Show the rest of the office who’s boss with this high-flying suite of cutting-edge tech

Apple MacBook Pro (2019)

From £1299 / apple.com

Being a big cheese is as much about image as anything else. The laptop you choose to be seen using will tell your minions a lot about you as a boss – so just as you wouldn’t drive a convertible Nissan Micra to the office, Gav from accounts won’t take your dressing-down seriously if you’ve got something generic on your desk.

Apple’s latest MacBook Pros send the right message: they’re smart, powerful and expensive; so depending on whether you go for the 13in or 15in version you can have up to 4TB of SSD storage, 32GB of RAM, Radeon Pro Vega graphics and an Intel eight-core i9 processor. You might have to ask someone in IT what all that means, but the integrated Touch ID sensor and Touch Bar are easy to show off, as is the sharp Retina display.

A big part of the appeal of Macs is the operating system – and with the Catalina update due out in autumn, you’ll get a few more neat tricks added to your Pro’s arsenal. Beefed-up privacy and security are handy but the best thing is probably Sidecar, which lets you use an iPad as a second screen with certain apps.

If you really must, you can even run Windows on a Mac these days, but if anyone tries to make you do that it’s probably time to haul them in for a formal warning.

• Positioned below the QWERTY is a trackpad you could land a chopper on. It also supports Force Touch, so will respond differently depending on pressure applied.

•• The one thing that might hold your Pro back is a relative lack of ports. Most models have four Thunderbolt 3s (USB-C) but the cheaper ones only get two. Avoid.

ALTERNATIVELY

DELL XPS 13

Dell’s XPS 13 might not have the wow factor of a Mac but it’s one of the finest laptops you can buy today. This thin and light 13-incher has an 8th-gen Intel Whisky Lake processor and a battery that should just about get you from nine to five. from £1379 / dell.com

NOW ADD THESE

MOPHIE POWERSTATION USB-C XXL

When Apple switched to USB-C ports it made its existing chargers incompatible with new MacBooks, but that does mean you can now use portable power-packs like this one from Mophie to top up when you’re out and about. The beefy Powerstation USB-C XXL’s 30W output means it’ll take a while to fully charge your MacBook, but it’ll have your phone back to 100% in no time at all.

£150 / mophie.com

SATECHI TYPE-C PRO HUB ADAPTER WITH ETHERNET

The latest MacBook Pros come with two or four USB-C ports – and one of those will often be taken by the power cable. That makes some sort of hub a wise addition. This one has USB-C, 4K-capable HDMI, a pair of standard USB ports, a microSD slot and even Ethernet, so you can keep working when everyone else is complaining about the Wi-Fi being down.

US$100 / satechi.net

SEAGATE FAST SSD

Given how expensive Apple makes it to specify your new MacBook with extra storage, nobody will blame you if you plump for the smallest capacity. When you start to run out of space, though, you won’t find a more suitable saviour than Seagate’s Fast SSD. Available with 250GB, 500GB, 1TB or 2TB inside, its USB-C port, pocket proportions and sleek finish make it the ideal way to add space.

from £75 / seagate.com

INCASE ICON SLEEVE

One of the nerds in IT will probably give you some sort of case for your MacBook if you bribe him with Game of Thrones T-shirts, but then you’ll just look like every other suit on the train. The Incase Icon Sleeve doesn’t add too much bulk, but it has a magnetic flap for ease of access and a tough bumper to absorb the impact if some clumsy commuter knocks it out of your arms in the rush to grab the last seat.

£60 / incase.com

PRO TIP

REACH THE PROMISED LAN

Still using the router your ISP sent you? What is this, amateur hour? To get the best Wi-Fi coverage at home, a mesh system like Google Wifi (£89, store.google.com) lets you place points around your home, improving coverage without a drop in speed like you can get with normal extenders.

NOW APP THIS

While it’s good to conserve power, it can be annoying having to keep your Mac awake when you don’t touch it for a while. Amphetamine is an add-on that lets you keep it awake when certain apps are open, an external display is plugged in and you’re connected to a particular Wi-Fi network.

£free / macOS