The best apps for OS X Yosemite

By

Yosemite apps
Photo: Ste Smith/ Cult of Mac

Like any new Apple software release, OS X Yosemite has great third-party apps that are worth checking out.

Developers can take advantage of iOS 8-like extensions, Handoff, iCloud Drive, Notification Center widgets, and more to create a better experience. Many apps also need to be updated aesthetically to look at home in Yosemite’s cleaner, flatter design. The ones that aren’t updated stick out like sore thumbs.

We’ve collected a running list of the best third-party apps that are already optimized for Yosemite:

1Password

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Description:

1Password creates strong, unique passwords for every site, remembers them all for you, and logs you in with a single click. It’s the best way to stay secure and the fastest way to use the web.

Cost: $34.99 (30% sale)
Available from: Mac App StoreAgileBits

Pocket

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Description:

Pocket has been named one of the best apps for Mac, iPhone and iPad by the App Store.

Over 14 million people use Pocket to easily save articles, videos and more for later. With Pocket, all of your content goes to one place, so you can view it anytime, on any device. You can even read articles offline, making Pocket indispensable for subway commutes, flights, or anywhere else you find yourself without mobile data or Wi-Fi.

Cost: Free
Available from: Mac App Store

Things

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Description:

Things is a delightful and easy to use task manager. It’s the perfect companion for everything you want to achieve in life, offering a great balance between ease of use and powerful features.

Cost: $49.99
Available from: Mac App Store

Wunderlist

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Description:

Wunderlist helps millions of people around the world capture their ideas, things to do and places to see. Whether you’re sharing a grocery list with a loved one, working on a project, or planning a vacation, Wunderlist makes it easy to share your lists and collaborate with everyone in your life. Wunderlist instantly syncs between your phone, tablet and computer, so you can access your lists from anywhere.

Cost: Free
Available from: Mac App Store

Cloud

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Description:

CloudApp is the quickest and easiest way to share any file, screenshot, screencast, links and more with your team, clients and followers.

Drag a file to the CloudApp icon in the menubar or use our shortcut key to grab a screenshot or screencast and we take care of the rest. A link to the file will automatically be copied to your clipboard that you can share via Twitter, IM, email, or smoke signals. While other applications make sharing a chore, CloudApp stays out of your way, adapting to your specific needs. CloudApp is the fastest way to share.

Cost: Free
Available from: Mac App Store

Tumblr

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Description:

What does the official Tumblr app do? Two things. Two fascinating things.

1. It goes to Tumblr and only to Tumblr. You can even make it full screen, so that your computer displays 0% non-Tumblr content.
2. It lets you post to Tumblr from almost anywhere on your Mac. If a window has a share button, you can share things from that window to Tumblr.

That’s it!

Cost: Free
Available from: Mac App Store

Deliveries

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Description:

Deliveries helps you keep track of all your packages, so you always know when they’re going to arrive. Whether it’s the latest gadget you’ve preordered online, or a new graphic novel you can’t wait to dive into, Deliveries will keep tabs on it so you don’t miss the doorbell.

The main list shows a summary of all your shipments and counts down the days. Select a delivery for more information, and see where it is on a map. If you like you can view the shipping company’s web page, or easily share your shipment over email, iMessage, or AirDrop. Deliveries can even add estimated delivery dates to your calendar, and a Notification Center widget lets you quickly check your packages without opening the app. All your old deliveries are archived so you can look them up again if you need to.

Deliveries supports dozens of services, including UPS, FedEx, US Postal Service, DHL, TNT, Canada Post, City Link, Royal Mail, DPD, and many more. You can also track orders from services like Amazon and Apple, even before they ship. (Some services are limited to specific countries—visit junecloud.com/services for details.) If you have packages from other services, just select “Other” and enter a delivery date and web site. Deliveries will watch the site and let you know when it changes.

Deliveries is also available for iOS, in a Universal app that supports iPhone and iPad. You can sync your deliveries between devices with iCloud or our own Junecloud sync. If you create a Junecloud account, you can add new shipments from any web browser.

Cost: $4.99
Available from: Mac App Store

Coda

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Description:

Coda is everything you need to hand-code a website, in one beautiful app.

Cost: $99
Available from: Panic

Cocktail

Description:

Cocktail is a general purpose utility for OS X that lets you clean, repair and optimize your Mac. It is a powerful digital toolset that helps hundreds of thousands of Mac users around the world get the most out of their computers every day. The application serves up a perfect mix of maintenance tools and tweaks, all accessible through a clean and easy to use interface. Cocktail’s features are arranged into five categories that helps you manage various aspects of your computer. It also comes with an automatic Pilot mode that allows you to simply press a button and relax, knowing that Cocktail will take care of the rest.

Cost: $19 with free demo
Available from: Maintain

Grids

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Description:

Grids brings the best Instagram experience to your Mac.
* Clean, adaptive UI. Works at full screen as well as widget-sized window.
* Pixel-perfect layout and rendering. Retina display support. Your Instagram photos never looked this gorgeous.
* Picture size as well as spacing and background color can be adjusted to your liking.
* Fastest Instagram browsing experience you will have!
* Like, comment, follow, search people and tags.
* Bookmark allows you to bookmark people (without having to follow them), locations, tags and individual photos or videos (without having to like them).
* Get notification when new feed is available.
* View latest following/news just like on your phone
* OS X Yosemite ready

Cost: $1.99
Available from: Mac App Store

Screens

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Description:

Access your computers from wherever you are! Screens is a beautiful, yet powerful Screen Sharing and VNC client that lets you connect back to your Mac, Windows or Linux PC from the comfort of your living room, the corner coffee shop or anywhere in the world.

Cost: $29.99/free upgrade
Available from: Mac App Store, free trial from Edovia

PCCalc

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Description:

PCalc is ideal for scientists, engineers, students, programmers, or indeed anybody looking for a feature rich calculator. It includes an optional RPN mode, a choice of button layouts, an extensive set of unit conversions, a paper tape, multiple undo and redo, engineering and scientific notation, as well as support for hexadecimal, octal, and binary calculations.

Cost: $9.99
Available from: Mac App Store

Airmail

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Description:

Airmail 2 is a new mail client designed for Yosemite with fast performance and intuitive interaction.
Support for iCloud™, MS Exchange, Gmail™, Google™ Apps, IMAP, POP3, Yahoo!™, AOL™, Outlook.com™, Live.com™

Airmail was designed from the ground to retain the same experience with a single or multiple accounts and provide a quick, modern and easy-to-use user experience. Airmail is clean and allows you to get to your emails without interruption – it’s the mail client for the 21st century.

We have taken usability and function to the next level with Airmail and bring a striking-design with support for all major email services. Switch between accounts like a breeze and quick reply to incoming messages within seconds – email has never been so easy and productive.

Cost: $9.99
Available from: Mac App Store

iStat Menus

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Description:

An advanced Mac system monitor for your menubar.

Cost: $16 with free tiral
Available from: Bjango

iStat Mini

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Description:

iStat Mini is a compact way to keep an eye on your CPU, memory pressure, disk usage and network activity. Simply slide out OS X Yosemite’s Notification Center to glance at the stats, then slide it back again to free up your workspace.

Cost: $1.99
Available from: Mac App Store

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