14 UNIQUE Mac Apps You Can’t Live Without!

Here's 14 free Mac apps you'll want to install! These apps and tools will help secure your Mac or MacBook, boost productivity, and get the most out of your Mac without spending a dime!
If I've missed any great free Mac apps, feel free to share them in the comments.
Essential Mac Apps to Get - • Mac Setup - 14 UNIQUE ...
Wallpapers - andrewethanzeng.gumroad.com/
Clyde - theclyde.app/
Portal - portal.app/mac
Hazeover - hazeover.com/
Al Dente - apphousekitchen.com/
Itsycal - www.mowglii.com/itsycal/
Monitor Control - github.com/MonitorControl/Mon...
PDFGear - www.pdfgear.com/
Transnomino - www.transnomino.com/
Photomater - www.pixelmator.com/photomator/
Recut - getrecut.com/?ref=aez
HEIC Converter - apps.apple.com/us/app/heic-co...
XNIP - xnipapp.com/
Handbrake - handbrake.fr/downloads.php
Hand Mirror - handmirror.app/
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🥏 VIDEO CHAPTERS
0:00 - Introduction
0:28 - Mac Security Lock
1:20 - Focus Portal
2:24 - Single-Window Dimmer
3:38 - Battery Life
4:34 - Toolbar Cal
5:38 - Monitor Control
6:28 - PDF Gear
7:57 - Auto File Namer
9:26 - Photomater
11:20 - Recut
12:34 - HEIC Conveter
13:26 - Screenshots
14:30 - Handbrake
15:40 - Hand Mirror
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#mac #apps
14 UNIQUE Mac Apps You Can’t Live Without!

[@ImSkye]

App or not, no one in their right mind is leaving a $5k MacBook in a cafe

[@itsmuterfree7591]

Getting broke guy vibes 😂

[@Kazwire]

@@itsmuterfree7591he just has common sense

[@tradinganonymous]

5k macbook?🤣🤣🤣

[@ImSkye]

@@tradinganonymous what’s so funny? Mine was $6k.

[@itsmuterfree7591]

@@ImSkye you tripping fr

[@rahannn]

Great job! Many thanks solved many issues I have been struggling with. Big thumbs up 👍

[@MatisseGoossens]

Amazing list. Thank you for making this video. Just got a 2020 Air and I've been loving it

[@chaeugene]

Wow!!! You just dropped another solid list here for productivity. Thanks a lot!

[@KUBOGRAPHICS]

Hey would you like to try my Mac app Folderizer :)?

[@NileshParmar]

Productivity. Some nice time savers there, thanks.

[@NatureMystic]

Definitely downloading Monitor Control Lite. That's going to be super helpful, thank you! 😊

[@user-le1te9hg4p]

Thanks for the info. Great summary.

[@chrislozanovski4751]

This was awesome, what a great list of useful apps! thanks!

[@_JaiBrown]

Great Vid, Note: You can also convert HEIC images by right clicking on the image and selecting Quick Actions. There will be an option to convert. Productivity

[@cliffsunlight4751]

That's how it's done !

[@OMAR-rv6hi]

Best video ever, definitely going to download some of the apps.

[@curiosophy4241]

I LOVE THE APPS so helpful, thank u so much

[@danielleamber7353]

Can't wait to receive my new Mac and try some of these. I have always followed your older lists and added them in my stack.

[@krill_inksanity]

Hi Daniel ! Did you get your new Mac yet ? How's the experience ?

[@germ19a27]

Great video. Thanks. Really useful suggestions!

[@_ABHB_]

Great list Andrew, Keep goin🔥

[@HenryHill-ok1qu]

thanks for the great content, I downloaded several of these apps

[@davejackson7468]

Nice work. What is the docking station you are using for the new M3 MacBook Air? I need this

[@user-ch5dj2rc4d]

I wrote them down in my love journal and put inside my hope chest. THX!

[@JanLandy]

I am impressed. Excellent choices of apps.🎉❤

[@jonno965]

So helpful! Thank you.

[@edilsondev]

Monitor Control is a ++, thanks!

[@PaperWill]

Solid video, and super helpful. Thanks Andrew!

[@balajprasanna]

Great video Andrew thank you. I already use Monitor Control and Handmirror. 🙏 Trying Portal and Haze now. What is that outro music? It is so cool.

[@anastasiialazuka7260]

Thank you very much! I pencilled down many apps!

[@Willthurston]

Loved the vid - productivity. id love to know how you order your main bar at the top of your screen with arrows

[@anisdada1646]

Thanks for Al Dente, I was searching for an app to control charging.

[@rogue_lele6167]

is there any app like, smart kepboard. like g board

[@melaniesvenson9459]

Dont use it if you have macbooks M models. they already have optimized batttery. that app can only be good for older macs

[@MrBlayze99]

@@melaniesvenson9459Why? I use this since 6 Months

[@PedroDanielBittencourt]

@@rogue_lele6167 👀

[@raiwet]

Anybody who calls Preview underwhelming needs to spend a month locked in Windows or Linux and tell me how underwhelming macOS’s free PDF reader app is.

