Eight Useful Mac Apps Worth Checking Out
Mac apps can often go under the radar, with apps for the iPhone and iPad receiving more attention. For that reason, we have a Mac-focused video series that highlights useful Mac apps we've come across. Our first picks of the year are largely simple, one-task apps that add utility to your Mac.
- Ice Menu Bar Manager (Free) - Ice is a menu bar management tool that's an alternative to Bartender. Last year, Bartender was quietly acquired by a less than trustworthy company, and many no longer want to use it. Ice has a rich feature set. You can rearrange menu bar apps, change the look of the menu bar with colors, hide cruft, and more.
- DropOver ($5.99)- DropOver is a simple macOS app that enhances the Mac's Drag and Drop functionality. You can grab multiple files and move them around without opening side-by-side windows. You activate DropOver with a shake of the cursor, add items to a "shelf" and then you can move to your destination folder and unload them.
- Latest (Free) - Latest is a super simple app that checks to ensure that your apps are up to date. It supports apps that use the Mac App Store and those that use Sparkle for updates, which is a good deal of the Mac apps out there.
- NotchNook ($25) - NotchNook turns your Mac's notch into a little Mac version of a Dynamic Island. You can click into it and get shortcuts like a media player, the Calendar, quick notes, and more, plus it has drag and drop functionality that makes it easy to move files and send them using AirDrop. It's $25, or $3 per month.
- Shortwave (Free, but unlocking more features costs $7/month) - Shortwave is yet another email app, but it uses AI in a helpful way. It organizes your inbox to surface what's most important, it can create to-dos for you, add labels, archive unimportant email threads, search for content, alert you to emails that still need a response, and more. You can also use AI to summarize emails and get writing help, with the AI able to respond in your own voice based on past email correspondence. This is not a bare bones email app, so note that it can take some time to get used to. This is a subscription app and it starts at $7 per month, paid annually.
- Local Send (Free) - If you need to share content between an iOS device or Mac and an Android device or a Windows PC, you can do so with Local Send. This is great if you're not entirely in the Apple ecosystem, because AirDrop doesn't work on non-Apple devices.
- Hyperduck ($4) - With Hyperduck, you can share links between your Macs, iPhones, and iPads with more control than AirDrop. You can, for example, save a webpage on your iPhone and have it open up later on your Mac, even if your Mac isn't turned on when you first save the website.
- Rocket (Free) - Rocket is another simple, one-function app that lets you add emojis in any app. Press on the colon key and then start typing in the emoji that you want. It's free to use, but a pro version adds options for adding GIFs and images.
Know of a great Mac app that we haven't highlighted yet? Let us know in the comments below and we might feature it in a future video. For more of our Mac app picks, check out our Mac apps archive.
Popular Stories
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass.
The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
Apple is "drastically" cutting production of the iPhone Air and shifting focus toward the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro models, Nikkei Asia reports.
The business publication claims to have learned of a major cut to iPhone Air production motivated by weaker-than-expected consumer interest, nearly to "end of production levels." Despite early reports of the iPhone Air selling out within hours of...
General Motors began phasing out support for CarPlay in its electric vehicles back in 2023, leading to complaints from iPhone users, but the company has no plans to back down.
In fact, GM is going further and plans to remove CarPlay from all future gas vehicles, too. In an interview with The Verge, GM CEO Mary Barra said that the company opted to prioritize its platform for EVs, but the...
Apple plans to launch a new type of iPhone every year for the foreseeable future, according to an Asia-based source.
The detailed information was shared by the account "yeux1122" in a blog post on the Korean platform Naver, citing domestic trend and component research companies.
Corroborating other reports, Apple will apparently launch its first foldable iPhone in 2026, featuring a...
With the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple added a toggle that makes Liquid Glass more opaque and reduces transparency. We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
If you have the latest iOS 26.1 beta, you can go to Settings > Display and Brightness to get to the new option. Tap on Liquid Glass, then...
Back in 2012, an Apple retail employee named Sam Sung went viral because his name is similar to Samsung, one of Apple's main competitors. In a recent interview with Business Insider, he detailed that period in his life, how Apple responded, and he explained why he ultimately changed his name.
Someone posted an image of Sung's Apple business card on Reddit in 2012, and it spread rapidly....
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps.
More features and changes will follow in future ...
Even though we're at the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple is continuing to add new features. In fact, the fourth beta has some of the biggest changes that we'll get when iOS 26.1 releases to the public later this month. We've rounded up what's new below.
Liquid Glass Transparency Toggle
Apple added a toggle for customizing the look of Liquid Glass. In Settings > Display and Brightness,...
Kohler is expanding its line of bathroom products with Dekoda, an iPhone-connected device that's designed to be attached to a toilet rim (via The Verge). The device's included "sensors" point into the toilet bowl, allowing it to analyze what goes on in the bathroom.
According to Kohler, Dekoda is a health tracker that can monitor gut health and hydration, as well as detect the presence of...
