Why do people use clamshell mode?

[kasakka]

I’ve never seen any desk setup that has actual monitors and a laptop to the side with good ergonomics. The laptop screens are just too small to put alongside a monitor and still be as useful.

I don't agree with that. I use a 12.9" 2017 iPad Pro stacked above a 16" Macbook Pro next to my main 28" 4K screen. Like this:

It works surprisingly well. My main complaint is that the laptop itself eats a good amount of desktop space even though its keyboard and trackpad are not used most of the time. I would be all in on a Macbook Pro in tablet form factor.

I ended up with this setup because I could not find good smaller side displays with high PPI and small size and had these two already. The iPad Pro is mounted on a Twelve South Duo stand.

 

[seadragon]

My “clamshell” setup. My main screen is 43 inches so I don’t find space lacking. But I will occasionally open the screen on the laptop.

 

[Tagbert]

I’ve never seen any desk setup that has actual monitors and a laptop to the side with good ergonomics. The laptop screens are just too small to put alongside a monitor and still be as useful.

That’s why I clamshell. I’ll lean forward instinctively more often if I’m using the laptop as a third screen. Causing more back/neck/knee/hip pain for myself.

Plus, I value the cleaner desk and more desk space.

I use a 13” laptop in front of a 27” monitor. The larger monitor just clears the top of the laptop screen. I use the laptop keyboard and trackpad. Email and slack stay on the laptop screen and other apps are on the larger screen. I suppose if I did more long form writing I might want a different keyboard but this one works fine for the emails, reports, and slack conversations I do.

 

[Qwaf]

I use a 13” laptop in front of a 27” monitor. The larger monitor just clears the top of the laptop screen. I use the laptop keyboard and trackpad. Email and slack stay on the laptop screen and other apps are on the larger screen. I suppose if I did more long form writing I might want a different keyboard but this one works fine for the emails, reports, and slack conversations I do.

Yeah personally I find that setup the worst of all for ergonomics from multiple aspects.

For using the laptop keyboard / trackpad, and looking down at the laptop screen.

Other setups where the laptop is on a stand adjacent to other monitors and you’re using a separate keyboard and mouse are much better than that imo, but still personally don’t think in most cases it works out comfortably long term.

It’s all personal preference though, just after 12 years or so of plugging laptops into desk setups, I’ve found keeping my laptop in clamshell mode forces better ergonomics on me and reduces aches and strains all over my body.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

I don’t care how nice the tiny laptop display is, it’s tiny conpared to my Ultrawide LG 21:9 curved display. The size of that image and the curvature mean there is zero eye strain whatsoever. Whatever looks good on a little laptop screen is 5x easier to see on the big screen. I only use a laptop at all bc it has to be able to be conveniently mobile. But it’s murder looking at a little 16” display for more than an hour. And the machine performs better when it only has to drive one display. Pushing all those extra pixels takes resources.

 

[NeonNights]

Never works for me in the weeks that I have been working from home 100% of th time… Al Dente is really your best option mate trust me

I've been using clamshell mode exclusively for the past month or so. I was just about to install Al Dente today when I noticed for the first time that the M1 MBA was already holding steady at 80%!

I went a good 2-3 weeks stuck at 100%, then recently I undocked a few times to work in the living room and since then MacOS seems to be adjusting and optimizing battery charge now. I will continue to keep an eye on it to see if it reverts back to 100% full-time.

 

[Dave Pearce]

I recently noticed mine is also doing that.
Since i got a Caldigit Elements hub mine hovers at 80% most of the time. The only time it goes past that is, like you, if ive used it away from the power source for a while.
The CalDigit’s PSU is only 60watts so maybe that has something to do with it as well.

 

[jagolden]

I never understood this either.

Apple makes incredible desktops for people who want to connect a larger display. Use the right tools for the job. Buy a desktop Mac for work at the desk, and use your MacBook Pros as laptops when you need them.

Simples.

I differ about their “incredible desktop”s” by what they”re offering.
I have been forced replace my 2017 5K Retina, 27”, 64gb iMac due to physical damage beyond repair.
Not going to replace with old tech refurbed unit.
Won’t touch an M1 iMac as that tech is older and a 24” screen doesn’t cut it for me.
The Mac Mini tops out at 32gb, and lots of posts about fan noise. iMac fan has never come on.
Mac Studio has nice possibilities but by time I spec it out it’s $4,399 US, and our states sales tax is ~6.2%, also lots of post about excessive fan noise.
In the end I compromised on a 16” MBP M2 Max, 64gb, 2T, 27” Studio Display. Costly, but has advantages.