[@d8nnii_]

Couldn’t agree with you more, Preview when coupled with Quick Look and annotation within Quick Look is simply a V8 engine. Preview does lots of things for free that otherwise is a paid feature in other apps.

[@JohnEusebioToronto]

Edge is a pretty solid odd reader. Not as good as preview but solid. The PDF situation on Linux is EXTREMELY grim, tho.

[@katsweeterly2039]

Love Portal since forever, also on my iPhone ❤

[@alirezazadeh1876]

very useful, thanks mate

[@jungleworld11]

Great stuff ! Thank you.

[@sruli522]

Great video, I need a good and simple screen recording option.

[@laurapotter1100]

those are amazing, thank you!

[@mrunalsonawane3363]

By the way, you have the option to display the date, including the day and time, on the menu bar. This feature has been available since the beginning. Settings > Control Center > Under "Menu Bar Only" > Clock Options > Show date - Always

[@danielvictor4984]

yes but you won see the full calendar like the app

[@jdambat]

Excellent suggestions

[@railpressureflip]

Productivity! Great video!

[@andrefernandozen]

Great stuff! 👏👏

[@philharmonicaz]

This is great but Macs have had built in file conversion for a bit, you just right click file, go to quick actions and you can convert heir to job or whatever built into the OS. I'm trying som of these other suggestions. Thanks!

[@ennakarengonzalez3632]

This list of apps is stellar

[@jermainelewis4789]

this was a good list

[@john___007]

Very good, thanks!

[@ggs0605]

Hey productivity guy, nice video!

[@GabrielFereira]

Great video dude.

[@joshchan5721]

8:06 couldn't come at a better time i've been looking for something to batch rename some files. Productivity

[@jo69123]

Question. I have 2 monitors, and sometimes when I click on a new app "window" and use keyboard shortcuts, the last previous active window still takes those, even though I clicked on a different app, sort of like the "focus" doesn't switch fast enough, it would be awesome if it could be set to switch on mouse focus, I believe the default is "cmd+click" and wait a couple seconds, and then the app is on focus, do you know a way to change this?

[@ethanmatthews7984]

Wish I knew about aldente earlier! My m2 macbook air is already at 88% battery health... Now I can use it on external power at 70% with piece of mind

[@lenajafaryassinosman2168]

Thanks alot !

[@EricMuranoAU]

don't leave you mac in a public place, even with a loud alarm.

[@miiko_web_dev]

Thank you!

[@jaezim]

great apps selection

[@joaoalves3985]

Great job!

[@StephenDavisMonsignor]

First video of yours I have seen! Downloaded Transnomino, Portal, and Clyde.. Already had Handbrake and Monitor Control (must haves!!)! Subscribed! Productivity!

[@StephenDavisMonsignor]

..forgot to add.. Apps I use daily include CopyClip (the 'old' free one not V2), AppCleaner (great uninstaller), PostHaste (creates folders and hierarchy), Instapaper (an app to read things later), and Carbon Copy Cloner. Productivity!!

[@TheFloatingBartender]

So funny you featured Skógafoss, I’m a tour guide in Iceland I go there twice a week at least

[@DSGQR]

Andrew, what do you use to edit a video like this? Specifically where you have your face in the bottom right while showcasing your desktop. Thanks in advance.

[@johnsfavorites]

Amazing list, seriously!! Revamping my MBP and will be using tons of these. One recent one that I downloaded that I like is Rectangle - for snapping open windows to the sides of your screen like some Windows functionality.

[@AndrewEthanZeng]

Glad you liked it. Thanks for the reco, I'll check that out.

[@fallofshadows2209]

Rectangle pro is totally worth $10 if you have it. I just got it and it's already an integral part of working from my laptop.

[@thealmostmillennial7570]

First one in, clyde is already a banger app I'll download after this video 👍

[@Juan-tk5lg]

why clyde app is not available on my macbook?

[@90ravg]

You too: it blows my mind, and then it smashes it to the ground three times .. to see your space bar (and mine too, of course) worn out like mine, and comparing it to better looking MacBook keyboards from 2010.. Space bar has a specific problem, I guess… It shows so much… It took TWO weeks in my case just unbelievable…

[@TheZkills]

Greetings Andrew, What do you use to record your screen to make your videos?

[@ilm91]

I would add some more Apps I Can’t Live Without: 1) Pixelmator Pro - the best Photoshop Alternative for Mac 2) Craft - Awesome for taking Notes 3) Speed Player for Safari - to adjust speed of any Video 4) 1Blocker for Safari - to block any ads 5) Encrypto - to secure folders with a password 6) Rectangle - a free App to adjust window size easy and with shortcuts too 7) AppCleaner - delete Apps completely with all files 8) ColorFolder - free App to give all folders colors 9) Downie - dowload any video from web These apps are the reason why I can't go back to Windows ever again

[@KeviKhoreo]

Thanks for the suggestions! How do you like Craft?

