Thebest Macshave a report for being prosperous to use , and as someone who switches between Windows andmacOSevery daylight , I can corroborate that reputation is well - earned . But macOS is n’t just a straightforward , easy - peasy system with about as much depth as a puddle — it ’s also a brilliant platform for magnate drug user .
A lot of that get down to the thriving ecosystem of apps that are useable on macOS . Load up your Apple computer with a few choice selections and you ’ll be capable to get so much more out of it than you ever thought potential , from automatise irksome processes to making cagey usage of AI and everything in between .
We ’ve rounded up eight of the good apps for Mac power users , each one tailor - made for Mac sports fan and enthusiasts who want to get more from their computers . And do n’t forget to check out our ingathering of thebest Windows appsto get more from your PC .
Best Mac apps for power users
BetterTouchTool
BetterTouchToolis one of my favorite Mac apps thanks to the sheer breadth of thing it can do . need to add custom gesture to your mouse or trackpad ? Need a great path to automatize repetitive tasks ? look to create some keyboard shortcuts that are contrive to save you metre ? That ’s just the showtime of what BetterTouchTool is capable of .
One of my preferent the States for BetterTouchTool is one of its simplest feature : it let memanage window tilingand assign customs cutoff to each window position . It can be as simple-minded or as mystifying as you need it to be , but either way , it ’s a monumental whole step up over Apple ’s window management scheme .
Aside from that , this app lets you design your own“drop zones”that interact with your MacBook ’s notch , make new layouts and functions for yourElgato Stream Deck , use MIDI devices as triggers for actions and shortcuts , and so much more . It ’s so stacked with power exploiter peter that the easiest way to understand it is to stress it out for yourself — take it from me , you wo n’t repent it .
ChatGPT
ChatGPThas totally upended the world , putting a huge amount of business leader at your fingertips to help you search newfangled ideas , improve your writing skills , generate images and television , and much more . But you do n’t want to open up your web web browser every sentence you require to habituate it , as ChatGPT ’s developer OpenAI haslaunched a bespoke Mac appthat you could use from the consolation of your background .
OpenAI has worked in a few perks to incentivize usingthe background appinstead of the ChatGPT website . For example , you could permit it convey images from your Photos library , webcam , or directly from a screenshot , make it quicker and easier to upload effigy that ChatGPT can help with . you could also talk directly to ChatGPT , something you ca n’t do on the entanglement .
Even the way you launch ChatGPT is nifty : just pressOption - Spaceto open a chat box . It ’s similar to the familiarCommand - Spacecontrol that launches the Spotlight search bar in macOS . Not only is this prosperous to think back , but it ’s much faster than having to adulterate up a web browser app .
If you enjoy using ChatGPT ’s powerful shaft in your Clarence Shepard Day Jr. - to - day lifetime , this macOS app could become an essential part of your turn . With all its capabilities , it ’ll be a not bad addition to your Mac .
Alfred
Alfred is designed to be an all - in - one overhaul of the mode you use macOS , with the idea being saving you time while order potent cock at your fingertip . Its wide - ranging power cover discover filing cabinet , searching the web , managing your clipboard chronicle , using the Terminal , charge emails and attachments , and more .
A cardinal aspect of Alfred is its Powerpack . This let you craft in - depth workflows that automatize almost any task you’re able to think of . It also grant you to link hotkeys , keywords , and actions into elaborate automation , all without having to write any code at all .
Alfred also comes with a text elaboration feature that can save up you a ton of gratuitous typewriting . Once you ’ve set it up , you ’ll just need to type a custom gun trigger word or key combining to have Alfred compose out the full idiomatic expression you ’ve store . If you find yourself typewrite the same thing over and over , it could be a immense time - saver .
That ’s just a snippet of what Alfred can do , but it ’s worth tally out its full list of lineament on theapp ’s internet site . It might be the best way to make your Mac life a fiddling easier .
Hazel
The more you use your Mac , the faster files can mob up in its nooks and corners . If sorting them all out has become an consuming burden — or if you just want to ensure you never get into a state like that — Hazelis an essential app .
Hazel is basically a spate processor . You set up a few rules , such as how you require to rename files , where you require to move them to , and where the app should count for them , then Hazel will automatically get started , working its way through your files and sorting them out in second — potentially saving you hours in the process .
The best part is that you do n’t even need to tell Hazel to take off working . Since it monitors the folders that you define , it knows when you ’ve sum file that should have your convention applied to them . So , just drop a file into a pamphlet and watch as it ’s moved , rename , or whatever else you need . It ’s one of those uncommon apps that is both deeply knock-down and a true time - recoverer .
