While most of the apps in this list are free, some of them offer a paid option. That being said, when it comes to paid apps, I have only included those options that offer a generous free tier. I am using free versions of all the apps (that offer paid options) and find them suitable for most users. No app with a free trial or heavily restricted free tier has been included.
I have recommended Alfred 4 to anyone who wants to improve their productivity. That said, some of its advanced features are hidden behind a paywall, and if you are not ready to upgrade yet (which I highly recommend doing), you should check out Raycast. Like Alfred, Raycast is far better than Spotlight and will make you more productive.
Must Have Apps For My Mac
Raycast also connects directly with popular native and third-party apps like Things 3, Apple Notes, Spotify, Apple Music, Notion, and dozens of others, and allows you to supercharge your workflow. For example, you can connect the Notion account and create new pages and search for existing pages using Raycast. Similarly, you can search and manage your to-dos inside the Reminders app or Things 3. The possibilities are just limitless.
Rectangle is one of the apps that I install instantly on a new Mac. Macs are good at many things, but window management is not one of them. Apple has not solved the window management problem in the latest macOS Monterey, so we have to wait one more year to see if the company is willing to do something about this issue or not. If you are also fed up with Apple's native approach towards window management, you should Install Rectangle.
macOS Mojave introduced dark mode to our favorite desktop operating system. The dark mode on macOS Mojave is not half-cooked as it is on windows. When you turn on the dark mode on your Mac, not only it turns the system UI but also the stock apps. Not only that, apps that support automatic dark mode also adhere to the same guideline. Once you turn it on, they automatically default to dark mode.
While that's great in most situation, I wish Apple included a way to create a whitelist for apps that are not functional in dark mode. The default Mail app and the Evernote app are a few examples of an app that still work best in light mode. That's where NightOwl comes in. It's a menu bar app that allows you to create a whitelist of apps that you don't want to use in dark mode. Not only that, but it also allows you to quickly switch between dark and light mode with a simple click at its icon. You can read more about the app in our article here. The app is completely free to download and use with a voluntary donation.
ImageOptim is one of the most used free Mac apps on my MacBook Pro. In my line of work, I have to attach a ton of screenshots (like in this article). And before I upload any picture on my website, I pass it through ImageOptim. The app deletes all the unnecessary metadata such as GPS position and camera's serial number and compresses the image. This allows me to upload the image on the web without any privacy hazards and ensures that the file sizes are low.
The app is pretty easy to use. You just drag and drop images into its window and then click on the button at the bottom-right corner. If you share a ton of images on the web (whether on your blog or social media websites like Twitter and Facebook), it will be good for you to pass it through ImageOptim first. I have used paid image compression apps but nothing has been as good and as easy to use as ImageOptim.
Pocket is a popular read it later service which allows you to save articles offline so that you can read them later. I mostly browse for articles on my Mac and whenever I find something that I would want to read, I just save it in Pocket. Pocket has an excellent Safari extension that allows me to save articles and read them later. Since Pocket syncs across devices, all my saved articles are automatically synced to my iPhone where I can read them at my will. Recently, I have also started using Pocket as a research tool. Since Pocket allows me to organize saved articles using tags, I just tag the items I am using for research so that I can find them easily later.
Basically, it is super powerful photo editing app for Mac that allows you to use pro-level photo editing features for free. You are required to learn the app as it has a steep learning curve but once you get used to it, you won't go back to even the best-paid photo editing apps on the market. This one is definitely one of the free Mac apps that you can download in 2019.
IINA is an open-source video player for your Mac which offers one of the best amalgamations of features and user interface. The app looks extremely beautiful and supports all the modern features including force touch, picture-in-picture, and even offers Touch-bar controls for the latest MacBook Pros. IINA also supports almost all the video formats that you can think of, including the ability to play even GIFs. The app also comes with theming capabilities allowing you to use either light or dark themes. I have discovered this app just a few weeks back and I am already in love with it. If you consume a ton of media on your MacBook Pro, this is the right app for you.
