Built many years ago (possibly 2015) to accommodate my Apple Thunderbolt Display and MacBook Pro 15″ (2014), this desk gets plenty of compliments from flat guests, and Merlin the cat loves walking on it and sometimes sitting on it whilst I try to work. The design plan was: to accommodate an Apple Thunderbolt Display in the centre, and the MacBook Pro to the right with integrated cable management tunnel that doubles as a strengthening beam. the gaps behind the B&W speakers originally exited the display Thunderbolt and MagSafe connectors, with the gap on the right side for additional peripherals. When the Bowers & Wilkins Speakers came I added a Twelve South Bookarc to stand the MacBook Pro behind the left speaker whilst the gaps provided a tidy exit for the speaker connections. As time went by I needed a desktop grade GPU so I bought a 27 inch 2019 iMac which settled into the desk nicely.
A Near End!
On Monday 19 February 2024 the future was looking bleak for this desk with the need for a faster Mac setup and Apple’s discontinuation of the 27-inch iMac seemingly forever. Apple recently suggested at a Special Event that the new iMac 24-inch with Apple Silicon may have a larger display work area than the 27-inch intel iMac, and that the 4.5K resolution may be higher than the 5K of the 27-inch intel iMac; Apple manipulate their customers all the time under Tim Cook. The only real option to maintain the work area that a 27-inch iMac user is accustomed to is to buy the new Apple Studio Display (2022) that actually does match the intel iMac 27-inch display, and add some kind of external Mac. I am currently using a maxed out Mac mini (M1, 2020) which was purchased specifically for compatibility with macOS Monterey and macOS Server which I need to run in Parallels Desktop for the longterm future. Unfortunately I found that none of my cable management system works with this setup and I almost resorted to turning the top upside down revealing a plain flat top. Because this desk is widely complimented I could not bear to hide the design underneath so I did some measurements and did some bodge joinery as I don’t have access to all the tools I would like to have used. A large square hole was made underneath the desk aligning with the top cable hole for the display cables; because the power cable is not easily removable from the Studio Display so the whole plug has to drop through the cable management tunnel. A rectangular hole was made behind where the Mac mini sits so that it can be pushed back without cable strain, and all cables now go into the cable management tunnel with room for ventilation.
Although not my neatest work it does the job and now the desk is ready for many more years of service whilst maintaining the uniqueness of the design.
Compatibility
- iMac G5 and all newer models
- Cinema Display (2004 and newer, all sizes, DVI)
- LED Cinema Display (all models and sizes)
- Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch)
- Pro Display XDR
- Studio Display (2022)
- PowerBook G4 (DVI and later, 15-inch and smaller)
- MacBook (all models)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch and smaller)
- MacBook Air (all models)
- Mac mini (2010 and later)