5 Apps You Should Have on Your Mac

In today’s article, I’m going to showcase the most useful utilities you can download for your Mac right now. These apps are the ones I personally use daily, enhancing the Mac experience to a whole new level.

Before starting, make sure you have the latest version of macOS (currently macOS 14, aka. Sonoma) to ensure all apps are compatible.

I also want to let you know that all the apps below are free.

Raycast is a launcher that aims to replace the built-in macOS Launchpad, activated by pressing CMD+Space. Similar to “Launchpad,” Raycast can open applications by searching for them, make quick calculations by typing a math expression, and handle unit and currency conversions. Unlike the macOS Launchpad, Raycast is much faster and more precise in finding what you’re looking for. In addition to the features macOS Launchpad already offers, Raycast allows you to snap windows, uninstall apps and their data folders, search emojis and symbols with natural language, and supports extensions, including Spotify (or YouTube Music) controls, YouTube (and other socials) Downloader, Google Translate, and more. There's even an option to associate a combination of keystrokes to open a specific app or execute a particular action. Raycast will significantly enhance your productivity and help you forget about your mouse!

You can find and download Raycast for free here.

If you want to customize the look of your Mac's app icons, you're in the right place! Even though it's possible to customize icons, updating an app often reverts the icon to the original, resulting in loss of customization. Pictogram automatically restores the custom icon after each update, ensuring a good-looking user interface without manual intervention.

You can download Pictogram for free here and find custom icons for your apps here.

As the name suggests, this app brings the same Alt+Tab command available on Windows to your Mac. While MacOS has a built-in similar feature (CMD+Tab), it doesn’t allow you to cycle through each application window, only through applications. With AltTab, that's no longer a problem!

You can download AltTab for free here.

Whether you want to remember One Thing or display a quote on your Mac menu bar, One Thing allows you to do so! You can even append an emoji to make it cooler.

Download One Thing for free from the Mac App Store.

If you always want to know how much time is left in your (productive) day, this app is perfect for you. It adds a progress bar with a percentage that counts how much time you've already spent and how much you have left. Checking it a few times a day can help you stay on track with your tasks.

Download Day Progress for free from the Mac App Store.

Conclusion

macOS offers numerous useful apps, and the ones I've shared here are just the tip of the iceberg. At the time of writing this article, I personally have about 130 applications in my Applications folder, taking up slightly more than 43 GB! Anyway, I hope these ones are helpful to you. If you start with these 5, you’ll probably look for others in the future because it’s an awesome world that helps customize your experience to your liking.

Do you have other applications to suggest? Comment below and let us know!

Today's Blogger

Hi, I'm Giorgio Bellisario, a Liceo Scientifico student. My passion revolves around tech and everything computer-related. Coding is my favorite hobby, and I primarily focus on web development, crafting websites from scratch. If you're intrigued by all things tech and ethical "hacking," you've come to the right place.