The best Mac utilities can make a great computer even better. From smarter window management to easier automation and cleaner navigation, a few well-chosen tools can dramatically improve your workflow.
I’m a longtime Mac user, and I can’t do my job without these six essential Mac utilities. In this guide, I’ll show you how they can make everyday tasks faster and simpler.
Apple guards its upcoming products with extreme secrecy. However, a major leak in October 2024 saw the Russian YouTuber Wylsacom unboxing the M4 MacBook Pro weeks before its official release.
The same story now unfolds with the upcoming M5 iPad Pro. Wylsacom unboxed and showcased the device a few days ago, again weeks before launch. And another Russian YouTuber did the same the next day. So how do Russian YouTubers manage to grab unreleased Apple products so early?
That cheaper Vision Pro you were waiting for? Don’t hold your breath. Apple reportedly shelved the project to redirect its focus on creating smart glasses to compete with Meta’s popular products.
Previous rumors indicated Apple would release a stripped-down version of its $3,499 Vision Pro headset by 2027. But Apple execs reportedly told employees last week that it’s putting the lighter, cheaper headset on the back burner.
Apple will stay the exclusive streaming home for all things Peanuts for another five years, Apple TV+ said Wednesday. Apple TV+ ubscribers will be able to enjoy the classic holiday specials starring Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang through 2030, as well as new original series and specials.
The streamer also revealed when the beloved Peanuts Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas specials will become available for anyone to watch for free in 2025.
iFixit released its teardown of Apple’s new AirPods Pro 3 Wednesday, providing a close-up look at new features including the foam-infused ear tips Apple includes for greater sound isolation, as well the new battery scheme and repositioned rare-earth magnets.
But the group’s major finding should be unsurprising to anyone familiar with the company’s wireless earbuds. The latest generation earns the same dismal 0 out of 10 repairability score that has plagued the product line since its inception nine years ago.
October 1, 2011: Just days before Apple plans to unveil the iPhone 4s, the device’s name leaks after the latest iTunes beta inadvertently spills the beans.
The code also reveals that Apple’s new handset will come in black and white color options.
Few of the products I review end up in my gear bag, but one that made the cut is the Belkin BoostCharge Hybrid Wall Charger 25W + Power Bank 5K. What I love about it is that when I have this accessory with me, I know I can recharge my iPhone, whether I have access to a wall socket or not. That’s because it’s both an external battery and a wall charger in one. It’s even reasonably portable.
Even better, a deal knocks 15% off the price.
The Federal Communications Commission accidentally exposed Apple’s plans for several unreleased products, including an updated Vision Pro headset, new MacBook Pro models and refreshed iPad Pro tablets, on Tuesday. The FCC leaks of Apple products mark the latest in a series of premature disclosures from the regulatory agency that have frustrated Apple’s typically secretive product launch strategy.
You can have your iPhone read out loud any text on its screen with a useful accessibility feature called Accessibility Reader. Apple designed this feature for people who have trouble reading small text, but you will find it handy even if you don’t — in lots of situations.
For instance, your iPhone can read recipes aloud while your hands are busy cooking. Or you can quickly hear how to pronounce a word you don’t know — that’s what I use Accessibility Reader for most often. You can even hear what you’re typing as you write.
The potential applications for everyday use are incredibly broad. Here’s how to use Accessibility Reader and all of the iPhone’s Read & Speak features.
Apple’s first Pro Max iPhone — the iPhone 11 Pro Max — now falls under the vintage category. The Apple Watch Series 3 lineup joins the list, too.
The smaller iPhone 11 Pro does not join the list yet, as Apple sold it for a longer timeframe than the Pro Max model.
Delete unwanted iPhone photos the easy way with Cleaner Kit, the app that’s going viral on TikTok for making it fun to free up storage space on your device. It lets you swipe through photos like a Tinder feed so you can trash the ones you don’t want to keep.
But that’s not all. It also lets you clean up your email, merge duplicate contacts and more. Similar iPhone storage cleaner apps charge outrageous subscription fees. But Cleaner Kit offers a lifetime subscription for just $24.99 with code SAVE5 — a massive discount off the MSRP of $104.97.
When stripped of branding, features and design, how do premium headphones actually sound? Wired put this question to the test by having audio pros blind-test six popular over-ear headphones.
The results not only shocked the panelists, they validated one of my favorite pairs of “budget” headphones. They won the test, coming out above top contenders from the likes of Sony, Bose and, yes, Apple.
We can stop wondering about the details of the M5 iPad Pro — a YouTuber apparently got hold of Apple’s next tablet and revealed nearly everything about it. That includes running benchmark tests on the unreleased processor and finding a huge jump in graphics performance.
His time with the tablet — assuming this is a legitimate leak — shows that Apple must consider the previous M4 iPad Pro to be an excellent device because all that changed seems to be the newer, faster M5 processor.
September 30, 2002: Apple introduces iSync, a tool that lets Mac users synchronize their address books and calendars with their cellphones, iPods and Palm OS-compatible handheld organizers via Bluetooth.
