The USB-C connector serves many duties. On Apple’s laptops, all USB-C ports are Thunderbolt 3 ports (except on the 12-inch MacBook) which enables insanely-fast bandwidth and throughput, with the ability to drive multiple displays and a whole plethora of connectivity off a single port. The iPad Pro does not have Thunderbolt. It has a USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 port. This means it can drive a maximum of 10 gigabits per second, which makes it possible for the iPad to drive a 5K monitor at 60 frames per second. However, there is a catch. In fact, there are little asterisks and gotchas to be aware of for almost anything relating to the iPad Pro’s new USB-C.
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Let’s break it down. Connect external displays The new iPad Pro can connect directly to USB-C displays, that communicate over the DisplayPort standard.
You can plug a USB-C cable into the iPad on one end and an external monitor with a USB-C port on the other, like the. The iPad supports HDR10 output, so it can take full advantage of high-dynamic range displays where available, like the. The iPad will mirror the screen, and some apps take special advantage of the additional screen output. For example, Keynote will show the live presentation on the external display and speaker’s notes on the iPad. You could connect to a TV to show your Netflix movies on the big screen, for instance. Just be aware that it is not as flexible as when you connect a second display to a Mac. What’s a little annoying is you cannot use the USB-C cable that comes in the box with the iPad.
You need a USB-cable that supports ‘high-bandwidth’ connections. This includes the USB-C cable that will have come with the display. If you don’t have.
A cable handy, confusingly, Apple will suggest buying a Thunderbolt 3 cable from the Apple Store to do this. Even though the iPad does not support Thunderbolt, the cables are backwards compatible with the high-bandwidth USB-C. The iPad can output to 5K displays. However, the that Apple sells is not compatible.
It has a USB-C connector but it is a Thunderbolt 3 display. The iPad does not support Thunderbolt. 5K USB-C displays are really scarce at the moment and we don’t have any good recommendations just yet. If you want to connect to a display that does not have a USB-C port, like HDMI, you will need to use some kind of dongle or adapter.
The iPad Pro can use an adapter to output using the HDMI 2.0 spec, which supports a max resolution of 4K at 60Hz, and can theoretically output HDR10 and Dolby Vision with compatible adapters (although none seem to be available yet). The Apple dongle for HDMI is the. This plugs into the iPad Pro USB-C port and adds a HDMI out, a passthrough USB-C port for power, and a standard USB-A port.
The Apple adapter outputs 4K at 30Hz. You can even get if you need to connect to old-school projectors or similar. Charging other devices The USB-C port on the iPad Pro can power connected devices up to 7.5 W charging speeds. If you have a, you can plug in your iPhone and charge your iPhone with your iPad. If you have two new iPad Pros, you can use the included USB-C to USB-C cable to connect them together and charge the other.
One iPad will take power from the other at a time. Third party USB accessories can also receive up to 7.5 W of power, just plug them in. If you have a USB-A accessory, you can buy a. Apple recently released a, so you can even charge your Apple Watch on the go, no intermediary dongles, just sipping your iPad’s beefy battery. Import photos and videos from external storage The iPad does not support generic external storage. You cannot plug in a USB-C flash drive and see the files in the Files app.
This is an operating system limitation that many expect Apple will address in a future software update, but it is not possible today. However, you can use the Photos app to import photos and videos from USB storage. If you happen to have a bunch of photos on a USB hard drive, you can connect it to the iPad and use the Import tab in the Photos app to suck in photos and videos. This also works with cameras.
Many cameras feature USB-C or mini-USB ports. As long as you have the appropriate adapter or cable, like this, you can shoot with your camera and immediately connect it to the iPad to import the files and see your photos on the big screen. The same is true for SD card import. Apple now offers its.
![Accesories For Usb Mac Pro Accesories For Usb Mac Pro](/uploads/1/2/5/3/125360905/107667969.jpg)
Plug it into the iPad Pro and insert an SD card and it will enable photos and video import. It even supports fast transfers with UHS-II cards. As USB is an open standard, you can find if Apple’s official offerings are too pricey. Connect hardware keyboards and wired internet The iPad has drivers for many basic types of USB accessories. IOS doesn’t let you install additional drivers but it has support for a surprising number of basic external devices that you would plug-and-play with a computer. For example, hardware keyboards will just work. If you have a USB-A keyboard, you can use a USB-C adapter and plug it in and the iPad should detect it and you can type away to your heart’s content.
Of course, Apple would prefer you to use Bluetooth keyboards or the. Another thing the iPad supports is Ethernet, so your iPad can actually use wired networking if you can’t use WiFi. You can get a and hardwire gigabit Ethernet to your iPad Pro. The iOS Settings screen will magically show a new section for Ethernet, when it is detected. Connect to speakers, microphones or audio MIDI devices The iPad does not have a headphone jack.
