Do you always find yourself browsing the Apple App Store? We’ve got good news. Every new Mac already comes with a built-in Apple App Store, which is pinned to the Dock. That means, in just one click, you will have instant access to thousands of paid and free Mac apps and we know you are excited to visit the App Store. But, before you begin downloading apps, you have to know that Apple has just updated its security settings. So, you need to grant your system access to install certain apps.
- Top Mac Apps 2015 Free
- Top Mac Apps 2015 Mac
- Top Mac Apps 2015 Download
- Top Mac Apps 2019
- Best Mac Apps 2015
If you can’t wait to get started with using your Mac, consider installing these top free Mac apps first:
2015 Apple MacBook Pro Laptops for Christmas. Before the Christmas holidays begin, consider getting your hands on a 2015 Apple MacBook Pro. The MacBook series includes 12-inch, 13-inch, and 15-inch models with a number of variations within each size. They support different versions of the Mac operating system. Do you find it time-consuming to open all your chat accounts every time you open your Mac?
1. Adium
Do you find it time-consuming to open all your chat accounts every time you open your Mac? Perhaps the developers of Adium felt that, too, which is probably why they created this app.
Adium is a useful communication app that lets you bring together all your chat accounts, including Hangouts, MSN, Messenger, and a lot more, onto a single platform. You can customize it by downloading plug-ins to let you change certain elements such as the interface color and font style.
Blur with photo app mac. Once you install Adium, an animated duck icon will live in your Dock. If its color turns to green, it means you have a message. If it holds up an “Away” sign, it’s suggesting that you have set your status to Away.
2. Caffeine
If you have Starbucks, your Mac also has Caffeine. However, unlike Starbucks, it does not cost your Mac a single dollar to stay energized and awake.
When you install this amazing free app, a small coffee cup icon will be created beside your menu bar. If you click on it, your screen will instantly power up, preventing your Mac from entering the sleep mode.
Caffeine is an ideal app for those who enjoy watching movies or love long reads. With this installed on your Mac, you need not keep moving your mouse to keep your computer awake. Simply turn on this app and you are all set.
3. Dropbox
There comes a time when storage becomes an issue on your Mac. Luckily, Dropbox is here to provide our computer with more free storage.
What’s great about this app is that anything saved here can be shared with other individuals. Of course, the owner has to grant permission to them first.
Dropbox is basically a file storage app that you can access locally or through any Wi-Fi enabled device. Although it’s initially free with 2.5 GB of storage space, you have the option to upgrade your account for more storage space.
4. Transmission
If you often download videos and software, then Transmission is for you. This app is a reliable BitTorrent client that comes with a user-friendly interface and a set of customizable options.
With Transmission, you can queue your downloads and set timers for when to stop or start them. Although it is open source, its developers claim that it does not show any third-party ads nor track its users. Thus, you are secured as you use it.
Since it does not use up a lot of your memory, rest assured it does not slow down your Mac while it’s running. Then again, just to be sure, you might want to install Tweakbit MacRepair. This amazing tool can help optimize your Mac for top performance.
5. VLC
Now, what will you do with all the videos you downloaded using Transmission? Of course, you’ll watch them. That’s where VLC comes in.
There are a plethora of media players nowadays, but nothing beats the versatility of VLC. Not only can it play almost every media file; it can also be customized to match your needs.
Under its surface, there is a wide assortment of features that you might want to take advantage of. You can convert videos into other formats. You can also use it to subscribe to podcasts.
6. Itsycal
The time and date in the menu bar are already very helpful when it comes to keeping up with your schedules and meetings. However, what if we tell you that there is an app you can use to have total control over your appointments?
Itsycal is an interesting app that can be used in place of your Mac’s existing clock. As the name suggests, this app adds a little but useful calendar to the menu bar with a list of your upcoming appointments.
The next time you want to organize your appointments and meetings, you know what app to use. Don’t worry. It will not cost you anything to get this app!
7. Evernote
Evernote remains unbeatable among all note-taking apps, and there’s a good reason behind it. This app is easy to use. You can also organize your notes quickly and easily. In addition, it syncs with almost any web-based service you can think of.