 

[Arctic Moose]

iMac fan has never come on

If the jet engine noise of the 2017 5K iMac didn’t bother you I doubt any of the AS Macs would.

 

[jagolden]

If the jet engine noise of the 2017 5K iMac didn’t bother you I doubt any of the AS Macs would.

I repeat - the fan has never come on. Even under heavy photo work, video compositing and editing and music editing.
I don’t know what else to say.

 

[NeonNights]

I repeat - the fan has never come on. Even under heavy photo work, video compositing and editing and music editing.
I don’t know what else to say.

It is unclear what "physical damage beyond repair" meant. One interpretation is internal damage, perhaps caused by fans that never came on.

In any case, I had both the M2 Pro Mac Mini and M1 Max Mac Studio on my desk, side-by-side. If the Intel 27" iMac wasn't pushed to a degree that you heard its fans (assuming the fans were not defective) then you don't have to worry about fan noise from a Mac Studio either, let alone a Mac Mini.

The Mac Studio keeps the SoC so cool that it rarely, if ever, needs to raise the fan above the quiet flow that's hard to discern from the sound of my own breathing while in a quiet room and a foot away from the Mac Studio. The M2 Pro Mini is even quieter where I can't hear the fan beyond 2-inches away.

 

[MBAir2010]

I've been using clamshell mode exclusively for the past month or so. I was just about to install Al Dente today when I noticed for the first time that the M1 MBA was already holding steady at 80%!

I went a good 2-3 weeks stuck at 100%, then recently I undocked a few times to work in the living room and since then MacOS seems to be adjusting and optimizing battery charge now. I will continue to keep an eye on it to see if it reverts back to 100% full-time.

my same MacBook Air starts at 80% during the day plugged but 100% overnight

Rafterman told me:​

By design. If Macbooks are plugged in a lot, the battery is only charged to 80 percent to conserve the life of the battery (constant 100 percent charge can degrade the battery over time)

which makes sense!

 

[MrGunny94]

Mine hasn't worked ever, have to use Aldente basically.

 

[rocketbuc]

Recently made some updates to my desk setup. Now the M2 Air is sitting a drawer under the deck. Super convenient to have more space on the desk. Does not run hot or anything. Clamshell mode at its best!

It helps me stay focused with only one monitor while still being able to easily pick up the Macbook when on the move.

 

[NeonNights]

Mine hasn't worked ever, have to use Aldente basically.

I am not sure what I did specifically to trigger the battery optimization to work. It stayed at 100% for several weeks until I undocked it a few times to use and then redocked. Now the native optimization keeps the MBA at 80%. It has stayed at 80% for the past 24 hours while plugged in the entire time.

 

[coffeemilktea]

I like big screens but I have a very small desk, so having a regular monitor AND a laptop open at the same time would be a hassle.

Could I buy a regular desktop Mac and just hook it up to a monitor? Sure, but then I'd miss being able to unplug the laptop and take it with me when I need to go mobile.

 

[NeonNights]

Same here. While I have a 43" 4K TV serving as my monitor, I do relish the ability to simply undock and resume my work on the go.

I initially had an M1 Mac Mini connected to the TV but the Mini is now in the living room. I was going to replace the M1 with an M2 desktop but will most likely upgrade my MBA instead to keep the portability/clamshell docking option.

 

[jagolden]

It is unclear what "physical damage beyond repair" meant. One interpretation is internal damage, perhaps caused by fans that never came on.

In any case, I had both the M2 Pro Mac Mini and M1 Max Mac Studio on my desk, side-by-side. If the Intel 27" iMac wasn't pushed to a degree that you heard its fans (assuming the fans were not defective) then you don't have to worry about fan noise from a Mac Studio either, let alone a Mac Mini.

The Mac Studio keeps the SoC so cool that it rarely, if ever, needs to raise the fan above the quiet flow that's hard to discern from the sound of my own breathing while in a quiet room and a foot away from the Mac Studio. The M2 Pro Mini is even quieter where I can't hear the fan beyond 2-inches away.

I fealt beyond “reasonable cost” to repair a 5.5 yo machine. Household animal overbalanced it. Smashed down onto angled keyboard shelf from there. Sort of like that skier from ABC Wide World of Sports. Crashed off the desk. Crunched and cracks through out screen, put a dent in the corner and it was smokin’: and not in a good way.