Get ready to go back to school with these great accessories for MacBook
- jul
- 27
It's getting close to the back-to-school season when students will be out buying the supplies that will carry them through the next year in their education. For MacBook users, there are several great accessories you should think about picking up to enhance your Mac experience, from a great backpack for carrying your computer around to a great portable drive.
Keep it cool
JanSport Cool Student Backpack
Staff Favorite
This backpack has enough space to accommodate any MacBook or MacBook Pro, as well as books, pencils, pens, and other school supplies. Features four exterior pockets for various necessities like a portable hard drive or SSD, and is available in several excellent colors.
Budget AirPlay
Fabriq Portable Wireless Speaker
This tiny speaker supports both Bluetooth and AirPlay, and won't take up a lot of in cramped dorms, nor money out of your wallet. Covered in fabric with three eye-catching patterns, the Fabriq speaker features an active battery life of around five hours.
Keep it closed
Twelve South BookArc vertical stand
If you like to use your MacBook with an external monitor, this Twelve South stand is an excellent choice. It stylishly keeps your MacBook from taking up a lot of precious desk space and comes in either silver or space gray.
$48 at Amazon$60 at Twelve South
Stand it up
Bestand Aluminum Cooling Stand
For those that use your laptop without an external monitor, but want to elevate it and get a little extra cooling, check out Bestand's aluminum cooling stand. Elevating your MacBook at an angle, this stand offers a little extra help keeping your computer cool, and is great for use with external accessories like keyboards and mice.
Bigger and better
Matias Bluetooth Wireless Aluminum Keyboard
If you need extended functionality in your keyboard, check out This slim Matias offering. Available in gold, silver, and space gray, this keyboard features a full range of keys, including a number pad, and can pair up to four devices, letting you switch between them with a button press.
$95 at Amazon$123 at Walmart$95 at B&H
Store everything
LaCie Rugged USB-C external hard drive
LaCie is known for its excellent hard drives, and this one, rugged and with options ranging from 1TB to 5TB of storage, is a fine example of why. With USB-C for fast transfers, this is a perfect drive for your movie and TV show collection, and you should need another one for quite a while.
$85 at Apple$82 at Amazon$77 at Newegg
Portable monitor
ASUS ZenScreen monitor
In a small dorm space, this portable monitor from ASUS is a great external option, particularly if you have a 12-inch MacBook or 13-inch MacBook Pro. At 15.6 inches, this monitor provides excellent color and enough space for your work and connects to your MacBook through a single USB-C cable.
$259 at Amazon$200 at Best Buy$259 at B&H
Less portable, more workspace
HP Envy 27
If you've got enough space in your dorm, this 27-inch 4K monitor is great for spreading your work out. It can connect over USB-C, and features great colors and quick response time. It's also an anti-glare panel, so you can work without worrying about the sun causing problems.
Peace and quiet
Beats Studio3
Need some peace and quiet, or want to listen to music without disturbing the neighbors? These Beats noise-canceling headphones are a great pick. The use Apple's W1 wireless chip for easy pairing to all of your Apple devices, and can quickly switch between them, so you can listen to music on your Mac in the dorm, then quickly switch to your iPhone as you head to class.
Our recommendations
For a college student, a lot can center around the bag you carry. Between your MacBook, books, and other supplies, you want something that can fit everything you need. The JanSport Cool Student Backpack has enough space for your MacBook and most other things you'll need at school on a day-to-day basis.
The next thing I'd get is an external drive, whether you want it for backups or storing your movie collection. While it can be a little pricey compared to a hard drive, the LaCie external hard drive is small and incredibly fast, a great choice whether you're throwing it in your backpack or using it in your dorm.