Shazam is an app that needs no introduction. The app helps you discover songs by identifying whatever song is playing in the background. I personally use Shazam more as a tool to keep the list of songs that I have discovered. Suppose I am listening to a song and YouTube and want to save it. I just click on the menu bar icon of Shazam and it identifies the song and saves it on the list. I don't have to write it down anywhere. Later I can see the list and add to my Apple Music Playlist at my convenience. Shazam is a great app for discovering and keeping track of music that you like.
By default, the security and privacy preferences of your Mac are set to allow apps from the App Store and identified developers. For additional security, you can chose to allow only apps from the App Store.
If you have set your Mac to allow apps only from the App Store and you try to install an app from elsewhere, your Mac will say that the app can't be opened because it was not downloaded from the App Store.*
I have used many AI tools, but this is the perfect one. Besides writing and rewriting, it also does proofread and polishes the writing quality. So you can write more effectively, expedite the editing process, and make your content more engaging. The tool has different modes like Smart Write, Zinsser, Continue writing, etc.
Whether you are a content creator, entrepreneur, artist, CEO, office professional, or student, Setapp can be a great asset for you. Setapp by MacPaw is a subscription service for Mac and iOS applications that includes curated apps designed to enhance your workflow, productivity, entertainment, web development, and more.
Further, Alfred supports shortcuts and makes it a breeze to control music, check spelling in a sentence, pop-up phone numbers or text on your screen, and more. This saves time and makes this one of the best Mac apps for productivity.
No matter what your workflow looks like, Notion can help you streamline and manage it. However, I have to admit that it takes a bit of a learning curve to master how to use it. This is primarily because of the abundance of features that can be overwhelming for a newbie. Check out this full review for more.
You can add items to an infinite queue that you can get to when you have the time. The best part is that everything you save is presented in a minimalist, distraction-free view that makes it quicker to get through.
This has got to be one of the best free Mac apps because almost everyone today knows what a burden it can be to handle email. Spark is a simple, smart, and thoughtful app that lightens the load and lets you truly take control of your inbox.
The Office apps available from the Mac App Store provide the very latest version of Office on the Mac. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook require a Microsoft 365 subscription to activate. OneNote and OneDrive do not require a Microsoft 365 subscription, but some premium features may require a Microsoft 365 subscription.
No. Office 2019 is the one-time purchase, non-subscription product (also known as perpetual). A Microsoft 365 subscription provides always up-to-date versions of Office apps and access to additional premium features and services. The apps available in the Mac App Store are not compatible with Office 2019 licenses.
If you own the older perpetual release of Office, you can download the new version of the apps from the Mac App Store, and purchase a new Microsoft 365 subscription using the in-app purchase option. In-app purchase offers include Microsoft 365 Family, and Microsoft 365 Personal. Your license from the perpetual release of Office will not work with the app versions from the App Store. Click here to learn about Microsoft 365 subscriptions and pricing.
No. It's likely that you installed Office directly from Microsoft. The Microsoft AutoUpdate app will keep your existing apps up-to-date. The apps in the Mac App Store do not provide functionality beyond what you have today.
Microsoft AutoUpdate is only used to get updates for apps that you download directly from Microsoft. If you download Office from the Mac App Store, then the App Store will provide you with future updates of Office. You may have other Microsoft apps installed on your Mac, and AutoUpdate will continue providing updates just for those apps.
No. Microsoft 365, Office 2019, and Office 2016 use the same application and file names. To see which version of Office you have installed on your Mac, open one of the apps, and look at the License text in the About dialog.
Pixelmator Pro is the perfect image editor if you want to avoid the subscription cost of Adobe Creative Cloud. Pixelmator Pro includes advanced image editing features like layers, brushes, effects, filters, and more. You can use various selection tools to tweak specific photo regions accurately or use content-aware fill to remove elements from a scene automatically. Pixelmator Pro is frequently updated to support the latest Apple technologies and platform features and uses iCloud to sync and collaborate on projects across its iOS and macOS apps. 2ff7e9595c
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