This week’s Awesome Apps include a great way to keep your Mac in tip-top shape, a desktop-style web browser for mobile, and an app for correcting your posture using your AirPods.
Best apps for cleaning your Mac, tabbed browsing in iOS and improving your posture
Here’s what’s on the docket today in Awesome Apps of the Week:
- CleanMyMac X: Keep your Mac in tip-top shape
- Vivaldi: Desktop-style tabbed browsing on mobile
- Posture Pal: Save your back with AirPods
CleanMyMac X: Keep your Mac in tip-top shape
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
When I get a new Mac, one of the first things I install is CleanMyMac X, which is great for clearing disc space, freeing up RAM, and deleting adware and malware.
CleanMyMac X has more than 30 tools for keeping your Mac in tip-top condition. I use it frequently to clear disk space and to free up RAM using the Memory Monitor.
It’s well worth downloading the trial version and testing it out. Previously, trials of CleanMyMac X were limited in functionality, but the company just launched a seven-day trial offer that unlocks all the features for a week. CleanMyMac X costs $34.95 for a one-year subscription for a single Mac, but Cult of Mac readers can get an exclusive 10% discount. — Leander Kahney
Download from: MacPaw
Vivaldi: Desktop-style tabbed browsing on mobile
Image: Vivaldi
If you miss browser tabs on your iPhone, check out Vivaldi, a free web browser for iOS that offers desktop-style tabs — similar to Safari on Mac.
Vivaldi also has strong privacy protections, and there’s a built-in blocker for trackers and ads so other companies can’t spy on you either.
Vivaldi has a unique Notes feature, which lets you jot down reminders, ideas, to-dos, etc. while browsing. Text from websites can be easily copied into Notes.
And then there’s ‘Speed Dials’ – icons for favorite websites. These are prominently displayed when opening a blank tab.
Altogether, Vivaldi has a lot of great features that make it a strong mobile browser. Vivaldi is free to download, and there are no in-app purchases. It’s also available for iPadOS. — Ed Hardy
Download from: App Store
Posture Pal: Save your back with AirPods
Screenshot: Posture Pal
Posture Pal is a simple background app for your Mac that can improve your back, neck and shoulder posture without buying a separate tracking device — just use the AirPods you already own.
The app uses the motion detectors in your AirPods to determine your posture. If you slump in your chair, the app pops up a cartoon giraffe to alert you. It uses the same motion data used for Spatial Audio.
Posture Pal is very simple and effective. It helps me stay upright in my chair, and be more mindful of sitting ergonomically.
A free version of Posture Pal can be downloaded from the Mac App Store and used for 10 minutes at a time. A one-time App Store payment of $4.99 removes the time restriction, and adds better posture-tracking sensitivity and extra app customization. — Leander Kahney
Download from: Mac App Store.
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac.
Leander is a longtime technology reporter and the author of six acclaimed books about Apple, including two New York Times bestsellers: Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products and Inside Steve’s Brain, a biography of Steve Jobs.
He’s also written a top-selling biography of Apple CEO Tim Cook and authored Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod, which both won prestigious design awards. Most recently, he was co-author of Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
Leander has been reporting about Apple and technology for nearly 30 years.
Before founding Cult of Mac as an independent publication, Leander was news editor at Wired.com, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wired.com website. He headed up a team of six section editors, a dozen reporters and a large pool of freelancers. Together the team produced a daily digest of stories about the impact of science and technology, and won several awards, including several Webby Awards, 2X Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and the 2010 MIN (Magazine Industry Newsletter) award for best blog, among others.
Before being promoted to news editor, Leander was Wired.com’s senior reporter, primarily covering Apple. During that time, Leander published a ton of scoops, including the first in-depth report about the development of the iPod. Leander attended almost every keynote speech and special product launch presented by Steve Jobs, including the historic launches of the iPhone and iPad. He also reported from almost every Macworld Expo in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, including, sadly, the last shows in Boston, San Francisco and Tokyo. His reporting for Wired.com formed the basis of the first Cult of Mac book, and subsequently this website.
Before joining Wired, Leander was a senior reporter at the legendary MacWeek, the storied and long-running weekly that documented Apple and its community in the 1980s and ’90s.
Leander has written for Wired magazine (including the Issue 16.04 cover story about Steve Jobs’ leadership at Apple, entitled Evil/Genius), Scientific American, The Guardian, The Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
Leander is an expert on:
Apple and Apple history
Steve Jobs, Jony Ive, Tim Cook and Apple leadership
Apple community
iPhone and iOS
iPad and iPadOS
Mac and macOS
Apple Watch and watchOS
Apple TV and tvOS
AirPods
Leander has a postgrad diploma in artificial intelligence from the University of Aberdeen, and a BSc (Hons) in experimental psychology from the University of Sussex.
He has a diploma in journalism from the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Leander lives in San Francisco, California, and is married with four children. He’s an avid biker and has ridden in many long-distance bike events, including California’s legendary Death Ride.
You can find out more about Leander on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow him on X at @lkahney or Instagram.