[@ilm91]

@@KeviKhoreoI use it for summaries, personal notes and important information for myself. It’s free and the performance on Mac, iPad and iPhone very fast. You can share your notes online via links. And the best feature is, that you can create notes in notes for each line

[@BryceDriesenga]

I would also add Raycast! Can often replace many other apps (like Rectangle), though it'll depend what you prefer

[@CKei9]

did u purchase downie?

[@omitobisam]

Nice

[@ozverti6886]

I just need to figure out what application you are using for the menubar to be unfolded like that

[@heathhoward]

Great video. Recently was on a work imposed 10 year hiatus from a Mac and now moving my workflow back to a Mac. Love videos like this.

[@anuragsoni522]

Handbrake icon is to show the convert across formats - a pineapple to a cocktail etc.

[@zoltanzerohero3099]

Thx🎉

[@mohammadkhalil3265]

Amazing… thanks

[@divayjeet-boi]

i like this keep it up we need it

[@AndrewEthanZeng]

Thank you! :)

[@yassinbadermedia]

Downloaded all of them since I am on the cusp of my coaching career and I do see a use case for all of them, thank you for that.

[@AndrewEthanZeng]

Welcome, glad the list was helpful!

[@chuckycheeser]

get a real profession

[@nataliavillarreal4414]

Productivity. One video I'll be coming back to.

[@emmanueljohn4018]

i need to know which application is good for video presentation

[@nilanjanmandal7834]

what is the chrome theme you are using

[@rogue_lele6167]

is there any app like, smart kepboard. like g board on mac

[@ToySeeker]

Nice I like recap! ❤😊

[@royribak7471]

Seems that it is not free

[@rishikhemka8541]

Great video bud! The hazeover app you just mentioned is a paid one. Can you provide a DMG file for that.

[@davidchildofgod753]

Productivity baby!

[@lalvare]

Andrew great vide. However the X snip app is not free. By the way what is the best way to recognize if an app is free? It is really hard to know whether is free or not

[@Valeriy-is1hi]

You can also convert images from HEIC to JPEG or PNG in Finder. You don't need to install an app for that

[@Adriana8n87R]

Obrigada! ❤️❤️❤️

[@thatmrlanphear]

Very much appreciated this video and went to try out some of the apps. Several of them are not actually free. They either have free trials or are significantly hampered without paying. (A watermark on a screenshot app? What?) Hazeover doesn't even have a trial - it's just $5.

[@MichalJanBaginski]

Dziękuję

[@mustafacantez9727]

I'm pretty sure I can live without those. Unfortunately I didn't like the list so much. Still, thanks for including some interesting apps that doesn't show up everywhere.

[@cochi2221]

0:26 How did you add that arrow in the menu bar to hide/show the icons?

[@ITSDRFAMEZ]

It’s an app called Hidden Bar on the Mac App Store!

[@HypetraxxPredator]

@@ITSDRFAMEZ nice thanks, was looking for that :)

[@judyrico7290]

Could we use these on an iPad ?

[@animikhaghosh6536]

I did not even know that there are so many cool apps for macbook

[@suryakantasinha]

how you customise your chrome bacground?

[@JJ-we2mh]

Stronnng list, thanks for sharing

[@TrippHo]

Thanks, these apps are so useful

[@theendlessreviewer]

Hi. Great video and greeting from the UK. Please can you update the video - Recut is a Paid app not free - Thanks

[@DSGQR]

Don't macs already have a built-in feature where it avoids overcharging the battery?

[@Allthingsg37]

What's the app you use to hide the system apps on the upper right? the arrow thing! I really want that.

[@GraphXpress]

There are several i use hidden bar

[@mikahundin]

Anyone know of a bulk file renamer that uses AI to assign a name combining EXIF data and image recognition to come up with file names?

[@stills2359]

whats your desk mat?

[@aminecheffou2272]

Hello. Can you tell me how do you reduce your toolbar on top ?

[@ThamerQtr]

It’s an app called Hidden Bar on the Mac App Store!

[@Rohailmall]

Productivity :)

[@lckcyy]

finally someone recommending apps that are actually free

[@gn8351]

Really usefull video! Thanks so much!!! ❤ Like and sub

[@dextro5383]

isn't optimized charing better than ardent already?

[@shawnlee5682]

how did you get the tool bar to hide the apps??? like when you showing aldente

[@GraphXpress]

There are several i use hidden bar

[@RU_B1G]

Hidden Bar is free and just as good for 90% of you

[@rdsn_leon]

what do you use to show and hide your toolbar/menu bar?

[@ThamerQtr]

It’s an app called Hidden Bar on the Mac App Store!

[@iamnotbrave9760]

photoboth will work as hand mirror

[@user-wj9rk2ke7i]

I recently bought a macbook air m1 and i would say that i dont know how it is since i have not received it yet

[@jeanbiroute]

You can rename exactly like That app in macOS

[@boogney8169]

What's the name of the app for folding the menu bar?

[@mischform_ch]

Mac Bartender

[@billypienaar3365]

dont if it's country dependent but I don't get the app called Clyde