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Some Mac apps are so useful you might just find yourself using them every day. Here are some of our favorites, the majority of which are free or at least come with a free trial so that you’re able to evaluate them.
Rectangle
Add the window-snapping features to macOS that Apple should have included all along withRectangle. This free app allows you to quickly manipulate windows on the desktop using keyboard shortcuts or the menu bar icon. Customize these shortcuts to your heart’s content so that you never have to take your fingers off the keyboard to rearrange your windows again.
If you’re looking for an alternative, premium appMagnet($7.99) offers similar functionality.Rectangle Prois also available for $9.99 which adds rules and a whole lot more.
Related:The Magnet App Brings My Favorite Windows Feature to Mac
Maccy
Maccyis anopen-sourceclipboard manager for your Mac that operates under a name-your-price model (starting at $0). The app keeps a list of your recent clipboard items including text, images, and other files. Invoke Maccy using the keyboard shortcut (Command+Shift+C by default) then use the arrow keys or on-screen keyboard shortcuts to recall past items.
There’s plenty of customization available including the ability to set a file size limit, delete clips on app quit, modify where and how to app appears, pin items, ignore apps, and more.
Vanilla
Tidy up your cluttered menu bar withVanilla, a free app to reduce the number of icons in the top-right corner of your screen. Drag icons behind a divider and have them automatically hide. Click on the arrow icon to expand the menu bar and show all apps.
The app is essentially a free alternative to the massively popularBartender($15) which is another solid choice that includes advanced functionality like a drop-down bar, custom spacing, quick search, triggers, and more.
Shottr
macOS hasdecent screenshot tools built right in(hit Command+Shift+3 for a full-screen capture, or Command+Shift+4 for a draggable selection). Free appShottrexpands on this for those who need a more powerful screenshot tool.
Capture scrolling windows like web pages, quickly annotate and pixellate objects, add markup notes, overlay images, pin your screenshots, use the built-in ruler, copy text usingOCR, and more.
Shortcuts
Shortcuts is Apple’s cross-platform workflow app with which you can speed up various tasks by building custom shortcuts. You canpin these shortcuts to your menu bar,launch them with Spotlight, or even use them from your Quick Actions menu. You’ll find the Shortcuts app in your Applications > Utilities folder, launch it and browse the Gallery to get started.
Shortcuts can be used tospeed up office productivityandaccomplish a wide range of common taskslike emptying your Downloads folder, tracking time, or quickly accessing iCloud Keychain passwords.
Related:10 Hidden Mac Features You Should Be Using
Your Choice of VPN
A VPN is anessential bit of kit on the modern internet. By encrypting your web traffic, aVPNcan hide your browsing data from your ISP or other interested parties. Using a VPN avoids giving away your true IP address while browsing the web, which means that you leave less of a digital paper trail wherever you go.
You can also use a VPN to access the web as if you were in another country entirely. Use this toview geo-restricted contentlike on-demand TV andstreaming services,circumvent censorship, book cheaper flights, and more. Check outour round-up of the best VPN services.
Hyperkey
Put Caps Lock or another unused key on your keyboard to good use by remapping it withHyperkey. A “hyper key” in this instance is all four modifier keys activated at once: Shift+Command+Option+Control. Holding this combination of keys with a single hand is unintuitive, which is where Hyperkey comes in.
With your “hyper key” enabled, you can use it to trigger keyboard shortcuts in other apps (like Rectangle or Maccy). It effectively adds another modifier key to your keyboard that you can roll out whenever you need it. If you want to do even more advanced key remapping, take a look atKarabiner-Elementsas well.
Parallels Desktop
Parallels Desktopis a powerful virtualization app that lets you emulate hardware to install operating systems within macOS. Not only can you use it to install Windows (includingWindows 11 on ARM if you have an Apple Silicon Mac) but also Linux distributions and even separate installations of macOS.
There’sno easier way of running Windows on a modern Mac, with everything from the download to the installation taken care of for you. You can then make use of features like Coherence mode to run Windows apps on your Mac as if they were native Mac apps.
The app isn’t free, with a standard license for home and student use costing $99.99, but there’s a 14-day trial you may use to evaluate the software before you buy. If you’d rather try free alternatives that require a bit more work to get going, take a look atVMware Fusion PlayerandVirtualBox.
Automator
Automator isa powerful workflow toolthat Apple includes with macOS. It’s different from Shortcuts in that it’s been around for much longer and it’s Mac-exclusive. It’s also faster and more powerful if you know how to use it.
Adding items to theright-click “Quick Actions” menuis an Automator specialty. You canuse it to quickly resize images within Finder, convert file types, create custom applications, andsave time all over the Mac desktop. You’ll find Automator in the Applications > Utilities folder.
IINA
Written for macOS in Apple’s Swift programming language,IINAis an open-source media player based on thempvproject. Developers proudly proclaim that IINA can play anything while making use of macOS mainstays likeDark Mode,Picture-in-Picture, andForce Touchfunctionality.
