Just got a Mac? Welcome to the Apple fandom. Now is the time to put that system into action. I just prepared an app to help you with that.
Currently, I drive an M3 Pro MacBook Pro every day, and the macOS Sonoma experience at startup is good. But with just 9 additional pieces of software, you can make it truly amazing.
Many of these are available at Set up the app ā A great subscription service that I’ve been trying out for a few months. Get access to over 240 apps for just $9.99 without having to buy apps individually, from cleaning out junk and optimizing your system to creating time-bound sessions to focus on your work. functions.
Here’s a look at the apps you can download from this service, and the rest you can get completely free of charge.
Rectangle – Free (with subscription)
If there’s one thing I’ve been jealous of since Windows 10, it’s the ability to snap windows into different layouts. Since using this feature, every time I open my various MacBooks, the window drags to the side and nothing happens, which makes me sad.
However, you can convert split-screen multitasking by: rectangle, enable this missing feature from macOS. The setup process is easy. Just open it, accept permissions to open it, customize the shortcuts to your liking, and you’re off to the races for increased productivity.
Bright Intosh – Free
The Mini LED display that comes with every Macbook Pro is a godsend. HDR brightness features are especially noticeable when opening YouTube videos encoded with this standard. The video player shines very brightly off-screen compared to other on-screen elements.
So what if you want to take advantage of this 1,000+ nits of brightness for both HDR and SDR content? YouTubers around the world are lining up to recommend Vivid, a paid option. However, to get the same experience, Download Bright Intosh For free.
Apple doesn’t make it easy to see all important information from the top taskbar. It’s also not easy to customize. This is where the iStat menu comes in handy. Of course, you can see how much CPU power and system memory is being used, along with your current internet upload/download speeds.
But the real beauty is that you can adjust the menu bar items, customize the dropdown with more settings, add weather forecasts to the bar, and more. This is your chance to add a little more personality to your desktop. iStat Menus can be downloaded as a 15-day free trial and then purchased for $11.99, or as part of a Setapp subscription for $9.99 per month.
Paste – Free Trial
The act of copying and pasting is something you would never think of when thinking about purchasing an app. Just assuming that happens, and while it does, there are ways to improve this significantly. So what if you had an unlimited clipboard history, shared copied elements across devices, and could search them intelligently?
That’s what Paste offers in its fairly comprehensive app package. The way you work across multiple documents and devices has been significantly upgraded to the point where the typical out-of-the-box copy and paste functionality feels almost stone-age. You can try Paste for free, subscribe for $29.99 per year, or download it as part of Setapp.
Typing Mind – Starting at $39, available on Setapp
Consider ChatGPT. But something with a cleaner interface and far more features will give you a typing mind. It has a rich feature set to help you add AI to the way you work, including a user-friendly interface, support for multiple large-scale language models (LLMs), and continuous update support.
But the two parts I liked the most were the built-in prompt library, which saves a lot of time when telling the AI āāwhat to do, and the different personalities that help give the AI āāa more human look and interact with it. is. It has the versatility that allows beginners to learn the ropes and professional users to maximize the potential of their LLM.
The standard version of Typing Mind is available for $39. You can also check it out as part of your Setapp subscription.
1Blocker – Free with in-app purchases
The name is a little gift. If you’re a Safari user on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad, this is the ad blocker of choice for you. But it can do more than that… Let me explain.
With built-in speed and security (this ad blocker doesn’t track the sites you visit), it can also block tracking pixels, social media widgets, comment sections, and (if running on your family computer) adult sites. Masu.
1Blocker is available for free and has in-app purchases. It is also available as part of a Setapp subscription.
Day 1 ā Free (subscription available)
The Journal app in iOS 17.2 is a great addition and worked very well in our own testing. But in my opinion, there is no comparable feature set and benefits. first day I’ll make an offer. Of course, it also has standard features, such as the option to securely lock your journal, search for tags, and connect your social accounts to upload posts directly to add additional context.
But its most powerful feature is cross-device support. As someone who loves to write, journaling from my Mac is my favorite option, but you can easily do it from your iPhone or Apple Watch as well. This complete suite makes it even easier to write down your gratitudes and thoughts for the day.
In Your Face – Free with in-app purchases
If there’s one thing I’m definitely guilty of, it’s not attending meetings due to other commitments (sorry boss). But this little app is very important to never forget a calendar event again.
When the meeting starts, a notification will appear on your screen. There is literally no excuse to miss them anymore. And it’s a very useful utility for my forgetful brain.
In Your Face is available in the Mac App Store or via a Setapp subscription.
Honey – Free
With my serial online shopper side, finding coupon codes can be quite a hassle. Besides, most of them on the collective website don’t seem to be working at all. It will be quite painful, but honey This saved me a lot of time.
Your browser will prompt you every time you visit the payment page for a purchased product, and Honey will begin trying out a ton of different coupon codes from its constantly updated database. So far, this has saved him over $190 in 2023.