MacStories Setups: Refining and Simplifying

Federico’s setup (left) is as sleek as mine is chaotic (right).

I always enjoy these MacStories Setup updates because everyone is different, with its own unique themes and trends. Last year, Federico spent a lot of time paring back his gadgets, while I was busy expanding my office setup, driven largely by moving away from a Studio Display. For this setup update, I’d say we’re a little more in sync. Federico was a busier shopper than I was over the past few months, but we both spent time refining and simplifying our setups. Let’s look at where we landed.

At the end of 2025, I treated myself to a new 4K 32” OLED display and mini PC for gaming. The combo is great, and I don’t regret not waiting for the new Studio Display, but it did require a few adjustments.

Here’s a glamor shot of the Elements E5 Hub from CalDigit because in reality, hubs with cables coming out of every side look messy.

The biggest change has been the addition of a CalDigit Elements E5 Hub. My ASUS display has fewer ports than my old Studio Display, so it was time to expand. What I love about the Elements hub is that it’s tiny compared to CalDigit’s docks. That’s because all it has is Thunderbolt 5 and USB-A ports. I didn’t need HDMI, Ethernet, and the rest of what the CalDigit docks offered, so I saved some space and money and filled every port available.

I’ve also been using the Insta360 Wave microphone that an AppStories sponsor sent me to try. It’s marketed for video calls when paired with the Link 2 Pro camera, and you can sign up for an AI transcription service, but I’ve found it’s handy as just an external microphone paired with a transcription app like Wispr Flow. The mic is tuned to capture voices, which is exactly what I needed since my ASUS display doesn’t have a microphone either and it connects via Bluetooth, USB, or a proprietary wireless dongle. That makes it perfect at my desk or as an occasional companion to my laptop.

Speaking of dongles, I have two that are worth mentioning. First, I love my MOTU M4 audio interface because it’s the only one I could find that has an on/off switch. The biggest downside, though, is that its XLR port is on the front, which sticks out too far from the shelf it sits under. As with most things, there’s a dongle for exactly this situation. It’s a right angle adapter that rotates 360 degrees and uses thin enough wire that my mic cable is no longer in my way.

The M4 Pro Mac mini leads a quiet life on top of a backup power supply in a closet.

I also recently picked up a FUERAN 4K 120Hz HDMI Dummy Plug, an item that Federico dropped from his setup a little over a year ago. That’s because I’ve had an M4 Pro Mac mini review unit on loan from Apple for a while, which I’ve tested in a wide variety of scenarios. I can’t overstate how much I love the Mac mini. From the days when I used one on the sly tucked into a folder at my old law job, I’ve relied on the mini to do everything from odd jobs to serve as my main computer.

After diving into Claude Code and Codex over the past few months, I realized that it was time to dedicate the mini to the many projects I’m working on. So now, it sits in a coat closet next to our fiber access point running an array of 23 web services that touch on every aspect of my work, including research, finding deals on Amazon and the TV app, managing 13 social media accounts, and building personalized RSS and podcast feeds. I love the mini and at this point with all the scripting and web development I’ve been doing, I can’t imagine not having it.

Finally, the latest addition to my gaming setup is the Mangmi Pocket Max, a beautiful Android handheld with a mid-tier processor and price tag, and the Genki Convert Dock, which I got as part of a Kickstarter campaign and should be available for sale on Genki’s website soon. The Mangmi Pocket Max is ergonomic and runs all the older Nintendo systems I like most perfectly. It’s also white with orange accents which pair perfectly with its bright 7” OLED display. In contrast, the Convert Dock 3 looks like little more than a charging brick but it replaces a Nintendo Switch 2 dock, saving room on my desk.

Despite those additions to my setup, I’ve cut back the number of accessories I use regularly, which you’ll see in the changelog. I also have fewer apps I consider must-haves, including fewer AI tools and no dedicated social media clients, since I primarily interact with Bluesky and Mastodon through web tools I built for myself.

Federico’s updated setup.

One of the consequences of doing a podcast about handheld gaming hardware is that it’s easy for our gaming setups to get a little out of control. I simplified my setup this winter, but Federico went even further, setting aside some devices and settling on an interesting combination of the Lenovo Legion Go running SteamOS, the AYN Odin 3 Ultra, the current pinnacle in Android handhelds, and the Razer Kishi V3 Pro XL controller controller, for streaming games to his 13” iPad Pro in handheld mode. That, alongside his gaming PC covers the gamut of handheld and desktop PC gaming really well and also drove him to move away from Apple’s Magic Keyboard and Trackpad to the Satechi Slim EX mouse and Satechi Slim EX1 keyboard, which he can pair with multiple devices.

The other highlights of Federico’s setup changes revolve around the Samsung Z Fold 7, which he’s been testing, and his audio setup. Along with the Z Fold 7 itself, Federico added the Belkin UltraCharge Pro MagSafe charger, which includes a cooling fan for the Z Fold 7 for when it’s driving his display. He also added a FiiO R9 desktop amp and streamer and TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS and drives to run his music setup and other projects.

Alright, that’s a wrap for another Setup update. We don’t sit still for long, though, so we’ll see you again soon with another round of hardware experiments and changes.