Top products from r/AppleWhatShouldIBuy

Ok. Here we go! It’s impossible to tell you what the best of everything is, since the best for me, isn’t necessarily the best for you. So here’s my setup, and reasons why.

My iPhone XS is protected by one of two cases.

1. Spigen Ultra Hybrid Space Crystal I like this case because it shows off the phone. I use this case as my daily driver. Reason I like it is because it doesn’t yellow over time and is nice and grippy on the sides.
   
2. RhinoShield SolidSuit, Classic Black This case I use for when my phone could potentially get damaged or knocked around. I work Security, so this is the case I use at work. It’s slim but provides great drop protection. It can also accept camera lens attachments.
   
   I use the Spigen Full Coverage Tempered Glass screen protector . It’s the least intrusive screen protector I have used. I love it. Combined with a case, it’s virtually invisible and it covers the entire screen without negative affects on Face ID or screen clarity. They are also cheap.
   
   I have a Apple Watch Series 4 Nike+ and it’s protected by a RhinoShield CrashGuard NX. This is the only case I’ve found that fits, and doesn’t wear or tear like some of the other TPU cases out there. It’s saved my watch many times from hits and scuffs.
   
   I’ve searched long and hard for a screen protector for my Watch I like, and ill be honest, I haven’t found a single one that doesn’t peel, and if it doesn’t (like glass) it will crack or chip. Many non-glass screen protectors distort the hell out of the display. In other words, screen protectors for the watch just aren’t worth it.
   
   In the car, I use Anker PowerLine II USB to Lightning Cables. These cables are bulletproof. They have always maintained a great connection for me, they are braided and have been super durable when shoving them into small spaces like behind headliners, plastic trim etc in the car. The PowerLine v1 has a rubber coating instead of a braided line if you want a more subtle look.
   
   For charging, beside my bed I have the Bestand 3 in 1 Qi Charger.
   It charges my watch, AirPods and iPhone. It does require a multi USB port charger to power everything, so I use an Anker 40W, 5 port USB charger. This is perfect because I just have another long Anker PowerLine II cable going to the other side for my wife (she only has an iPhone).
   
   I also carry a genuine Apple USB-C to Lightning cable and a Anker USB C Power Delivery 30W charger in my “Go Bag” just in case I need to quick charge my iPhone on the go.
   
   I hope this helps!

Refurbs are in a very good shape - Apple repairs and double-chekcs them itself so they are almost like brand new. First of all, if you want your laptop to last 5+ years, invest into 16GB of RAM.

Also, the 2015 model doesn't have an USB-C port which also will be a big thing in the future. It's not like the legacy ports will disappear but the all-in-one concept of USB-C and strong pro-USBC policy of Apple will eventually put USB-C on top of I/O and will force manufacturers to focus on USB-C peripherals.

Also, you don't need a "plethora of dongles" to bridge the gap for now. You need:

https://www.owcdigital.com/products/usb-c-dock

or

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hyperdrive-thunderbolt-3-usb-c-hub-for-macbook-pro#/

Also, you can get another smaller USB-C hub if you needed to plug in things on the go, such as:

http://www.satechi.net/index.php/type-c-usb-hub-gunmetal

And there are plenty of USB-C + USB-A flash drives if you need that for school as well:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingston-DataTraveler-Micro-Flash-Drive/dp/B010HWCFDA

And when it comes to 2017 vs. 2015 - better screen, better and more power efficient processor, better graphics card (in both 13" and 15") faster SSD, bigger trackpad (you may or may not find it better), different keyboard (you may or may not find it better - I personally do like the 2017 one more), better speakers, lighter, smaller, no glowing Apple logo on the back, no MagSafe.

Honestly, the only thing that the 2015 model has going for it is the presence of legacy ports (which, as you can see, can be easily fixed with a single dongle on the 2017) and, for some, keyboard. I'd go for the newer model and I'd also save up a bit and upgraded to 16GB RAM. It's not necessary, but it will be a nice thing to have especially in the future.