Keyboard Maestro
Keyboard Maestrois all about one matter : automation . And we ’re not just talking about a small-scale categorisation of tasks . As the developer says , “ If you could do it manually , Keyboard Maestro can almost certainly automate it for you . ”
That let in a wide-ranging selection , from launching an app or visiting a site to creating full news report and managing multiple items in your clipboard chronicle . Keyboard Maestro can merge action into long and complex flow , with conditions , loops , and more , get to it very versatile and up to almost any task you assign it .
Its versatility makes it a Mac power user ’s best champion , capable to conform to whatever advanced task you have in mind . It takes a trivial bit of teach when you first set out , but once you ’ve master it , you ’ll never want to be without it .
Shortcuts
Apple is no unknown to top executive drug user apps — in fact its own Shortcuts app ( preloaded on your Mac ) can enable some fantastically in - depth action that are well - suited to enthusiast Mac users . go off it up and you ’ll be able to create shortcuts that channel out repetitive or difficult tasks . you could also congeal automations that trigger at a certain prison term of day — when you arrive at a defined location , when you connect to CarPlay , and more . All your shortcuts are synced to your other Apple devices , putting them within reach of whatever Apple ware you ’re using .
Despite its name , the Shortcuts app is not just about pull through yourself clock time by automatise tasks . It can also be used to enable things that would not only be tedious or lengthy to do yourself , but downright tricky too . For instance , one of my favorite shortcuts was created by theMacStories websiteto automatically place screenshots inside a gimmick frame , such as putting an iPhone screenshot inside an image of one of Apple ’s phones . That ’s something I do n’t really have the skill to do myself , but thanks to a ready to hand shortcut , I ’m capable to do it in irregular .
It ’s an apt exemplification of the tycoon contained within the Shortcuts app . While I wish it wasa little easy to get started , there ’s no doubting the power that ’s comprise under the toughie of Apple ’s app . If you consider yourself a great power user , you ’ll love see what it can do .
Little Snitch
It pays to understand which of your apps are connecting to the internet and where they ’re send off your private data . If you ’re not careful , you could end up partake in far more personal information than you ever intend .
To put a stop to that risk , useLittle Snitch . This handy app show you exactly what is connecting to the web , when it happens , and how much data is sent and received . Armed with that knowledge , you’re able to put a stoppage to leaky apps that are sharing more than you want them to .
And it ’s not just for blocking apps — you could decide which web site connexion are allow , move over you granular control over what datum goes to and from your Mac . And with plenty of analytical tools at your administration , you wo n’t be left guess over the metrics that Little Snitch bring to your attention .
SoundSource
Managing audio on your Mac can be a annoyance , specially if you ’re dealing with multiple sources , stimulation , and outputs . What if you require to send yourSpotifytunes to yourBluetooth speakers , but keep system sound playing out of your Mac , for example ? You ca n’t do that by default option , but it ’s a cinch withSoundSource .
This handy app lives in your Mac ’s menu streak and provide a simple menu to deal audio in granular detail . you may have sound yield ( like music or movie sound ) going to your earphone , s but keep macOS level-headed effects muffle , thereby preventing distractions . Or you could change whichmicrophoneyou use on the fly sheet , without having to dig into the setting menu .
Better yet , SoundSource lets you control thing on a per - app basis . desire the Apple TV app to play out of yourheadphones , but Safari sound to come out of your Mac ’s speaker system ? you’re able to do so at the drop of a hat with SoundSource . If you ’ve ever been queer at the limited audio recording controls you get in macOS , this app is worth your time .
Best free Mac apps
When you get a Mac , you expect to have to give the “ Apple tax , ” as everything inside the walled garden tends to cost a little more . But that does n’t have to be the type when it comes to Mac apps , as you could get some really first-class options without paying a penny .
Power users are always look to get more functionality out of their Macs , and the notch is a prime candidate for advance . Normally it ’s a featureless black slab , but an app likeboringNotchcan make it so much more . When you sneak over your snick , this handy utility blow up it outwards onto your show . That lets it put up medicine playback controls , item from your calendar , your clipboard history , and much more . It ’s an ingenious way to put rough-cut tasks right at your fingertip .
I also loveDockDoor , which adds windowpane prevue of your assailable apps to your Dock . Just move your mouse over an open app ’s Dock ikon and you ’ll see little prevue boxes for all of its opened windows , letting you quick click to the one you want to expend . That ’s much better than macOS ’s even approach , which force you to reach the app to the tardy windowpane , then change to the one you want to see . As with boringNotch , DockDoor is whole free ( although you’re able to donate to the developer if you care their work ) .
