Apple’s macOS is highly regarded for providing stellar features, a bevy of customizations, and a massive library of apps on the Mac App Store. You will rarely hear someone says, “My Mac seems a bit slow. How do I’ve so less space left?” Whether you have bought a new Mac currently or are familiar with it, organizing things daily gets overbearing over time. Luckily, the Mac App Store and the developer community provide several macOS apps to optimize your Mac and tune it to its potential.
Best Mac Programs
Every Mac owner focal point or aims for an always stable performance. For that, one probably resort to spring cleaning occasionally. It’s merely wise to automate tasks such as dumping old/unused files, organizing files by archiving together, managing menu bar items, and so on. How about letting some applications undertake that automatically and make your life much easier? That’s because we have curated a bunch of useful and top-notch macOS apps to optimize your Mac.
Dec 27, 2018 Apple’s macOS operating system has matured to the point where, out of the box, your new Mac laptop or desktop pretty much has the bases covered when it comes to email, calendar management,. Feb 25, 2020 IINA is a free open source modern media player for macOS. It’s designed with the look and feel of the latest macOS versions while integrating the latest features. LastPass is my favorite free.
Most of the applications on this list provide a trial option to let you experience them before purchasing them.
Note: A few applications on this list require permissions such as Full Disk Access and Accessibility permissions to function correctly. So ensure you permit them accordingly.
1. Bartender 3
The menu bar can appear crowded with numerous icons and applications sitting there. Bartender 3 can arrange those menu bar items by clubbing them together sensibly, autohiding them, and letting them access keyboard shortcuts or a tiny search bar. You can use that small search box to look for and launch an application if you do not want to reveal the whole list of apps. You can also rearrange the app icon order in the menu bar list to access it with a single tap and browse it rapidly using your keyboard.
The best part is it works with the dark mode of macOS Catalina perfectly. Bartender 3 comes with a free four-week trial enabling you to experience a smart, minimalist menu bar. The full version will cost you just $15, and it is only obtainable from the official website.
2. CleanMyMac X
All we have to pay the price for trying out various new applications. At the same time, everyone desires their Macs to be zippy and responsive. It does not happen if you keep dumping applications. CleanMyMac X eliminates the need to roll-up sleeves to find and get rid of unwanted files or applications to speed up your Mac. It recognizes the unused files, the leftover components after app uninstallations, and other unused apps. By removing those junk files and applications, you can reclaim the precious storage space or room. Make a world of difference on MacBooks with 128GB or 256GB storage.
Furthermore, the CleanMyMac X trial will allow you to remove junk files merely up to 500MB, and some exclusive features are hidden behind the paywall. The paid version is obtainable from Mac Store and MacPaw Store with an annual subscription or one-time purchase. Mac Store version lacks or unavailability a few features, and that makes it slightly cheaper. If you desire all features, you will have to buy the ‘full no holds barred’ CleanMyMac X version from the MacPaw Store right away by paying some extra bucks. Macos check for updates.
3. Hazel 4
Let’s say you’ve CleanMyMac X to purge the junk files and Alfred 4 to assist you in looking for the precise documents that you are looking to revisit. What about the images and files that are littered across different folders and even external volumes? Well, you can organize those folders and files smartly with Hazel 4. First, you’ve to create some ground rules and patterns for Hazel 4 to organize your photos, files, movies, and relevant documents. Then, the application automates its organization process every time you make a change.
Hazel 4 can also remove duplicate files that you create by mistake and discard those incomplete downloads. These two things can assist you in reclaiming storage space. Also, you can configure it to organize files by name, date, or any other combination. Also, you can batch rename files and archive them. Hazel 4 does make your life much more comfortable, but it will cost you $32 for that. You can buy it from the official website. The current build (Hazel 4) does not support the dark mode in macOS Catalina.
4. Keka
Dealing with compressed or archived files on Mac can be difficult. Although Keka does the job quite flawlessly. It’s a skillful and useful file archiver that can extract a variety of archive formats, even IPA and APK files. It contains one of the most straightforward interfaces that includes two areas in a small window, top one to compress files and the bottom part to extract data. You will see that as soon as you drag and drop some files on Keka’s app window.
The admirable thing about Keka is that you can extract files directly without the application. For that, right-tap on the archive file, select Open with > Keka from the context menu and done. The support for compressing RAR files exists in its beta version. Furthermore, you can download it for free from the official website. Keka is also obtainable for $2.99 on the Mac App Store to support the developer’s efforts.
5. Alfred 4
Batman’s butler Alfred J. Pennyworth is remarkably efficient in aiding him during dangerous missions. Similar to that, Alfred 4 will help you in finding and launching the applications or documents you are looking for with minimal effort. You can also perform web searches from Alfred’s search box. It does sound like a search bar juiced up by mixing the Spotlight and Siri — except the voice commands part. But there is more.
Plus, you can add more capabilities with a Powerpack, which allows you to hook it directly to several remarkable services such as Spotify and 1Password. Additionally, you can use features like clipboard history, themes, text auto-expansion, and much more.
Though, you can cut down on performing repetitive manual tasks by crafting smart workflows to open applications, search the web, and expanding sentences or texts. You can even run Terminal commands right from the search box instead of opening the Terminal app. While the application is free to download, the Powerpack will cost 25GBP for a single license and 45GBP for a Free Lifetime Upgrade from the official website.
6. CoconutBattery 3
The macOS 10.15.5 Catalina update will support battery health management for Mac notebooks. But how usually will you check battery health, which could be nestled deep inside the settings? That’s because coconutBattery 3 is a better alternative since it shows battery-related details like Charge Cycle counts, the State of Health, Temperature, and even its status with a single tap on the menu bar.
Such details are incredibly vital for people who travel a lot, use their MacBooks with external displays, and put those Macs to sleep usually to understand the battery health better. CoconutBattery 3 is free to use. Although, you can buy the Plus version from the official website if you desire a detailed view of your Mac and iOS battery health and print device health reports.
7. Magnet
Resizing windows in macOS is a lot of fun that you can spend hours trying to imagine how an app window will resize. Well, with Magnet, you can overcome that by turning your workspace into a multitasking station. It lets you drag, align, and snap windows of the open apps. It means you can work or browse the web on one side of the screen and keep YouTube or Netflix running in the browser on the other side. Similar to the Split View on iPadOS and the Snap feature in Task View on Windows 10.
Working on documents while arranging two of them on top of each other becomes very effortless with it. You can customize keyboard shortcuts for snapping windows in a specific direction — right or left, top-left or bottom-left, and so on. If you do not recollect the keyboard combinations, tap the Magnet icon on the Menu bar then pick the direction you want to snap the currently active window.
Magnet is available for just $1.99 on the Mac App Store and is perfect for those who attach or hook their MacBooks to a monitor or a TV for a more significant screen estate.
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Spruce up Your Mac
Well, Apple’s MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models come with fast yet limited storage. And that could pinch at times. That’s because it’s necessary to keep disk space organized and speed it up for the maximum performance. Indeed, you can spend hours trying to fix those things manually. But why, when you can save your precious time and automate apps to manage those tasks?
By working with applications mentioned on this list, you can undoubtedly offload those repetitive activities and optimize your Mac. Which are your most-liked macOS applications that others should also try out and use? Also, share your experience of using them in the comments section below.