Fall 2026 Gear Update: M5 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, Ultra 3 & a Dev Box

I refreshed almost my whole Apple kit this fall — laptop, phone, watch, charger — and added something new to the lineup: an always-on “Dev Box” that stays home in Canada.

Most of these upgrades came the way I like them to: finding the right deal at the right time, rather than chasing launch day. But there’s also a theme this round — AI work is now the thing driving my hardware needs. More RAM and storage for local LLMs on the laptop, and a dedicated machine for Claude and ChatGPT to do work on so my laptop doesn’t have to.

Here’s what changed and why.

MacBook Air M5 Midnight (32GB / 1TB) — replaced my M2 Air

The M2 Air served me well since 2023, but AI work changed the math. The 32GB of RAM was the primary reason to upgrade — running AI workloads on 16GB was the real squeeze — with SSD space a close second. Local LLMs need serious disk, and between models, projects, and everything else, 512GB was getting tight. The M5 Air in Midnight with 32GB and 1TB gives me the headroom I actually need now.

One nitpick: I opted for Apple’s 45w/60w rapid charger with it. It’s small, which I like, but it only has 1 port — annoying after having 2 on my old dual charger. And I’m not a fan of the flat cube style vs the vertical style of the 35w dual charger, which worked much better on powerbars.

Which leads nicely into the next item…

SlimQ 65W GaN Charger — replaced the Apple 35w Dual USB-C

The SlimQ 65W GaN USB-C charger (3-port) is replacing my Apple Dual USB-C 35w as my travel workhorse. It’s smaller, has more power, and an extra port.

I bought it with the international converter plug pack and the power extension cord, and there was a bonus I didn’t realize when ordering: the international converters fit onto the extension cord too, so I can use the cord anywhere in the world. A really nice upgrade from the Apple cord!

iPhone 17 Pro (256GB) — replaced my 16 Pro

This one was mostly opportunistic. I found a good deal, and with rumors of the 18 Pro going up in price, it made sense to upgrade now rather than wait.

So far I’m enjoying the camera upgrades, the better weight distribution in hand, and it doesn’t get as hot as the 16 Pro did. It’s also my first phone with no physical SIM card slot — the Canadian model is eSIM only, which as a nomad who swaps local SIMs is a milestone worth noting.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Black — replaced my original Ultra

My original 2022 Ultra was still going strong, and I would have happily kept it another year or two. But it won’t get the watchOS 27 upgrade, and I found an Ultra 3 for the right price, so it made sense.

The battery life is noticeably better than the original Ultra — which already had great battery life for me. The features I really want still seem a couple of years out though: blood pressure monitoring and some type of built-in glucose monitor. When those arrive, that will be the upgrade that matters.

New addition: a Mac Mini M4 “Dev Box”

The most interesting change isn’t a replacement at all. I’ve been wanting a dedicated personal machine that’s online all the time, and grabbed a Mac Mini M4 (32GB / 256GB) for a good price to start experimenting.

It stays in a fixed location in Canada while I travel, and handles:

• Local LLMs — running models without tying up my laptop
• Scheduled jobs — things that need to run whether I’m awake or not
• Delegated AI work — Claude and ChatGPT can run “work” on it instead of my laptop

That last one has been the big win so far. With AI agents doing their thing on the Mini instead of my Air, the laptop doesn’t get as hot, the battery lasts longer, and there’s way less memory pressure.

I’m not 100% sure I’ll stick with a Mac vs a Linux box for this, but likely Mac — being able to access Apple stuff like Notes, email, and calendar from it is a real advantage. If you’re curious how I reach a machine like this from anywhere, my remote access to Claude Code from iPhone/iPad post covers the Tailscale setup that makes it work.

What stayed the same

The rest of the kit is unchanged — Vision Pro, iPad Pro M4, AirPods Pro 3, Roost stand, and the rest of the full packing list, which I’ve updated with all of these changes. My Uses page is current too.

This post was drafted with help from Claude from my own notes and opinions — the gear takes are all mine.

Questions? Find me using the links on the left or in my site’s menu.