And because it is one of the widely used apps today, it’s not surprising why its developers created numerous browser add-ons and extensions that support it.
While Evernote is initially free with basic functionalities and about 60MB of uploads allowed per month, you can upgrade your service to a premium version to enjoy more features.
8. Spotify
If Apple Music isn’t for you, you can try Spotify. It’s the best alternative for those who want to try what’s outside the Apple realm.
Spotify grants you access to its whole music catalog, allowing you to search for and listen to artists, albums, and tracks at no cost at all.
If you want, you can also create your own playlists based on your music preferences. Spotify has every song genre you can think of – hip-hop, acoustic, jazz, rock, pop, alternative, and a lot more.
9. SuperPhoto
Do you love taking photos? Is photography your passion? If so, you will need a fun and creative photo app. SuperPhoto is one.
SuperPhoto allows you to experiment with photos and create something very artistic. This app comes with loads of free filters, frames, patterns, brushes, and textures for you to turn ordinary photos into something extraordinary.
Like other apps in this list, SuperPhoto is free to use. But, you can upgrade for a certain fee to access more amazing features.
10. Unarchiver
Have you just made a switch from Windows to macOS? Then you have to ensure all your .zip and .rar files work perfectly on your Mac. Relax. It’s no big deal as long as you have Unarchiver installed on your Mac.
As its name implies, Unarchiver lets you open any .zip or .rar file in less than a minute. Not to mention, this app also supports a wide array of file formats that need extracting. Isn’t that good news?
Unarchiver is totally free to use. All you have to do is download the app from the official website.
Conclusion
Mac has no shortage of interesting, useful, and free Apps. Unfortunately, we can’t include all of them on this list. If your favorite free Mac app is not here, let us know in the comments section. We’d like to know why you love it!
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See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy Policy.
Which Mac operating system is the best is a topic of numerous debates among Apple fans.
Since the mission of this blog is to refute myths and legends around Macs, it’s time for me to provide my 2 cents about the issue on hand. While everything below is just my opinion, as a long-time Mac user and veteran software engineer, I hope my opinion worth something.
TLDR; The best Mac OS version is the one that your Mac is eligible to upgrade to. In 2019-2020 it is macOS Catalina. However, users that need to run 32-bit applications on Mac should not go with Catalina because it only supports 64-bit apps. Also, older Macs would benefit if upgraded at least to macOS Sierra because this is the earliest operating system for which Apple still releases security updates.
Update: On WWDC 2020 Apple announced a new macOS Big Sur, which is said to have the biggest UI redesign and the biggest Safari update. New Safari will run 50% faster than Chrome and use less battery. It also has new limitations: Big Sur will require at least MacBook Pro late 2013, MacBook Air 2013, and Mac Mini 2014 or later to run. Big Sur will be released in the fall of 2020.
How to Tell Which macOS You Are Running
To find out which macOS is currently running on your Mac, follow these steps:
- Click on Apple logo in the top left corner of the menubar
- In the dropdown click on the first item: About This Mac
- The first line in the Overview tab is the name of the current OS.
What Version of OS Can My Mac Run?
Not all Macs can be upgraded to the latest OS version. For instance, old Macs powered by PowerPC CPUs cannot run OS intended for Intel-based computers. Also, some versions have hardware limitations.
For instance, Mojave cannot be installed on MacBook Pro earlier than Mid 2012 model.
Check below to know exactly what version of OS your Mac can run.
Which OS is Best for my Mac
Anytime someone asks me which OS is best for them I always suggested going with the latest. Things have changed recently, however.
Should I Upgrade to macOS Catalina?
While personally I like macOS Catalina and have it installed on my MacBook Pro, Catalina comes with serious breaking changes. If you have old 32-bit apps, they will not run in the new OS. macOS Catalina and newer can only run 64-bit apps.
If you wondering whether you should upgrade to macOS Catalina, first verify that you don’t have any 32-bit apps. But first, take a back up, so you can go back in case something breaks after upgrade.
