A good macOS needs some good apps to run on it. Here we share a list of lesser know but multifunctional must-have apps for macOS High Sierra (also works on macOS Mojave) to make the best use of the latest operating system for Mac, covering a wide range of macOS High Sierra apps, from data backup to productivity, from paid to free. A must have app! (Updating the review as I wrote my orginal review years ago) This is still a must have app. It is indispensable for average/casual users and apple nerds alike. I also highly recommend downloading Ian’s iOS apps. Great to have access to this very accurate information on all your devices. Download here now and then go download.
- Must Have Mac Programs
- Must Have App For Mac Os High Sierra
- Must Have Mac Apps 2020
- Download Mac Os App
Entertainment
Must Have Mac Programs
At the mention of what your Macbook is used to do, entertainment accounts for a large proportion, no matter on watching videos/movies, listening to music, editing photograph etc. If there is an absence of the best Mac apps 2020 in entertainment, you will suffer from a obscure and upsetting journey even on your brand new Macbook.
MacX DVD Ripper
If you are ready to turn your DVD collection s into a digital library in iTunes, MacX DVD Ripper is no doubt the best Mac app in 2020 (macOS Big Sur also supported), as Handbrake has issues now that libdvdcss doesn't work with Sierra. It has dozens of great features, like 1:1 copying with original video quality, excellent protection bypass tools (including for region codes and Disney DRM), output DVD to iOS/Android, and batch conversion.
iMovie
With a streamlined design and intuitive editing features, iMovie lets you enjoy your videos and tell stories like never before. Browse your video library, share favorite moments, and create beautiful movies for iMovie 4K editing. Still, it can be treated as the best free app for iPhone iPad, allowing you to start editing movies on an iPhone or iPad, and finish them on a Mac. And when your movie is ready for its big premiere, you can enjoy it on all your devices in iMovie Theater.
MacX Video Converter
Video formats compatibility is always the top issue for video watching on Macbook Pro/Air, iMac etc. MacX Video Converter definitely keeps you away from this by converting 4K HD/SD videos to MP4, AVI, MPEG, FLV, MOV, WMV, MKV, MP3, etc for playback on QuickTime, iPhone, iPad, Android flawlessly and editing with iMovie and Final Cut Pro. Plus, as an essential Mac app (macOS Big Sur supported), it also stands out on downloading video from 1000+ online video sites, recording screen, editing video, etc.
Handbrake
If you're a video connoisseur, or if you're always finding that you have to convert your videos to make them playable (or streamable) to all of your devices, then you're going to want Handbrake on your macOS Sierra, pronto. This is one of the best OS X apps for video conversion and DVD ripping. It's detailed enough to give power users plenty of options to play with, but it's also simple enough in its core functionality that even newbies will be able to figure out how to convert a video with Handbrake. Best of all, it's free.
5KPlayer
5KPlayer is the rising media player app for Macbook in 2020, which plays videos/DVDs in high definition, downloads videos from YouTube or Dailymotion, and even sends them to your TV or big screen through AirPlay. It's much easier than other media players yet still quick and reliable in everything it does. In short, the best free app for macOS is perfect for those who just want to play videos without complications.
VLC
VLC media player is better than Quicktime in nearly every facet that matters, most notably speed and file compatibility. It is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. Here stating as the best free application on macOS, it's also widely regarded as the first DVD player on Macbook Pro/Air, supporting playback of encrypted DVDs (region code, CSS) by using the libdvdcss DVD decryption library.
Spotify
Apple Music isn't for everyone. With Spotify, it's easy to find the right music for every moment on your phone, your computer, your tablet and more. There are millions of tracks on Spotify. So whether you're working out, partying or relaxing, the right music is always at your fingertips. Choose what you want to listen to, or let the free music download app surprise you. You can also browse through the music collections of friends, artists and celebrities, or create a radio station and just sit back.
Photoshop
Photoshop is one of the most comprehensive photo editing apps on Mac now brings you even more creative possibilities. It has professional-quality tools, like advanced color manipulation and 32-bit/64-bit channel editing. It also has dozens of useful features, like multiple editable layers, vector graphics tools, advanced image processing, and retouching and correction masking tools for 2017 MacBook Pro, Air, iMac users to explore and use.
In 2017 I released the list of my top apps for Mac users working in tech (not strictly). This is an updated version with a couple of additions and removals.
(+) Added
(=) Maintained
(-) Removed
(=) Fantastical 2
If you are not using Outlook, Fantastical 2 is probably the best replacement for the weak OS X Calendar. The app tightly integrates with IOS and Apple Watch. The app is on my favorite list because of the excellent integration with Google and O365 Calendars and its ability to work with room and resource scheduling.
(=)Grammarly
Grammarly is a grammar auto-correction, contextual spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation capabilities. It integrates natively with Safari and has an OS X desktop app, and not has native app integration for Office for Mac. Still a very useful tool for native and non-native English speakers.
