My Work Office MacBook Pro External Monitor Setup

Homescreens & Office Setups
#1

Hi Guys,

Thought I’d share my Work Office setup with you, I own my own Financial Advisory Business here in Spain, I need some good screen real estate as I am quite often working on client Portfolio’s, writing Reports and watching the world markets all at the same time. My setup really works for me, especially having the IPad Pro sat under my Monitor and having the ability to connect my Keyboard to it, at the touch of a button.

Here’s my gear:

=MacBook Pro-13.3- 2018 i7, 16gb Ram , 512gb SSD**
=Samsung Space Monitor 32-This a great solution for me as the monitor floats and can be adjusted depending on what I am doing
=iPad Pro 11 (4th Gen) 256gb HD, 4g
=Satechi Bluetooth keyboard
=Magic Mouse 2
I also run a little wireless charging dock for my phone alongside it all & a MacBook Stand.

Thanks for looking

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17 Likes
#2

Great, clean set up. One question. I have a similar set up but I am finding that I don’t switch to the iPad often while working at my desk. What kinds of tasks do you switch to the iPad to do instead of doing them on the MBP/external monitor? Just curious. Thanks.

#3

Fantastic. Love the minimalist setup. Must be great for focusing on work.

#4

Hey Buddy, good question. I normally have stock tracker on my iPad, I also use it for replying to iMessages and and WhatsApp etc, that way my work flow doesn’t get interrupted. The Satechi keyboard works amazing well at switching between my workflows. Often I will have some music playing into my AirPods from the IPad, ill switch to move tracks or playlists, I try to think of my iPad as being my personal device and the Monitor is my workflow throughout the day. Hope that helps, sitting it under the monitor gives me another outlet.

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#5

Is there a reason why you use the monitor instead of the MBP’s internal screen?

#6

The screen is simply too small for me to be able to carry out all my tasks properly.

#7

I looked at that monitor a few times, but discounted it on account of the monitor arm not being as extensible as a third-party version.

Am I correct that the monitor can be lowered and raised – and that this brings the monitor slightly more forward (towards the user), but that’s about it? So it cannot pivot/rotate the screen, and one needs to be mindful of being at the correct distance, since its movement is fairly limited?

That all said – love the look of this setup… I must confess to being somewhat envious of those who can manage to keep clutter on their desks to a minimum!

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#8

I feel the same!
(20 characters)

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#9

Yes, but is there a reason why you got a monitor instead of extending the screen with Sidecar and/or something like this?

#10

SIde car only offers a slight extension of your screen. Having a 32 inch monitor changes the game when I am working on multiple items. I can effectively fit 4 workable screens onto a 32inch Monitor, even with sidecar this would be no way near possible. It’s fairly common for people to use external monitors with MBP’s.

#11

I know it’s common. I’ve always wondered why people do it though. was considering an external monitor but decided to go with more portable alternatives, and wanted to know what other people’s rationale was. Thanks for the replies!

#12

Nice setup. Thanks for sharing. I’ll soon be ditching the boat anchor Dell laptop a client required me to use, and am making plans similar to @Shawster85’s for reconfiguring my workspace. I’ve been sharing the Dell, MBP, and iPad on the same monitor – too much to juggle – and plan to simplify a lot.

#13

I would like to go more minimalist as well by moving my laptop to the side (I even have a similar holder) but not having access to Touch ID is annoying.
Using the watch isn’t reliable enough

#14

I love this clean setup and I totally agree with how you’re using the iPad. I just have one question … what app do you use for Whatsapp on the iPad? Thanks for posting - it is a pleasure to look at that for sure :blush::ok_hand:

#15

Hey I love this and particularly like that you’re using 1 keyboard for both devices. How are you doing that, with as you say, the touch of a button? Am using Apple Magic keyboard, iPad Pro 11, MBP13 with Apple’s LG external monitor.

#16

Hey, thanks for the comment. I am using a Satechi Bluetooth keyboard, this has 3 bluetooth hot keys in which can be programmed to 3 devices. I have my MacBook set on 1 and Ipad set on 2, this makes for easy switching and takes a matter of seconds.

Best regards

Chris

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#17

Ah, thanks. I’m on a Magic keyboard. I’m off to figure out if that can be done. Otherwise, maybe it’s time to have a Satechi keyboard… they make great stuff. Stay safe there, best wishes from Australia.

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#18

You might also want to explore Logitech keyboards such as K380 and MX keys for Mac. Both can be connected to 3 devices, K380 is smaller and portable while MX keys is full size keyboard with back light as well.

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#19

Nice setup - what resolution / scaling mode are you running that 32" monitor in?

#20

Resolution wise that’s running in 4k