You can use the $9 to plug into wired headphones or speakers. If you have USB-C headphones, they will plug in directly and just work. You can also connect audio devices like MIDI keyboards, or microphones, using USB.
In some cases, the 7.5 watts the iPad outputs over the port will be enough to power smaller accessories, so all you need is a USB-C cable. Accessories that need more power will work as long as the USB bus has sufficient power draw. Use apps like GarageBand to communicate with MIDI accessories. One way to achieve this is to use the. Ignore the HDMI output, connect power to the passthrough USB-C port on the adapter and plug the accessory into the standard USB port. The accessory will then draw power through the USB-C charging.
Connect multi-port hubs As the finale, the USB-C bandwidth is high enough that you can drive multiple accessories at a time through the single port. You can mix-and-match all of the above — photos import, displays, microphones, etc — at the same time. You just need an appropriate hub and there are loads to choose from on the market. Here’s a that offers SD card reader, a micro-SD card reader and 3 USB-A ports. As always, how much you can connect at once is limited by the available power throughput. The is essentially a hub in itself, offering HDMI, power input, and a spare USB-A port for accessory connectivity. Much of this was possible with previous iPads, but would always necessitate the use of adapters.
Dropping Lightning for USB-C opens up the iPad to a whole world of peripherals that can be connected directly. The extra bandwidth of USB-C also enables some things you simply couldn’t before.
You can now connect up to a 4K display and a camera at the same time, or a single 5K display at 60Hz refresh rate. 7.5 watt charging out is also brand new.
As much as you would like to believe that the MacBook Pro alone is the best machines for professionals, you have to accept that it certainly comes with some hardware compromises that don’t allow you to use the machine at its full potential. An obvious thing that comes to mind is the lack of ports that seriously limits the usage of MacBook Pro and makes it less of a professional machine than it has the potential to be.
In this article, we are going to discuss those accessories which not only allow you to overcome the hardware shortcomings of the MacBook Pro but even enhances its capabilities to let you do more with your machine. So, if you are interested in giving more power to your machine, here are the 12 best MacBook Pro and MacBook Air 2018 Accessories you can buy to use it like a professional and become more productive: Update: This article was initially drafted for the MacBook Pro, however, since the release of new MacBook Air 2018, it’s been updated to include accessories for it too. 10 Best MacBook Pro and MacBook Air Accessories I should make this clear that I haven’t used all of the accessories that I am mentioning on the list.
That said, I am using some of them and some of them have been on my wishlist for a long time. Every product that you see on this list has been thoroughly researched and has only made the list because the product is useful and has received great reviews from their buyers: 1. Verbatim Aluminium Thunderbolt 3 Hub Adapter The biggest problem with the MacBook Pro and the new MacBook Air 2018 is because of Apple’s new obsession to make everything slimmer and slimmer. While a slim laptop is good for portability, the slimness comes at a huge cost. With the new MacBook Pros and MacBook Air 2018 Apple has mercilessly killed all the ports in favor of universal USB-C ports.
While I do agree that USB-C is the future, we still need the regular ports to connect our SD Cards, our pen drives, and even our iPhones. That’s where Verbatim’s USB-C hub adapter comes into play.
While Apple makes their own USB-C hubs, they are ugly and still cost a fortune. On the contrary, the hub from Verbatim looks sleek with the aluminum finish that compliments the MacBook Pro. It also adds a ton of ports including two USB-Cs, 2 USB-As, a mini SD Card port and a full-size SD Card port. Buy From Amazon: ( ) 2. Leonis MagSafe Magnetic Charger Adapter Along with killing all the ports on the newer MacBook Pros and the MacBook Air 2018, Apple also decided to kill the consumer favorite MagSafe charging port which might have saved thousands of MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs from being shattered into pieces. If you are one of the disgruntled consumers who hated the killing of the MagSafe charging port, there is a way you can bring it back.
Leonis MagSafe magnetic charger adapter does that by breaking the charging cable into two parts. One with the USB-C goes directly inside your MacBook Pro and remains there, while its other end supports the same MagSafe technology which pulls off the charging cable if you trip on it. Buy From Amazon: ( ) 3. Tomtoc 360° Protective Laptop Sleeve for MacBook Pro Next on our list is a protective sleeve for you costly MacBook Pro.
