook with you when you're off the grid then you need some form of rechargeable power pack for it. I've been using a ChargeTech Portable PowerOutlet, and this outputs enough juice to keep my MacBook Pro happy. An added bonus is that I can recharge it using either the solar panel or 12V inverter.

    Photo by: ChargeTech

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • Monoprice USB-C cables

    Monoprice USB-C cables

    If you've got Apple's new MacBook featuring the single USB-C port then you're going to want some cables, and after testing a few I think that Monoprice delivers the goods at a decent price.

    Price: From $10.

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • Nifty MiniDrive

    Nifty MiniDrive

    The Nifty MiniDrive makes use of the MacBook’s SD card slot to add to additional storage space.

    Price: From $35.

    Photo by: Nifty

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • Twelve South PlugBug

    Twelve South PlugBug

    The Twelve South PlugBug solves this problem by combining the MacBook Pro charger with a 2.1A USB charger. The output of the USB charger is powerful enough to charge an iPad, which means having to carry one less wall wart.

    Price: $34.99.

    Photo by: Twelve South

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • SKB iSeries 1813-5 waterproof laptop case

    SKB iSeries 1813-5 waterproof laptop case

    The SKBi Series 1813-5 is a hard waterproof laptop case manufactured to Mil-Spec, TSA-approved lockable case can take a notebook up to 17-inches, and has space in the lid and underneath the notebook for stuff.

    Price: $199.99.

    Photo by: SKB

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • SanDisk Flash Drive

    SanDisk Flash Drive

    The SanDisk Flash Drive features a standard USB 3.0 Type-A connector on one side and a USB Type-C connector on the other, making it ideal for the new MacBook featuring a single USB-C port.

    Price: From $50.

    Photo by: SanDisk

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • Apple Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter

    Apple Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter

    Apple's Thunderbolt to gigabit Ethernet adapter is somethiung that comes in handy. I can throw it into a notebook bag and it's there waiting for me when I need it.

    Since I take a lot of photographs, and I back up to a NAS box, I need a fast connection, and this dongle gives me just that.

    Price: $29.

    Photo by: Apple

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • Western Digital My Passport Pro drive

    Western Digital My Passport Pro drive

    The 2TB My Passport Pro houses two drives for added data security. Using the supplied software you can configure these drives as RAID 0 or RAID 1 (depending on whether you want speed or data duplication) or you can set them to appear as separate drives.

    Price: $299.

    Photo by: Western Digital

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • Apple AirPort Time Capsule

    Apple AirPort Time Capsule

    The Apple's Time Capsule isn't cheap, but it does make backing up Macs a breeze, and because of this it is well worth the money.

    Price: $299 for 2TB, $399 for 3TB.

    Photo by: Apple

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • G-Form MacBook sleeve

    G-Form MacBook sleeve

    The G-Form Extreme Sleeve is constructed from RPT – Reactive Protection Technology, a composite blend of PORON XRD material and proprietary G-Form materials and technology – and is designed specifically for laptop users on the go.

    Price: $79.99.

    Photo by: G-Form

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • Apple USB Superdrive

    Apple USB Superdrive

    Despite Apple's belief that optical discs are dead, some of us still need to use them.

    The Apple's USB Superdrive is no bigger than a CD case, and that means that it is ultra-portable, and only needs a single USB cable for both data transfer and power means I don't end up with a huge kludge of wiring.

    Price: $79.

    Photo by: Apple

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • Western Digital My Passport Ultra

    Western Digital My Passport Ultra

    The Western Digital MyPassport Ultra is a portable drive that you can slip into your pocket, and yet it features 256-bit hardware encryption and integrated local and a cloud backup solution that allows you to make use of your Dropbox account for create a separate backup.

    Price: 1TB for around $80/2TB for $120.

    Photo by: Western Digital

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • OWC ThunderBay 4 RAID 5 edition

    OWC ThunderBay 4 RAID 5 edition

    The first and only software RAID 5 technology developed for the Mac with the ThunderBay 4 RAID 5 Edition. Featuring dual Thunderbolt 2 connectivity and offering up to 35 percent faster RAID 5 performance and exponentially faster rebuild times than comparable hardware based RAID arrays.

    Storage options from 4TB to 24TB.

    This is what I now use as my main backup system.

    Price: From $818.

    Photo by: OWC

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • NewerTech miniStack MAX

    NewerTech miniStack MAX

    The NewerTech miniStack MAX puts the diverse functionality of a high-capacity hard drive, Blu-ray/CD/DVD optical drive, SD card reader and USB powered hub into a single elegant aluminum finish enclosure.

    Storage options from 0TB (add your own drive) to 6TB.

    I find this handy when using my MacBook Pro at my desk.

    Price: From $159.

    Photo by: OWC

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

  • IOGEAR MediaShair WirelessMedia hub

    IOGEAR MediaShair WirelessMedia hub

    Take a look at is the IOGEAR MediaShairWirelessMedia hub. This device brings a whole raft of features to the table. Not only can you plug an SD card (SD up to 2GB, SDHC up to 32GB, and SDXC up to 2TB), USB flash drive, or even a portable USB hard drive into the MediaShair hub and the built-in Wi-Fi can share the content with up to seven laptops, iOS or Android devices, it has a built-in battery that can be used to recharge your portable devices.

    The device also supports pass-through, so you connect the hub to the internet-facing Wi-Fi connection, and then connect the devices to the hub to allow them to have web access. This way you have access to both the internet and your data.

    On top of that, if you're in a hotel that only has Ethernet connection, you can connect the MediaShair hub to the wired connection and share the connection wirelessly.

    Photo by: IOGEAR

    Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

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Here's my list of must-have accessories for Apple's line of notebooks. Many of these are products that I rely on daily to get my work done, and have been field tested for durability and reliability.

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Introduction

Here's my list of must-have accessories for this popular mobile notebook.

Most of these are products that I rely on daily to get my work done, and have been field tested for durability and reliability.

Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

1 of 24

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