What’s in Rene’s Apple Event gear bag

What does our editorial director, Rene Ritchie, carry with him to cover events? Here's the list!

WWDC 2017 starts Monday, June 5, and I'm about to start packing my bags. Right now, all the gear I'm taking with me is all laid out, ready for a final check. The specifics of that gear has grown, shrunk, and changed over the years. Sometimes I lug a DSLR and lenses as big as a thermos. Other times I try to go iPhone-only. So, what's in the bag this time? And, hey, what's the bag?

• Tumi Alpha Bravo Knox Backpack: Kevin Michaluk recommended this bag to me and I love almost everything about it. It's stylish and small, but holds a ton of gear.
• Travelpro Platinum Magna 2 22-inch: I travel light and try to stick to carry-on. A lot of suitcase recommendations I've gotten have been too big for the airlines I fly. Travelpro has been perfect. I just wish it didn't have the front section so I could have full depth in the main compartment.
• 13-inch MacBook Pro: This is the MacBook Air with Pro power I've always wanted. Sure, the Touch Bar is ok, but Touch ID is great. It's the best MacBook I've ever owned. Can't wait to use it at the show.
• 9.7-inch iPad Pro: The baby pro isn't quite as productive as the biggie pro, but what I want for this trip is something easy to work — and sketch — on anywhere.
• Smart Keyboard: I know my colleagues have been wooed by Logitech but I already have a MacBook Pro with me so this is more about sleekness than clickity-clack-ness for me.
• Apple Pencil: For sketching on iPad Pro on the go. Maybe I'll diagram more this year?
• Apple Pen: Picked this up at the Infinite Loop Apple Store. Sadly, customs forms still require ink.
• iPhone 7 Plus: The closest thing yet to a hand computer. I can run almost everything from this, and for an iPhone event, I'll need to. Also: Thanks to the 2x zoom and Portrait Mode, I can even take real product shots now. Swoon. This year, I'm bringing two of them. I used to carry a smaller iPhone 7 but once I got the (Product) RED, I realized twice that amazing camera and battery life is twice as good.
• Apple Watch Edition Series 2: It's gotten to the point where, if I'm not wearing my Watch, I notice it almost immediately. This year, that means the ceramic edition. It's such a great look. Also bringing two of these, in case the beta is a challenge and I want to keep my regular watch on the release.
• Bose QuietComfort 20 headphones: Yup, they need to be charged and there's a huge dongle on the bottom, but when you flip the switch and the sound of the aircraft engines or din or the coffee shop disappears, you don't care. You just enjoy.
• Apple AirPods: I've been using them since they were first announced and, while I can't use them on the in-flight entertainment system, I can and do use them for everything else.
• Pokémon Go Plus. I'm so close to level 40, but I'll have little time to play at WWDC. But I may have time to click! So, I'm taking the PoGo Plus with me so I can keep racking up the XP while I'm gone.
• mophie Powerstation: Tons of juice, wrapped in rose gold. Because nothing shreds battery life like roaming ... and, yeah, sigh, I may want some west coast Pokémon, dagnabit!

I'm also bringing a bunch of power adapters, port adapters, and cables. There's also a chance I'll add to or change some of this lineup before I jump on the plane. If so, I'll update accordingly.

Either way, the keynote kicks off at 10am PDT/1pm EDT on Monday, June 5, 2017 and we'll be bringing it to you live!

You can follow my travels @reneritchie on Twitter or @reneritchie on Instagram. Or just Snap-up my stories, also @reneritchie.

Interested in more?

You can see everything I'm currently using — for travel, at home, and in the office — at Kit.com.