I have a couple of Western Digital My Passport drives that I use for movies and such. I would recommend buying one exclusively for Time Machine and using that to back up. Then buy one for your other random stuff. Time Machine doesn't like sharing drives, although you can if you partition it. But the drives are so inexpensive that it's easier to just buy one exclusive drive for it. Mine are 2TB and cost around $80-90:

WD 2TB Black My Passport for Mac Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBCGL0020BSL-NESN https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WJOVCOS/

WD 2TB Black My Passport for Mac Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBP6A0020BBK-WESN https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LQQH8E2/

Those are preformatted for macOS. You can buy the regular one too, but at least for Time Machine you would want to reformat it if you did that. If you are sharing between a Mac and PC, you would want the non Mac version:

WD 2TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBU6Y0020BBK-WESN https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D0L5BH8/

WD 2TB Black USB 3.0 My Passport Portable External Hard Drive (WDBYFT0020BBK-WESN) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LQQHF2W/


You will also need USB-C to USB Micro-B adapters for them. I have these and they work great:

CableCreation USB 3.1 Type C (USB-C) to USB 3.0 Micro-B Cable, Micro USB 3.1 USB-C for Apple The Macbook, Chromebook Pixel and More, 1ft/0.3M in Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012V56992/

2015 13" MacBook Pro.

Plenty powerful for day to day, nice screen, decent battery life, 3-4 years of life in it even as a base model.

One thing to know - refurbished models from Apple are like new. Think you can get it for $1,100. Yep - http://www.apple.com/shop/product/FF839/refurbished-133-inch-macbook-pro-27ghz-dual-core-intel-i5-with-retina-display

One thing to note - they only have 128 GB of storage. But there are several add ons out there that sit in the SD card slot and add storage to your computer. https://www.amazon.com/Transcend-JetDrive-Storage-Expansion-TS128GJDL330/dp/B00MTHLURE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484262147&sr=8-2&keywords=Transcend+jetdrive+lite

You really can't go wrong with any of them - but this model is a good "starter" Mac that gets a lot of people to join the dark, I mean, good side. Even if you got that model used from eBay or even Gazelle or Swappa I'd still recommend this model.

I bought my sister one of these hubs last year for her 12" MacBook. It has power, USB A, and HDMI. No issues at all so far. I did a review of it here.

I have a few of their other products as well that I use with my Nexus 6P, and all of them haven't been an issue. This includes their braided USB A to C cables that i really like and their USB C male to female USB A adapters. All three of these feel high quality and made with aluminium.

Besides that, Anker had an issue with only one of their cables, and they were pretty quick and good about recalling it, so I would still trust their cables, which are generally pretty good quality. I also use monoprice cables and they are great. Cable Matters has a braided Male Micro USB to Male USB C cable that I personally don't own, but I've seen recommend on Reddit several times.

I haven't ever used Thunderbolt 3, so i don't have any recommendations for that.

Great purchase! Congrats....
I'd say- w/ those devices, you won't be pressing the throughput limits of your combination Thunderbolt 3/USB 3.1 gen interface whatsoever, so I'd go w/ the cheaper solution, which is a USB C hub w/ 4 USB 3 ports.
Do NOT buy any garbage brand. Here is the best you can get @ a very decent price:
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Devices-Including-ChromeBook-Aluminum/dp/B00XU6IMWY/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1484015396&sr=1-3&keywords=usb+c+hub
Anker is the definitive MFi Apple partner on cabling; they make Apple certified, stellar products.
Note: I use this on mine, & have the EXACT same model as you!! =)

That's perfect. Then this is what I recommend:

1. Max out your RAM. Crucial has an 8 GB RAM set here: http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/macbook-pro-2*5ghz-intel-core-i5-%2813-inch-ddr3%29-mid-2012/CT3301475
   
   
2. Get an SSD to replace your conventional hard drive. You'd mentioned you were looking at 512 GB on a new MacBook Pro, so here's a Samsung SSD at the same capacity: https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-850-PRO-2-5-Inch-MZ-7KE512BW/dp/B00LF10KTO
   
   
3. Install macOS cleanly onto the SSD. El Capitan and above should accept third-party SSDs without too much trouble, though you may have to run some commands in Terminal to turn on SSD Trim (necessary for good and long operation of your SSD). I recommend not just transferring all data back, but just your documents--reinstall applications manually.
   