One more costless Mac app that ’s stark for power user isIce . The more you use your Mac , the more you ’ll belike find its menu saloon filling up with image . Eventually these might even start up to get hidden as they butt up against the mountain pass . That ’s no way to use your Mac , but Ice can help you out . It ’s a full - blow menu legal community editor , and it let you hide apps ( either temporarily or permanently ) , set picture spacing , search for apps in your carte barroom , change its show , and more . It ’s perfect for business leader exploiter who just have too many app icons on the go .
Best Mac apps for students
Macs are great devices for students , not least because Apple offers an education discount . But getting a Mac is only half the conflict — you involve to laden it up with the best apps for students to really permit it avail with your studies .
First , you ’ll require a beneficial set of government agency apps , and Apple ’s ownPages , KeynoteandNumbersare great apps to start with . Whether you ’re writing essays , crafting presentations or parse numbers ( or keeping track of your finance ) , they ’re brainy dick . Plus they come include with every Mac , so you do n’t need to eat into your student fund to buy them .
Whatever you ’re explore at college , probability are you ’re going to be administer with PDF file . If that ’s the caseful , you ’ll desire an app likePDF Expert . This app comes with a whole array of tool that are consummate for educatee . you could edit PDF element , highlight text passages , tally your own annotations , drop your signature tune onto the page , and more . It ’s ideal for persist on top of your inquiry and keep cut of a document ’s most of import parts .
speak of research , you wo n’t want to go without Zotero . This app is focused entirely on the enquiry process , and it ’ll likely become an invaluable helper throughout your education . Whether you ’re crop news articles or nose - trench in JSTOR , Zotero can amass your research materials and add them to a central repository . you may then engineer these item however you require and observe them with rag and collections , then cite them directly within your word processor . Best of all , it ’s totally free and exposed source .
Best apps for MacBook Air M3
TheMacBook airwave with M3chip launched with Apple ’s macOS Sonoma operating system , and that in turn bring Apple ’s own Passwords app into the premix . But it ’s not the best parole manager out there — our vote instead goes with1Password . This password handler is pack with feature article that keep your data point good online . It ’ll stash away all your watchword and suggest rock - self-coloured unexampled one , sure as shooting , but it has a portion more going on for it . The Watchtower feature article monish you about your feeble passwords and alerts you if your info is chance in information rift , while its secure sharing feature lets you send login information to friends and menage , then have their access code automatically decease without affecting your countersign . And it can store much more than passwords , including payment cards , passports , document , API credential , crypto notecase , and more .
One of the more interesting features to add up with macOS Sonoma was the introduction of desktop gizmo . Now you could see important info at a glance — and now interact with it — without needing to start the gadget ’s parent app . But if you want a bit more control over desktop widgets , you might need to look atWidgetter . This clever app has tons of widgets for unlike instrument , include your calendar , reminders , the time and engagement , a music player , bombardment levels , and more . There are peck of customization options , and it even bundles in high - Ra 4 atomic number 19 and 5 K wallpaper to couple your widgets with .
macOS Sonoma also brought gaming betterment in the mannikin of Game Mode , which optimize your Mac for fullscreen games . If you want to savour that new feature to its full extent , you ’re going to require to get some game launcher to manage everything . you may start withSteamand theEpic Games Launcher , which are two of the most popular gambling platforms on the Mac . These launchers house every game you ’ve bought from each of the various stores . Alternatively , you’re able to getGOG Galaxy . Despite the name , this does n’t just care game from the gog.com website — it can also act as an all - in - one rocket launcher for every title . You just involve to enter with your detail for Steam , Epic , Origin , and more , then GOG Galaxy will lease you cope everything from a single app .
Best apps for MacBook Air M2
TheMacBook Air M2isn’t the later MacBook Air , but it ’s still a great gadget . As it gets a petty sr. , it ’s a skillful thought to find some apps that help to extend its lifetime far into the time to come .
One app that can help you do that iscoconutBattery . This gives you granular data on the health of your MacBook ’s assault and battery , letting you lie with when it ’s time to supervene upon it and whether it ’s heating up a little too much for comfortableness . The app can also provide useful insights on the assault and battery wellness of connected twist like iPhones and iPads , making it a one - stop - shop for your battery needs .
The MacBook Air M2 also come with a feature film called Continuity Camera , which rent you apply your iPhone as a webcam . It ’s a brilliant tool , but you ’ll get even more joyousness from an app called Camo . Like Continuity Camera , this allows you to get on tv camera with your iPhone , but it comes with far more ascendency than Apple ’s solutions . you may adjust the physique rate , expend any lense on your iPhone ( not just the one Continuity Camera uses ) , delete your video recording , and more . It also work with much old iPhones than Continuity Camera does .
