Useful Mac Apps Worth Checking Out - August 2021

Apps created for the Mac don't often receive as much attention as apps designed for iPhones and iPads, so we have a video series that highlights useful Mac apps worth checking out. Our August picks feature apps for drawing with the trackpad, managing music, keeping track of passwords, and more.

  • SigmaOS ($10/Month) - SigmaOS is a browser that's aimed at those who do a lot of their work on the web. It allows websites and web apps to be organized into different workspaces or projects, and it supports multitasking with two active pages at one time. Workspaces that you don't need can be snoozed temporarily, and for those who often collaborate, you can send pages directly to another user's browser. SigmaOS is free to try, but it costs $10 per month for unlimited workspaces, pages, actions, and cross-device syncing.
  • MiniKey ($1.99) - MiniKey is a lightweight one-time password app for the Mac that's designed as an alternative to apps like Authy or Google Authenticator. It lives in the Mac's menu bar and can be used to store all of your two-factor authentication codes. You can click to copy or drag and drop from the drop down menu where your authentication codes are stored.
  • Magic Drawing App (Free) - Magic is designed to let you create drawings with your Mac's trackpad. It has pressure sensitivity when used with a MacBook's Force Touch trackpad, and there are customizable brushes to choose from.
  • Sleeve ($5) - Sleeve is a desktop music player that works with Apple Music, Spotify, and Doppler. It's deeply customizable and lets you create a little desktop music widget that lets you know what's playing, provides album art, and offers up playback controls. You can decide just how much information you want to see and where you want it.
  • Slapdash (Free) - Slapdash aggregates the capabilities from all of your apps into one easy access spot that can be reached with a single keyboard command (command + J). You just open up Slapdash and search for what you want if it's not already in the quick access list. Slapdash is customizable and there are team features for companies. Slapdash is free for limited use, but unlocking all of the features requires a $12/month subscription.

Know of a must-have Mac app or game that we haven't highlighted yet? Let us know in the comments below and we might feature it in a future video. Many of our Mac apps that we share are recommended by MacRumors readers. For more of our Mac app picks, check out our Mac apps archive.

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Black

Apple Just Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever After Beats

Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio. Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014. Q.ai has...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
apple unsold web store

Retail Accessories Apple Won't Sell You Now Available via New Site

Friday January 30, 2026 8:46 am PST by
A newly surfaced resale operation is seemingly offering Apple Store–exclusive display accessories to the public for the first time, potentially giving consumers access to Apple-designed hardware that the company has historically kept confined to its retail environments. Apple designs a range of premium MagSafe charging stands, display trays, and hardware systems exclusively for displays in ...
Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. At the time,...
Apple Creator Studio

Apple's Next Launch is Today

Tuesday January 27, 2026 2:39 pm PST by
Update: Apple Creator Studio is now available. Apple Creator Studio launches this Wednesday, January 28. The all-in-one subscription provides access to the Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage apps, with U.S. pricing set at $12.99 per month or $129 per year. A subscription to Apple Creator Studio also unlocks "intelligent features" and "premium...

Top Rated Comments

dylanthomas Avatar
58 months ago
$10/Month for a web browser...
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
seanmills1020 Avatar
58 months ago
In the 1990s Netscape actually charged for its browser, but $120/yr is astronomical.

Netscape pricing ('http://www.cnet.com/news/netscape-cuts-prices-on-retail-products/').
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EmotionalSnow Avatar
58 months ago

In the 1990s Netscape actually charged for its browser, but $120/yr is astronomical.

Netscape pricing ('http://www.cnet.com/news/netscape-cuts-prices-on-retail-products/').
Agreed. The browser seems nice but considering that it misses a few features and the price I am definitely not interested. I am willing to pay for good software but having to pay a subscription more expensive than Apple Music or Disney+ is just ridiculous.

And Slapdash is charging $12/m for their Pro tier. I generally am somewhat understanding when it comes to developers and subscriptions but this is really getting out of hand.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Roadcrew Avatar
58 months ago
Who is even making these recommendations? I'm not afraid of paying for good apps, but the monthly pricing on SigmaOS and Slapdash is just ridiculous.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EmotionalSnow Avatar
58 months ago

Apps created for the Mac don't often receive as much attention as apps designed for iPhones and iPads
That's unfortunately true and why I appreciate this series. I didn't know any of these apps before. Thanks to the MacRumors team.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
58 months ago
No way I would pay a monthly fee to use a web browser.

Minikey does not live in the Menu Bar. It resides there. Apps can't live.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)