However, apps that have been updated with Apple Silicon support tend to run much better on M1 Macs and do not affect the battery life in a big way either.Ĭheck out our hand-picked list of some of the best Mac apps for M1-powered MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. If an app has yet to be updated to Universal 2, an M1-powered Mac will still run it, but it will do so by converting the Intel x86-64 code using Rosetta 2 emulation software.
When developers update their apps to run natively on Apple silicon, they use something called a Universal binary. Before we move to the apps list, let’s understand the current app situation on the M1 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.Īpple calls Mac apps Universal if they include native code for both its new M1 chip and the Intel CPU. We have compiled some of the best and useful Mac apps that run natively on the M1-powered MacBooks.
If you have gotten a new M1 Mac recently, check out our roundup of some of the best apps for your new MacBook or Mac mini to use it to its full potential. There are plenty of other options, from Spark to Edison Mail to Newton, but Airmail is perhaps the most reliable of the bunch, and the only one geared toward consumers that lets you pay once and own it forever.Apple unveiled its first Apple Silicon-based M1 Macs - the 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini late last year. It has a great companion app, some unique features like Touch Bar support, and a nice customizable interface that feels like the Mail app but with a much-needed visual overhaul. Yes, it’s pricey at $26.99, but many email apps these days have moved to monthly subscription models, making Airmail a nice alternative to that pricing approach.
(Note: pricing was accurate at the time of publishing, but may change.) Airmail 3 Image: Airmailįor those who really don’t like the design of the native macOS Mail app, Airmail 3 is about as close as you can get to a clean, Gmail-style interface on an Apple desktop. We’ve also listed our favorite streaming shows on Disney+, Hulu, ESPN and Netflix, some great sci-fi books, and exciting new podcasts.
Check out our app picks for iPhones, Android phones, PCs and Macs our favorite mobile games from Apple Arcade and Google Play Pass and our top choices for gaming PCs, the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and VR. We’ve rounded up our favorite and most-used games, apps, and entertainment. But it is a good place to start when it comes to building a better machine for work, recreation, and everything in between.
This isn’t meant to be a definitive list check out last year’s guide for GIF making, recipe organization, and photo editing apps, for example.
Many of the best productivity, workflow, and OS customization software have been around for years, but they can be hard to find if you’re a first-time Mac user and don’t know what you’re looking for or what the crucial differences are between macOS and Windows.īelow, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best software available for Mac, from email and shortcut apps to window organizers and multimedia players. Getting the most out of your Apple computer often means exploring well beyond the stock apps pre-installed on macOS and the top charts of the Mac App Store.