(=)Alfred
Must Have App For Mac Os High Sierra
Alfred is probably the best replacement for macOS Spotlight, but what makes Alfred shine is its ability to execute very complex workflows that can include AppleScripts, shell scripts, Ruby, or Python code. You can download hundreds of workflows being shared by the Alfred community that provides integration services with the most diverse set of macOS apps or Web Services.
(-) ScreenFlow
(+) FinalCutPro
Screenflow used to be my go-to app whenever I need to screencast or video record a demo. However, once I tried and spent some time on FinalCutPro and I found it to be a journey without a way back. The app is so powerful that even the large cost difference was easily justified for my needs. I would still recommend ScreenFlow for smaller jobs or editing screen recording etc, but if you want exercise your creativity, FinalCutPro is the way to go.
(-) Evernote
(+) Apple Notes
For many years Evernote was the keeper of all my personal journaling and archival. In an experiment, I migrated all my notes to the newer Apple Notes, and although it does not have all the bells and whistles it was good enough to replace Evernote as my core note-taking app and it is free. The latest version also searches through PDFs.
(=) CleanMyMac
There are many free and paid tools out there to keep your Mac tidy. I like CleanMyMac as it has been working great for me for a long time. It is simple and does a good job removing garbage, completely uninstalling apps, running maintenance scripts, letting me manage installed extensions and more. Useful!
(-) Eclipse
(-) Sublime
(+) Visual Studio Code
Eclipse and Sublime reigned in my app library as my favorite IDEs, but once I got into VSC there was no way back. VSC is extremely extensible and has support for most languages, providing Autocompletion, Syntax Highlight, Code Folding, Customizability, Powerful Search, and Simultaneous Editing The community is vibrant and thousands of plugins and modules are available. (I still use Sublime as a text editor as it is lightweight and can easily handle large amounts of data)
(=) Docker
The Docker for OS X has become my testbed whenever I need to deploy or test a Linux app. For me, Docker is replacing VMware Fusion and VirtualBox whenever possible.
(+) Quitter
Must Have Mac Apps 2020
Quitter is the newest tool in my arsenal. This simple and tiny tool automatically quit apps under certain conditions. My particular condition is making sure communication apps like Zoom; Skype GoToMeeting are quit automatically if they have not been in use for 10 minutes. In this new world of non-ending conferences, I want to make sure I’m not unknowingly being streamed around.
(-) Moon
(+) Magnet
Magnet windows manager is an awesome little utility that lets you use shortcuts to define app window placement. I took it even further and integrated into StreamDeck for a one-click shortcut. I used to use Moon a while ago, but Magnet has proven to be a much better solution.
(+) AdGuard
I was not a user of blocking and privacy protection for MacOS, but after trying AdGuard I became a fan. It not only provides defense against ads in Safari and other browsers, but it also protects you from tracking, phishing, and fraud. Here is a screenshot of my own AdGuard status.
(=) iTerm2
I have been using iTerm2 as a terminal replacement for the native terminal in MacOS for a long time. iTerm2 has a bunch of useful features such as Split Panes, Hotkeys, Search, Autocomplete, and it is very configurable. Some of the benefits have been diminished with Zsh integration into MacOS, but it is still convenient, and it is free!
(+) ToothFairy
I have been looking for an app to control my Bluetooth devices for a little while because going into Bluetooth configuration every time I need something different is a pain. ToothFairy allows me to use hotkeys to connect and disconnect devices, rename devices, adjust icons, and run bash scripts when connecting/disconnecting devices. Because it provides hotkeys I was also able to integrate into StreamDeck.
(+) Karabiner Elements
Karabiner-Elements is a powerful and stable keyboard customizer for macOS. If you want to use a non-Apple keyboard, this is the right tool for you. Karabiner allows simple and complex key modifications and supports multiple devices and profiles. I use it with my Microsoft Sculpt keyboard it works flawlessly.
Download Mac Os App
(=) SnagIt
SnagIt if my go-to-app to quickly capture and edit screenshots, especially when blogging. One of the features I like the most is the scrolling screen capture that allows me to take a full-page webpage. SnagIt also record video and audio. I also use the native macOS screen capture tool quite a lot, but SnagIt has many features for editing that make this tool essential for my day-to-day.
(+) Fresco
If you have multiple displays connected to macOS this app is a must-have! Fresco makes it dead simple to span a panorama image over multiple displays, resize, and position images to make them fit to your liking, and even allow you to create your own desktop by combining images. It’s awesome and it’s free!
Honourable mentions:
- VMware Fusion (for Virtual Machines)
- Filezilla (easy FTP)
- MS Office (sure, there’s no real alternative to Office)
- Caffeine (macOS never sleep)
- OBS (the top app for streamers)
- AudioSwitcher (change and/mix audio input-output using shortcuts)
- Bartender 3 (organize your menu bar icons)
- NordVPN (get around firewalls)
This article was first published by Andre Leibovici (@andreleibovici) at myvirtualcloud.net.