   
4. (Optional): Get an external drive enclosure for your existing internal laptop hard drive. This will allow you to easily transfer back data: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00LS31KQG/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474460464&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=2.5+inch+hard+drive+enclosure&dpPl=1&dpID=41JtsWFGS6L&ref=plSrch
   
   Overall this would be about $260 plus shipping, which is a significant savings over the $2000+ you'd pay for a new machine. I think the main things you're encountering with machine sluggishness are 1) a slow laptop hard drive and 2) low RAM capacity, which means your machine relies on swapping between RAM and the disk, which you notice as slowness. The above should help alleviate the issue and put your machine into warp drive.

Crucial 16gb Mac RAM (8gb is only like $12 cheaper)

Samsung 850 EVO 500gb SSD (excellent SSD at a mid-level price)

SanDisk Plus 120gb SSD (cheap SSD that'll work fine)

I hope that helps! I have a 2010 white unibody Macbook that was upgraded to 8gb RAM and a 256gb SSD and it's still very fast at web browsing and basic tasks like that.

I bought this one on amazon and am very happy with it.

For a 13" MBP you need a 11 inch case. Sounds weird, but its a nice fit.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VVLE5CG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Well this does not have a vertical slot but it is cheap and does fit it snugly which you can see verified in the reviews. Only one I've found so far that has been verified to fit with little to no extra room.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P259LFS/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1UVC9S71CDO1B&coliid=I25GZWONM47A5K

With the 12-inch MacBook, I'd get the latest you can. The processor is a little underpowered compared to the rest of the lineup, so a more recent model might mean the machine is usable for longer.

That being said, if you're already looking at the MacBook, then it's probably a good machine for you. You're going to be familiar with the tradeoffs (nothing a good docking station or set of adapters can't mitigate). I'm not going to defend the 11-inch Air; mine is a 13-inch and I love it, but if portability is your primary concern, then you can't get much more portable than the MacBook.

AFAIK it must be usb3 + uasp. Yeah it's kinda hard on finding exact information about this. Anyway mine is this: https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B01FQ49IES/ and with a Samsung 850 EVO I get those max speeds. It is actually faster than what I used it on my busted 13" mid 2010, because that was only sata2 internally so I just had 225MB/s when was internally attached.

I don't think Thunderbolt should be trusted, every couple years connectors change, speed change, new Macs have a different connector etc.. I just stick to usb

I have been using the AUKEY Adapter for 3/4 months now and haven't had any issues, its very simple and just works. https://www.amazon.com/AUKEY-Adapter-2-Pack-MacBook-Samsung/dp/B01AUKU1OO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1503516252&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=USB+A+to+USB+C&psc=1

Enjoy the new Mac!

This one seems to have good reviews,but not specially built for the 2016 one https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-15-15-4-MacBook-Ultrabook-Carrying/dp/B00L2TA27Y%3FSubscriptionId%3DAKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q%26tag%3Dduckduckgo-osx-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB00L2TA27Y

This is the one I've heard good things about https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01J4BO0X8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_KWUSzbG07PYZA

Something like this?

Thanks that looks perfect and I'm thinking of doing the same thing as you, i.e., remove the SSD from my dead MacBook and pop it in the enclosure as a 512GB external disk for a new one.

Amazon UK link for those who do not speak Italian

Why don't you just buy one single dongle?

https://www.amazon.com/Satechi-Aluminum-Multi-Port-Adapter-Charging/dp/B01J4BO0X8/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1482477769&sr=1-2&keywords=satechi+usb+c