There are millions of software in the world that can improve the user's experience while using the Mac. But finding the right one can be a challenging task. Thus, to make your lives easier, I have compiled some of the best MacOS applications that I use daily and have improved my day-to-day workflow.
All the applications mentioned below are exclusive to macOS and their download links are in the description below the like button.
Raycast (Free)
Spotlight is the best way to navigate macOS, but I find it to be limiting in some ways. This is where Raycast comes into the picture and it changes everything. This powerful piece of software replaces the spotlight and makes navigating MacOS seamless with the help of various commands as well as the ability to add community-made shortcuts to make completing a task more efficient. Moreover, I find the user interface to be more modern and useful than the spotlight.
I recently moved from windows and found that multi-tasking on MacOS is annoying as you cannot snap windows. But Raycast is able to make that easier due to its built-in command that allows me to seamlessly snap windows and manage my windows. Another Raycast feature that I use is emptying the trash, instead of going inside the trash and emptying it manually, I simply type the same on Raycast, I get a confirmation and then my trash is cleared; saving a lot of steps.
These are just a few things Raycast is capable of with the help of extensions it is able to show your schedule, search Spotify, clipboard history, etc.
Dropover (Freemium)
Dropover makes dragging and dropping multiple files of any file format from one place to another anywhere around MacOS. The functionality is not limited to the finder, but also the browser. Using this is very easy & seamless choose a file shake it, a pop-up comes up where these files could be stored, and then drop them wherever you want.
In case you don’t want to drop all files at the same place, the application also allows you to create different shelves. The application also allows you to perform some quick actions like resizing, compressing, stitching, creating PDFs, etc.
Dropover can be used for free for 14 days, but after that, a one-time purchase of $4.99 needs to be made. It is not compulsory to pay for the app, it can be used for free with the only downside being that you will have to wait for 3 seconds before dropping anything onto the shelf.
AltTab (Free)
App switching on macOS is nowhere near as good as that on Windows. AltTab fixes that and brings Windows AltTab functionality to macOS with Option + Tab (can be remapped). Furthermore, the application also allows minimizing, closing, or fullscreen any window, hiding and quitting applications.
App Cleaner (Free)
Removing/Uninstalling applications on the Mac is very easy you just need to drag the app you want to uninstall to the trash, but sometimes it does not remove everything. It leaves some cache files behind that when added could take up a lot of storage.
This is where App Cleaner comes into the picture, it is a free-to-use application that ensures that an application is uninstalled with all of its components. You simply just need to drag and drop the application to App Cleaner and it automatically finds out all the necessary files in an instant, highlights them, and adds them to the trash with just the click of a button for easy removal.
Numi (Freemium)
Numi is a multi-purpose calculator app that uses text to find solutions for any type of query, including, but not limited to calculations, time zone differences, operations, currency, etc. this is just the tip of the iceberg, Numi can do much more which can be found on their GitHub page.
ImageOptim (Free)
If you love taking photos and prefer in shooting RAW whether it is with a DSLR or with a smartphone then you know that the file sizes can be huge and can soon add up to the storage. ImageOptim is a free-to-use, open-source tool that uses various algorithms to reduce an image's size by removing unwanted data without hampering the quality of the image.
The process is simple, just open the application; drag & drop your images and it will automatically start applying the algorithms while overwriting the images added and sending the original ones in the trash.
CleanShot X (Paid)
Apple’s default screenshot tool is good and can get the job done, but CleanShot X does it better with a lot more features. It is the most comprehensive screenshot tool with many features like an automatic copy to the clipboard instead of first saving it and then sharing it, the editing panel is also more comprehensive than the default one provided by Apple with better annotate functionality. It also allows taking scrollable screenshots as well as screen recording functionality.
Moreover, after taking a screenshot the application creates a quick action overlay that has a modern look showing the preview of the screenshot, and when hovering over the same more options are found through which you can save the image to the desktop, drag and drop it anywhere, edit it, dismiss it.
The application offers 2 payment plans, the first one costs $29 which is a one-time payment that provides one year of update, lifetime access, and 1GB of cloud storage. The other one is a monthly subscription option i.e., $8 per user, billed annually or $10 per user, billed monthly that provides a lot more features like unlimited cloud storage, custom domains & branding, better security, etc.