Luke Larsen / Digital Trends
I eff cause a unexampled MacBook . The slow - possibility box , the tonic install of macOS , even the enthral raw Mac flavour ( which people have beenrhapsodizing about for decades ) — it ’s all part of the experience .
But you sleep with what ? MacBooks do n’t get unadulterated out of the box . There are a few things that I always have to adjust , regardless of how powerful the laptop is . From convert the default option apps to unlocking a few hidden extras , here are the first six things to do with your unexampled MacBook before commit it to work .
Luke Larsen / Digital Trends
Unlock some trackpad tricks
Apple ’s trackpadsare the just in the business , barricade none . They ’re wide , responsive , and finger exceptionally well made . So why does Apple hide some of their features by default ?
If you enter the System configurations app and scroll down to theTrackpadsection in the sidebar , you ’ll see what I think of . There are tons of features here that you may enable , disable , or customise to your heart ’s desire . Yet one super - useful feature call App Exposé remain switch off . This let you swipe downwards to show all the open window for the presently selected app . It ’s likeMission Control , except far less busy and chaotic . And yet most people do n’t even know it subsist .
To fix that , go to theMore Gesturessection of the trackpad scope and , next toApp Exposé , choose to enable it by snarf down with either three or four finger . I also like to change decent - clicking to let in both tapping and clack with two finger , change impress between full - screen apps to be triggered by a four - finger swipe , and a few other things . It all ensures Apple ’s excellent trackpad is working to its full potential .
One more thing : Go toSystem preferences > availableness > Pointer Control > Trackpad Options , then enableUse trackpad for embroil andselectWith Drag Lockfrom the menu . With this done , if you double - dab a file and keep your digit down on the 2d tap , the item “ attaches ” to your pointer , and it will stay there until you chatter . Why do this ? It makes it far easy to move item without bump into the border of your trackpad , as you could let go of the trackpad and your file will not be dropped in position . If you ’ve ever struggled to move matter around on a MacBook without attain the sides of your trackpad , you ’ll need to enable this setting .
Optimize battery life
When you ’re on a laptop , battery life matters . Apple knows this , and these years , many MacBooks can lastclose to 30 hourson a single electric charge , blowing past their rivals with consummate ease . But that ’s not to say you wo n’t want even more juice from your Apple laptop , and there are a couplet of tweaks I make to tune things up .
One of the way I do this is by going to theLock Screensection of the System preferences app and tell macOS to start a concealment saver after about five minute ( down from the default 20 ) . I also ensure my MacBook is n’t await too long to turn the show off when it ’s on battery power .
I also channelise to theBatterysection in System preferences and adjust one parameter . If you scroll to the bottom of the page and selectOptions , you ’ll get a few extra pick . I make sureSlightly dim the display on batteryis enable , but I give the rest of the options as they are .
I could enable options likePut hard disks to sleep when possibleorOptimize video streaming while on battery , but my laptop ’s barrage fire sprightliness is so impressive that I do n’t feel like I need to wring every last free fall of succus out of it . But by ensuring the show dims a little when required , one of the big battery hogs — the screen — is kept in hitch .
Turn off the auto brightness adjustment
Given how portable MacBooks are , chances are that you ’ll be using yours in a variety of emplacement and conditions . What might be well seeable in a dimly lit room is suddenly just readable when you ’re trying to apply your laptop in bright sunlight , but you may fix this by going toSystem options > Displaysand enablingAutomatically adjust brightness . With that turn on , your MacBook will use its ambient light detector to storm the brightness up or down as need , with no input from you required .
There ’s another sound stage setting to confirm whether you go toDisplays > Night Shift . Here , I always make a custom schedule that survive from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. This ensures that my MacBook cuts out racy light and adopts a warmer tone right as my eyes are starting to get tired , which help if I ’m still going late in the eventide .
last , do n’t forget to ensure that theTrue Tonetoggle is enabled and I ’ve selectedProMotionfrom theRefresh ratedropdown menu . It ’s deserving turning these on so that you do n’t miss out on Apple ’s adaptative color mise en scene and varying refresh rate feature of speech .
Set new default apps
One of the first thing I do with any fresh MacBook is dive into my macOS preferences andchange the nonremittal apps . Some ways of doing this are extremely simple , while others take a little bit more exploit , but I obtain they ’re all worth doing , peculiarly when it comes to entanglement browsers . Listen Safari , I think you ’re peachy , but I ’m reallymore into Firefox . We just vibe . I ’m no-good , you ’re no longer my nonremittal vane web browser .
Once you ’ve installed a newfangled internet browser , open up the System options app and go toDesktop & Dock . Scroll down until you seeDefault entanglement browser app(it ’s underWidgets , for some grounds ) and pluck your option from the dropdown menu .
To switch your e-mail app , clear Mail , then go toMail > Settingsin the menu bar . Select theGeneraltab and beak a newfangled app from theDefault e-mail readermenu .
Finally , the fall out method will let you change the nonpayment app for any other file cabinet . Just ingeminate it for each file eccentric . First , find a file where you want to change the app that spread it , then right - click it and pickGet Infofrom the context menu . UnderOpen with , choose a new app from the dropdown menu , then selectChange All > stay .
Web browser extensions
Any entanglement web web browser is made a whole lot proficient with the help of some cautiously curated extensions . I ’ve already drop a line about myfavorite Safari extensions(I install these even after I deepen my nonremittal internet browser to Firefox , just in case I have to switch over back for whatever reason ) , and these are indispensable additions to any MacBook I purchase .
Consent - O - Matic , for example , automatically opts me out of all those incredibly irritating ( and deeply shadowy ) cookie consent notices . Honey saves me hard currency by suggesting voucher code on a Brobdingnagian chain of mountains of web site . And the 1Passwordpassword managerstores all my logins and helps me create problematic - to - discover new ones . All these extensions and more are some of the first things I pass for when I get a young MacBook .
you may find Safari extension in the App Store — just open Safari and go toSafari > Safari Extensionsin the menu measure . Other browsers like Chrome , Edge , and Firefox have their own wing stores , which you’re able to receive by search “ [ internet browser name ] extension ” on the web .
Turn FileVault on
Apple devices are well - hump for their strong stance on privacy and security , but there are still a few improvement I make on a new MacBook that strengthen these credentials even further .
First things first , I start the System options app and head toPrivacy & Security . Here , I make trusted thatFileVaultis exchange on . This encrypts the subject of your laptop so that they are inaccessible to anyone who does n’t have your login password , which can avail keep your personal data out of the wrong hands if your MacBook gets stolen .
It ’s also a good idea to periodically come back to macOS’Privacy & Securitysettings and check through the sections there , remark down which apps have been granted access code to your localisation , camera , mike , and more . If you do n’t think an app should be in there , revoke its access using the on-off switch next to its name .