“iSync is the beginning of something really big,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs says in a press release announcing the iSync public beta. “With the push of a button, iSync synchronizes the address book and calendar on your Mac with those on your mobile phone.”
It represents a big leap forward in the ability of computers and mobile devices to talk with one another. And it hints at some of Apple’s later advances.
North Dakota became the latest state to let residents add a digital version of their driver’s license to their iPhone and Apple Watch. After recent additions, a total of 12 states or territories now support digital IDs.
Currently, digital IDs are most useful for travelers, as they’re widely accepted at Transportation Security Administration security checkpoints.
Beats launched Powerbeats Fit earbuds on Tuesday, bringing a new design to the company’s sports-oriented audio devices. The new earbuds are the successors to the popular Beats Fit Pro earbuds.
The redesigned model brings enhanced comfort, improved durability and a more compact design while maintaining its predecessor’s $199.99 price point, Beats said.
“Reintroducing Beats Fit Pro as Powerbeats Fit — alongside Powerbeats Pro 2 — unifies our lineup under a name synonymous with athletic performance and gives customers a clearer choice between two distinct, fitness-first form factors,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Music, Sports and Beats. “Powerbeats Fit combines the best of Beats Fit Pro with next-level comfort, durability, and portability — making it a worthy addition to the Powerbeats family.”
★★★★★
With the Anker Nano Power Bank (5K, MagGo, Slim), thin is definitely in. Measuring just 0.34 inches deep, the Qi2 power bank attaches magnetically to MagSafe iPhones and delivers enough juice to get you through a frantic afternoon on the go.
At just 5,000 mAh, it won’t take modern iPhone batteries all the way to 100%. But it will power up a dead iPhone from zero to 20% in a little over 20 minutes. And it does so while attached comfortably to the phone, without the excessive heat generated by some competing power banks.
The new Logitech MX Master 4 wireless mouse upgrades what many consider to be the best productivity mouse on the market, the popular Logitech MX Master 3/3S. At $119.99, the latest iteration introduces haptic feedback and an innovative Actions Ring overlay designed to streamline workflows for creative professionals, developers and power users across the Mac ecosystem.
If you’ve ever tried to gather feedback on a creative project, you already know the nightmare of image collaboration: endless email threads, vague “move this thing over there” notes, and half-baked screenshots that raise more questions than answers. It wastes time, slows down projects, and makes you want to throw your MacBook out the window.
Vimageo can help. This powerful yet easy-to-use platform is built specifically for giving and receiving clear, actionable feedback on videos and images. Instead of piecing together comments from random tools or chasing down clarifications, Vimageo keeps everything in one clean, organized space. And right now, you can secure a lifetime subscription to Vimageo for just $39.99.
Adobe Premiere, the powerful video editing suite used for years on Macs, just arrived on the iPhone. Now you can cut together your next video using Premiere’s professional tools, right from your phone.
The Adobe Premiere iPhone app, released Tuesday, offers precision editing, automatic captions, stock music and more.
It doesn’t come with the big price tag of the desktop Adobe suite — in fact, it’s free. You only have to pay if you want access to its Firefly AI features, like its generative sound effects and Image Expand tool.
Premiere is available today for iPhone and iPad from the App Store.
Bring back the iPod! Apple should start manufacturing its dedicated music player again. With iPhones increasingly banned from schools, a simple entertainment device could fill the gap.
That said, creating a new iPod for the streaming era would not be as simple as bringing previous models back to life.
WhatsApp now supports sharing Live Photos. The feature began rolling out a few days ago, and Meta officially confirmed its release in an announcement on September 29.
With this improvement, you can directly share Live Photos with your friends over WhatsApp without converting them into GIFs or videos first.
You can scan a QR code directly from your iPhone — you don’t need to download a third-party app to get the information you need. Apple even gives you three ways to do it. You can scan a QR code using your iPhone’s camera, using a shortcut in Control Center, or directly from an image in your Photos library
As QR codes become increasingly prevalent, it’s good to know these methods. If you’re in a restaurant and you want to open the digital menu or join the Wi-Fi network, you don’t want to fiddle with installing a third-party app.
To learn three ways you can scan a QR code using your iPhone, keep reading or watch our short video.
iOS 26.0.1 and macOS Tahoe 26.0.1 launched on Monday, bringing a range of bug fixes to the major operating system upgrades introduced earlier this month. That includes taking care of multiple issues in the new iPhone 17 series — some quite serious.
In addition, iPadOS 26.0.1, watchOS 26.0.2, tvOS 26.0.1 and visionOS 26.0.1 all went to users on Monday.
Apple released its Foundation Models framework to developers with iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and macOS 26. It enables third-party apps to tap into the same on-device large language model that powers Apple Intelligence, the iPhone giant said Monday.
“We’re excited to see developers around the world already bringing privacy-protected intelligence features into their apps,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. “The in-app experiences they’re creating are expansive and creative, showing just how much opportunity the Foundation Models framework opens up.”