We all know that Apple doesn’t give you an accidental warranty, even if you are ready to pay for it. That’s why a good protective sleeve is needed to keep your MacBook Pro safe. While there are a lot of sleeves for MacBook Pro on Amazon, my favorite is the one from Tomtoc. The sleeve is thick and has enough cushion in inside that it will easily protect your MacBook Pro in case you drop it. The sleeve also comes with strengthened corners which provide extra protection.
To top it all of, the sleeve is also spill resistant. Buy From Amazon: ( ) 4. MOSISO Water Repellent Laptop Sleeve for MacBook Air 2018 If you are looking for a protective sleeve for your brand new MacBook Air 2018, this water repellent laptop sleeve is great. Not only it will snuggly fit your new MacBook Air 2018 and keep it safe, but it will hold your iPad and iPhone too.
You will also be able to easily carry the various dongles that you will need to buy if you want to take the full advantage of those USB-C ports on the MacBook Air. Despite being fairly cheap, the sleeve is quite well-built and offers a three layer design. The outermost layer is made with spilled resistant polyester material which can easily repel a splash of water while the middle layer is a shock-proof sponge which is great for absorbing shocks if in case you drop it. Finally, there’s a soft internal foam coating which not only improves drop protection but also ensures that the MacBook Air doesn’t get scratches of scuffs. Buy From Amazon: 5. Mophie USB-C XXL BLK Powerstation While I have hated on Apple for removing all the ports and killing the MagSafe charging technology, the inclusion of USB-C does come with a lot of advantages.
One of those advantages is that USB-C allows your laptop to be charged with an external power bank, allowing you to extend the battery life of your MacBook Pro beyond its capacity. While there are which can let you do that, the one that I trust is from Mophie. The Mophie USB-C XXL BLK Powerstation has a capacity of 19500 mAh and gives your MacBook Pro and MacBook Air an additional 12-16 hours of battery life. This is a must-have companion if you travel a lot and need to keep your MacBook juiced up without having to find a wall plug.
But it’s not just hours that it packs but it’s the way it delivers the powers that I recommend this product over others. The Mophie Powerstation delivers power with 30W fast charge allowing you to charge your MacBook Pro and MacBook Air 2018 with the same speed as you would with a wall adapter and power source. Buy From Amazon: ( ) 6. Logitech MX Anywhere 2S While the MacBooks are known for their best in class trackpads, if you are working for long hours on your machine, using a mouse will greatly increase your productivity. I know there are be skeptics out there but trust me on this, you can be way more productive with a mouse than just your MacBook’s trackpad.
While Apple makes its own, I prefer Logitech MX Anywhere 2S over it for a simple enough reason which is that it’s a better product. The MX Anywhere 2S is the perfect combination of price and performance.
The mouse can track on any surface and has a battery life of over 50 days (on a single charge). But that’s not all, it’s not just the hardware that you are paying for with MX Anywhere 2S, it’s the software that comes with it. T he mouse has customizable buttons which can be mapped to any function depending on the app you are using. For example, you can use the buttons to go back and forward a page while you are or you can map them to perform copy and paste functions when you are in a.
I understand that the MX Anywhere 2S is a costly mouse, but the price is certainly justified when you consider all the functions that the mouse brings. That said, if you are looking for a cheap Bluetooth mouse, is the one I would recommend. Buy From Amazon: ( ) 7. Sandisk Ultra 64GB Dual Drive USB Type-C While Apple has taken the route of USB-C, it’s a fact that most of the other computers including the older MacBook Pros still come with traditional USB-A ports. Now, if you need to transfer files back and forth between the two computers or share your files with your co-workers, the Sandisk Ultra 64GB Dual Drive will certainly come in real handy. The pen drive has both the USB-C and USB-A connectors allowing you to easily transfer files between devices without any problem. I am mentioning the 64GB version here because for me that’s the optimum storage that you need in a pen drive but Sandisk also provides this pen drive in 16, 32, 128, and 256GB option, so you can choose the storage depending on your requirement.
Buy From Amazon: ( ) 8. Samsung T5 SSDs I love the fact that Apple includes fast SSDs in their Macs.
The faster SSD not only helps in faster file transfer speeds but also ensures faster app launches. But, one problem with Apple is that it charges a premium for any storage upgrade so most people end up buying either 128 and 256GB storage options. But sooner or later, they realize that the storage is not enough and they find themselves looking for an external storage option.
That’s where Samsung T5 SSDs come into play. Not only they are a way to increase your Mac’s storage but they also bring exceptional read and write speed that can match the speeds of native SSDs in your Mac. When you are using a Samsung T5 SSD, you won’t feel that you are using an external hard-drive that’s how fast they are. The SSDs are also very compact and very easy to carry around.
