Everything Apple (the Mac heads thread)

16" intel with eGPU obvs. Scaredycat.

PS what monitor am I getting if not that EVE spectrum pyramid scheme you duped me into.

PPSAnd also what eGPU am I getting?

PPPS - let me know if you want me to order you something without the VAT.

I don't need a massive 16inch laptop! Thats a bloody sail...

clamshell + monitor + egpu. You'd never know it was there.

Until I have to carry it in a rucksack on my bike 8 miles across London..

You'll have an M2 by the time you need to go to an office m9

Thinking of getting Airpods or Airpods Pro for my gf for christmas.

They're to replace a standard set of earbuds that came with her iphone. Mainly just for a bit of music out and about, the odd phone call, etc.

I'm guessing the standard Airpods would be fine, are the pro that much better?

Are there likely to be Black Friday deals on these?

If AirPods are anything like the regular cabled headphones the pros are worth every extra penny. They’re not super good audio-wise, but as wireless headphones they’re fantastic

The pro are so much better. They're also about to refresh the normal ones so i'd avoid those for now...

I saw Black Friday deals for air pod pros as low as $160 in US so might be worth getting gen 1 at such low prices. I think my AirPod pros are fantastic, I have shure 535’s which have amazing audio quality and the pros really aren’t that far off IMO, the ease of use and portability puts them well above the shures as my goto headphones though.

I saw Black Friday deals for air pod pros as low as $160 in US so might be worth getting gen 1 at such low prices.

To be clear, they're refreshing the normal airpods, not the pro so any deal on the pro is worth picking up.

Yes, that worked, thanks. I don’t know why I got it into my head that it would be more complicated than that.

Cheers. Looks like they're somewhat erratic when used for USB C to USB C so think I may hold off.

Yeah, I just have them on the power line.

Cheers all, what's the convenience of putting in the pros in compared to the normal. Do you need to squish down the tip like a foam tip or can you just stick them in? How tunable is the noise cancelling, with the Sony's I have I'm not particularly keen in walking around with the noise cancelling on as you feel disconnected from what's going on around you?

@Soul any idea whether the refresh will be happening before Christmas?

It's a silicone tip, no need to squish.

For noise cancellation, it has 3 modes, just one being ANC (not tunable in any sense)

• Off (nothing, just an earplug connected to a mini speaker in your ear)
  
• Transparency (will replay any external sound including noise, an open sound experience)
  
• Noise cancellation (active noise cancellation)
  
  

Noise cancellation automatically gets disabled if/when you take out one side. Modes are selectable either by squishing the stem (it'll cycle through the last two I listed above by default) or in your iOS/Mac device under options.

Edit: I think the Airpods (non-pro) refresh is due spring (or first half of) 2021.

pros have noice cancelling, are smaller, have tips to fit different ears, sweat proof (wear mine running) - all are meaningful upgrades on the old ones for me.
NC isn't tuneable afaik but it's so easy to switch it on and off.
Just stick them in.
I've worn mine everyday for 3-8 hrs per day for a year

Macrumors says early 2021. Nothing coming this year.

AirPods Pro really are worth the extra ££ though.

+1 for the Airpod Pros. Have some Bose QC35s that have barely seen the light of day since.
Not that the Airpods sound better, but they're very good and so much more convenient for commuting, work calls, running.

Can somebody who uses Big Sur and Zoom comment on whether it's working reliably?
Tried it wit h one of the last beta versions a while ago and it was not good..

Cheers all, I'll keep an eye out on prices.

Forum recommended USB-C hub for MacBooks?
I'm going to pickup the new Air anytime this week when it's available. I'll most likely need power passthrough for charging, HDMI, SD card reader and one or two USB-A. Everything on top is a bonus. Maybe another USB-C would be cool.

I have a 2018 15" i7 and its pretty decent, stepped up from a 2010 13" that I had ragged to death for 10 years.

I have a henge dock which has everything you would need the only thing that I never realised is that it doesn't work without power into it but has all the ports I need to plug various stuff in

Satechi all day.

Excellent quality and warranty. Much more expensive than the zillion knockoffs that flood Amazon, but definitely worth it.

This one has best bang for buck: https://satechi.net/products/slim-multi-port-adapter-with-ethernet?variant=32219893891160

Thanks all but I forgot to mention I'm looking for one in the range of £30. $70 for a hub seems a bit rough for me

I picked up one of these which is in that price range - https://www.charjenpro.com. Haven't had it long but it seems to be OK so far.