For instance, I had to remove uTorrent after upgrade. And I didn’t know that uTorrent is 32-bit!
How to Know If App is 32-bit or 64-bit
To find out whether the app on your Mac is 32-bit or 64-bit follow these steps:
- Click on Apple logo in the top left corner of the Mac screen
- Click on About This Mac option
- Click on System Report button in Overview tab (first one)
- Scroll down to Software -> Applications
- Find the app and check Kind
Which macOS Should I Use
If you have an older Mac which is not eligible to upgrade with some latest software or hardware, I’d suggest upgrading at least to Sierra for the following reasons:
- Sierra is still supported by Apple, and it gets security updates
- APFS file system is available
- It supports Siri
- Significant security improvements
The most important point when choosing the best OS is the ability getting security updates. While Apple generally does not announce the OS end of life dates, it is possible to know when they stop releasing security updates from this page.
For instance, according to the page, the last security update for OS X Yosemite was released on September 12, 2017. The last update for OS X El Capitan was in July 2018, and Carnegie Mellon University confirmed that El Capitan’s end of life date was August 2018.
Snow Leopard Myth
I know that some users on forums believe that the best OS version for Macs was Snow Leopard. But that is a myth. And I know how such myths get created.
Once I worked in the company, which was selling a 20-year old product. And customers were still using and didn’t want to switch to new versions, because the old one was rock solid.
I then talked to the engineer who worked on the project, and he revealed that the product was a total disaster when it was first deployed. Engineers had to work on-site for almost a year in order to fix all bugs.
After five or so years of polishing the product, it becomes virtually bug-free, and nobody now remembers how bad it was when it was first rolled out. A similar thing happened Snow Leopard, and it was recognized as best mac os version after some time.
How to Update to the Latest Version
There are two ways to update to the latest OS version on Mac: https://cxqifq.weebly.com/blog/how-do-you-delete-an-app-in-mac.
- From the Software Update section in System Preferences
- Use a download link
Using Software Update
This is by far the best option, but it only available if you have Yosemite, or later OS installed already. If you enabled automatic updates, then Mac will inform you that the next macOS is available.
Just open System Preferences, go to Software Update and click on the Upgrade Now button.
This method is also best if wondering how to check if you have the latest version of OS installed on your Mac. Only the version compatible with your hardware will appear here.
For instance, my the latest version for Mac Mini 2012 is Mojave, I can’t install anything newer than that.
Using download links
Top Mac Apps 2015 Free
For older systems or in case you need to downgrade, you have to download a standalone installer in DMG format. DMG stands for disk image, similar to ISO, just different formats.
After downloading the installer, just double click on it and follow instructions. Again, do not forget to take a backup before the upgrade.
Mac OS Comparisons: Requirements, Features, Compatibility, Download Links
Following is a high-level description of all Mac operating systems as early as Mountain Lion.
You can refer to those descriptions when deciding which operating system is best for your iMac, Mac Pro, Mac mini, or MacBook.
With each OS description, I included a list of Macs supported. However, you can use Mac OS compatibility checker for more detailed information.
macOS 10.15 Catalina
macOS v10.15 (codename Catalina) is the latest version of the operating system for Apple computers.
Release date: October 7, 2019
Hardware Requirements: RAM requirement increased from 2GB to 4GB.
Features
- Introduced Sidecar, which allows for Macs to use an iPad as an external display.
- iTunes was replaced by separate apps: Music, Podcasts, and TV.
- Find My Mac and Find My Friends have merged into one app.
Software Compatibility Issues
macOS Catalina is the first Mac operating system that does not support 32-bit applications. Only 64-bit apps are allowed to run on Catalina.
How to install
There are two ways to install Catalina: enable automatic updates in System Preferences or download by using the following link.
List of Apple computers compatible with macOS Catalina
- MacBook (Early 2015 or later)
- MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or later)
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or later)
- Mac mini (Late 2012 or later)
- iMac models (Late 2012 or later)
- iMac Pro (All models)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013)
macOS 10.14 Mojave
Release date: September 24, 2018
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 18.5GB free space on disk
Features
- The main feature of Mojave is “Dark Mode”
- FaceTime adds group feature which allows chatting with up to 32 people
- News, Stocks, Voice Memos, and Home apps were ported from iOS to Mac.