They also come with the USB-C connection so they are a perfect storage companion for your Mac. Samsung T5 SSDs does come with a premium price tag, starting at $169.99 for 500GB of storage. But still, they are cheaper than Apple upgrades and do not bring any noticeable difference in performance. Buy From Amazon: ( ) 9. Twelve South ParcSlope for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air 2018 If you spend long hours on your MacBook Pro or Air, buying a stand is a good investment, if you want to cause the minimum amount of strain to your body. The use of stand helps in lowering the strain on your neck and hands. This is not only beneficial in the long-term, but it is also good for productivity as you can work longer without feeling exhausted.
My favorite stand is the one from a company called Twelve South. That stand elevates your laptop to just the height which is best for typing and also reduces the strain on your neck.
The stand also comes in both space gray and silver color which perfectly matches the color of your MacBook Pros and MacBook Air. Buy From Amazon: ( ) 10. Metrans Lighting to USB-C Cable If you own both an iPhone and a Mac, this one is a no-brainer. Carrying a USB-C to lightning cable allows you to connect your iPhone to your MacBook Pro / MacBook Air 2018 without needing any dongles or docks. If you own any of the latest generation of iPhones, the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X, you get an added advantage of carrying one less charging brick.
Yes, you can use your MacBook Pros charger to charge your iPhone. However, do remember to use the MacBook Pro’s adapter to charge only the latest generation of iPhones as these are the only ones which support fast charging.
While Apple is happy to sell you, I would recommend the one from Metrans as not only it’s cheap, it’s also a breaded cable so there is less chance of it breaking apart. Buy From Amazon: ( ) 11. Blockhead Side-Facing Plug for Apple Adapters Although Apple is renowned for its design, once in a while the company does mess up.
Whether it was the Apple’s battery pack or the charging port in its Magic Mouse or the new MacBook Pro chargers, they all show a lack of foresight. Now, I am not here to berate Apple for its design choices, but I am a consumer who hates plugging his MacBook Pro charger in a wall plug as it sticks out like a sore thumb, and is also a potential break hazard. That’s why I bought Blockhead’s side-facing plug for MacBook Pro’s adapter. If a picture speaks a thousand words, the picture below neatly showcases why its necessary to buy this accessory. Buy From Amazon: ( ) 12. Whoosh Screen Cleaner I can tell you from personal experience of using the new MacBook Pro is that it’s screen will get dirty pretty quickly.
Both the new MacBook Pros and the MacBook Air 2018 are so thin that the display is practically touching the keyboard. In fact, my personal MacBook Pro’s display has acquired individual key-shape markings which can be seen when the device is sleeping. If you don’t want to happen with your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air 2018, you should make it a habit to clean it at least bi-weekly. To help you clean your MacBook’s screen without causing any external damage to it, I will suggest that you buy the Whoosh screen cleaner which is a non-toxic screen cleaner spray that cleans and polishes. The liquid is completely odorless and is free of alcohol and ammonia. While you are cleaning your screen, make sure to use a clean micro-fibre cloth so you don’t scratch the display in the process.
While Whoosh packs in a single micro-fibre cloth, I suggest that you buy a bundle from Amazon. Buy From Amazon: Bonus: ToastMade Covers for MacBook Pros I am generally against putting any skin or case on my laptop. However, when I found out about the wood covers from ToastMade, I was intrigued, to say the least. If you have never heard of the company before, they are a US-based company who make real wood and leather covers for MacBooks, iPhones, and other popular gadgets. I was really impressed by their wood covers so I decided to order them for both my and MacBook Pro. Having used it for well over a few weeks now, I can wholeheartedly recommend their products here. While the covers are not cheap by any standard, they deserve every cent you spend on them.
One thing that I love about ToastMade covers is that you can get a custom design engraved on it. While I went with no custom design on my MacBook Pro, I did get it customized for my iPhone X, as you can see in the picture above. If you have used skins or covers in the past, one other thing you will appreciate is that the ToastMade covers do not require any heating prior to installation. You just peel off the covers and stick it on your product. I really love these covers and highly recommend that you check them out. Finally, I just wanted to point out that I am in no way receiving an affiliate income from ToastMade. I just loved their products and wanted to share with our readers.
Note: The first picture showing an iPhone X on top of Mac is mine. The rest has been taken from ToastMade’s website to illustrate the diversity of their products. Read More: Best MacBook Pro and MacBook Air 2018 Accessories to Ease Your Life and Get Things Done I hope that these accessories can help you get the most out of your Mac.
If you are already using a Mac accessory which you find really useful but is not on the list, be sure to drop it down in the comments section below. Also, If you like this article, make sure to hit that like button.
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