How to install
If your Mac is eligible to update to Mojave, then the easiest way to install it is by enabling automatic updates. Downloading a standalone Mojave installer could be a little tricky.
List of Apple computers compatible with macOS Mojave
- MacBook (Early 2015 or later)
- MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or later)
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or later)
- Mac mini (Late 2012 or later)
- iMac (Late 2012 or later)
- iMac Pro (All models)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013 and 2010-2012 models with upgraded GPU)
macOS 10.13 High Sierra
Release date: September 25, 2017
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 14.3GB free space on disk
Features
- APFS (Apple File System) becomes the default file system in High Sierra. It’s a significant upgrade from the older HFS+ in terms of speed, size, and security
- iCloud support of Messages which allows sync messages of the account across multiple devices
- Mail app uses 35% less storage space due to optimizations
List of Apple computers compatible with macOS High Sierra
- MacBook (Late 2009 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer)
- Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer)
- iMac (Late 2009 or newer)
- Mac Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)
How to install
Here is a High Sierra download link.
macOS 10.12 Sierra
This is the first macOS version. Previous OS versions for Macs were called OS X (X stands for 10).
Release date: September 20, 2016
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Features
- Siri was introduced to Macs
- Optimized storage with iCloud sync
- Auto-lock feature allows unlocking MacBook with paired Apple Watch
- APFS preview available
- Disk Utility can manage RAID sets again
- Significant security improvements
How to install
Here is a Sierra download link.
List of Apple computers compatible with macOS Sierra
- MacBook (Late 2009 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer)
- Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer)
- iMac (Late 2009 or newer)
- Mac Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)
OS X 10.11 El Capitan
Last OS X version.
Release date: September 30, 2015
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Features
- System Integrity Protection – a security feature that protects even when the root user executes the process
- Performance improvements: open PDF files four times faster, Mail is twice faster, launching apps 40% faster
- Notes app similar to the app in iOS
Macs compatible with OS X El Capitan
same as OS Mountain Lion.
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How to install
Here is El Capitan download link.
OS X 10.10 Yosemite
Release date: October 16, 2014
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Macs compatible with OS X Yosemite
Same as OS Mountain Lion.
Features
- Major user design overhaul
- Introduction of Handoff and Continuity features
- Photos app replaced iPhoto and Aperture
How to install
Here is Yosemite download link.
OS X 10.9 Mavericks
First free Mac OS. Previous OS versions vary from $19.99 to $129.
Release date: October 22, 2013
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Features
- Compressed Memory feature automatically compresses inactive apps when approaching maximum memory capacity
- Timer coalescing is a feature that reduces CPU usage by up to 72 percent
- App Nap puts apps that are not currently visible to sleep
Macs compatible with OS X Mavericks
Same as OS Mountain Lion.
How to install
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OS X Mavericks installer is not available on Apple Site. Follow instructions here to install Mavericks.
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
Must be purchased. Fixed many bugs introduced in OS X Lion.
Release date: July 25, 2012
System Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Features
- New apps: Notification Center, Notes, Messages, Game Center
- AirPlay mirroring allowed to mirror Mac screen to Apple TV
- Application updates automatically install from the App Store
List of Apple computers compatible with OS X Mountain Lion
- iMac (Mid-2007 or newer)
- MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
- Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
- Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
- Xserve (Early 2009)
How to install
Mountain Lion installer is not available on Apple Site. Follow instructions here to install OS X Mountain Lion.
List of older Mac OS Versions
Top Mac Apps 2019
Following Mac OS versions are still running on older Macs, but Apple does not support them anymore, and there is no point to upgrade (or downgrade) to them:
Best Mac Apps 2015
- OS X 10.7 Lion
- OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
- Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
- Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
- Mac OS X 10.3 Panther
- Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar
- Mac OS X 10.1 Puma
- Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah