These are the Mac apps I install first
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Here’s a straightforward list, in no certain order, of Mac apps that I’m currently using.
Expand Expanding CloseHere’s a straightforward list, in no certain order, of Mac apps that I’m currently using.
Expand Expanding CloseWhile most of us are have welcomed Apple Intelligence and are impatiently waiting for it to do more, there are some who’ve opted out. Some of these users are reporting that the latest macOS and iOS updates have re-enabled the feature.
While it’s clearly a bug, it’s not clear at this point what causes the unintended behavior, nor how widespread it is …
Expand Expanding CloseWith so many devices in our pockets and everyday carry, each device has its own form of charging or wattage capacity, it is now more important than ever to make sure you have the correct charger for each device. For instance, my iPhone charges at 15W via Qi2 but can charge at up to 40W when wired in, so what is the best solution? I’m here to help you pick the best charger no matter your price point.
Expand Expanding CloseAccording to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple’s new Mail app is going to make its way to the Mac very soon, with macOS 15.4. Apple introduced the new Mail app to the iPhone back in December with iOS 18.2, but it hasn’t made its way to any other platform since.
Expand Expanding CloseIn recent years, iOS and macOS have been closer than ever to having feature parity. Nowadays, macOS releases mostly bring features first introduced on the iPhone and iPad, occasionally adding a new twist. However, despite this feature parity, there are some gaps, mostly to do with customization. Here are a couple of recent customization additions that have been made on the iPhone and iPad that haven’t quite made their way to the Mac yet.
Expand Expanding CloseApple’s macOS has changed a lot since its first version, but it still retains a lot of elements from the early days that make macOS unique. One of those elements is the iconic Dock, which lets users keep their favorite apps accessible with just a click – and you may not have known this, but the macOS Dock just turned 25, and there’s a cool story behind it.
Expand Expanding CloseEspresso Displays, the Australian brand known for crafting high-performance portable monitors, has unveiled its latest innovation at CES 2025: the Espresso 15 Pro. This new addition to Espresso Displays’ portfolio is aimed at business professionals and frequent travelers who seek a high-quality, portable dual-screen experience.
Expand Expanding CloseHello 2025…and goodbye 2024! It’s been an exciting first year hosting the Security Bite column on 9to5Mac. I had the privilege of talking with many leaders in the security industry and traveling to places I never thought I’d find myself. In October, I took to the column on the road–sky and tracks, too–traveling to Kyiv to meet with world-class security engineers and to attend Objective-See‘s Objective for the We v2.0 event. It was an experience I’ve yet been able to put into words—maybe a story for another day.
I digress. In this final edition of Security Bite for fiscal 2024, I updated a story that I started working on in May of last year. Because Apple is continuously updating its XProtect suite to combat the latest malware trends, this piece will continue evolving.
Ever wonder what malware macOS can detect and remove without help from third-party software? Apple continuously adds new malware detection rules to Mac’s built-in XProtect suite. While most rule names (signatures) are obfuscated, with a bit of reversing engineering, security researchers can map them to their common industry names. See below what malware your Mac can remove!
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OpenAI last month announced a major update to the macOS ChatGPT app, which gained the ability to read on-screen content in certain apps. The company is now rolling out an update that expands support for Apple Notes and even more third-party apps.
Expand Expanding CloseApple transitioned the Mac lineup to Apple Silicon starting in 2020, and they completed the transition in 2023. Since the transition started, Apple quickly started dropping support for Intel Macs on newer versions of macOS. That raises the question: how much longer will Intel Macs receive software support?
Expand Expanding CloseWe’ve all heard the term the Walled Garden when talking about the Apple ecosystem. Apple’s biggest competitive advantage is the fact that they control everything from both a hardware and software perspective, allowing its customers to experience these little features I like to call Magic Moments. These are smaller utilities or features that are only possible because you have multiple Apple products that work off of each other giving us these wow moments. So here are some of my favorite Magic moments of the Apple Walled Garden.
Expand Expanding CloseApple recently launched new MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac mini with the M4 chip, which brings a lot of performance improvements – especially when it comes to AI tasks. However, users are facing issues when trying to run virtual machines with some older versions of macOS on the new machines.
Expand Expanding CloseApple transitioned the Mac lineup to Apple Silicon starting in 2020, and they completed the transition in 2023. Since the transition started, Apple quickly started dropping support for Intel Macs on newer versions of macOS. That raises the question: how much longer will Intel Macs receive software support?
Expand Expanding CloseShortly after the release of macOS Big Sur back in 2020, Apple faced widespread server outages. The outage affected macOS installations, iMessage, Apple Pay, and most notably: the notarization service. This meant that users had major issues opening apps, revealing a flaw in how Apple handles app verification on the Mac.1
Expand Expanding CloseA vulnerability found in Microsoft apps for macOS allowed hackers to spy on Mac users. Security researchers from Cisco Talos reported in a blog post how the vulnerability could be exploited by attackers and what Microsoft has been doing to fix the exploits.
Expand Expanding CloseApple has released an update to macOS 14.6. The latest version of macOS Sonoma is now 14.6.1.
Expand Expanding Close9to5Mac Security Bite is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Making Apple devices work-ready and enterprise-safe is all we do. Our unique integrated approach to management and security combines state-of-the-art Apple-specific security solutions for fully automated Hardening & Compliance, Next Generation EDR, AI-powered Zero Trust, and exclusive Privilege Management with the most powerful and modern Apple MDM on the market. The result is a totally automated Apple Unified Platform currently trusted by over 45,000 organizations to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple.
A leading cybersecurity firm, Picus Security, has released its annual Blue Report study that analyzes the state of exposure management at organizations. The study uses 136 million simulated cyberattack scenarios executed by Picus customers from January to June 2024 to assess the effectiveness of security measures on Windows, Linux, and macOS systems in an organization’s environment.
In this year’s Blue Report 2024, Picus revealed macOS Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) misconfigurations leading to vulnerabilities.
Expand Expanding CloseSafari is one of the many Apple apps bundled with iOS and macOS. With iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, Apple has introduced Safari 18 with new features and improvements. However, when it comes to the Mac, you don’t need to update your Mac to macOS 15 in order to try out the new Safari 18 beta.
Expand Expanding CloseI recently did a deep dive into the macOS 15 Sequoia beta. Some of the headline features, like iPhone Mirroring, and Apple Intelligence, have yet to launch, but we can expect iPhone Mirroring to arrive with today’s release of beta 2. Yet, even without those features, there are more than enough changes and updates found in macOS Sequoia to keep things interesting!
In this hands-on video, I walk through dozens of new macOS Sequoia changes and features. Catch a glimpse of what’s new inside, and be sure to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more macOS 10.5 walkthroughs and tutorials.
Expand Expanding CloseIf you’ve got an Intel Mac of up to six years old, there was mixed news for most when Apple announced macOS 15 Sequoia. Most Macs that can run macOS 14 can still run this year’s version – but Intel models unsurprisingly won’t get the headline Apple Intelligence features.
A historical analysis of how long Macs continue to support the latest version of macOS shows that – with a couple of exceptions – not much changed this year on the surface, but it does still leave the question of Apple’s future plans for its Intel-chipped machines …
Expand Expanding CloseApple today announced major updates to its operating systems during the opening keynote of WWDC 2024. Both iOS 18 and macOS 15 come with many new features, including iMessage improvements, more continuity features, and Apple Intelligence. However, not all of these features are currently available to beta users.
Read on as we detail which features announced at WWDC 2024 are yet to become available to beta users.
Expand Expanding CloseApple on Monday announced macOS 15 “Sequoia” during the WWDC 2024 opening keynote. The new version of the Mac operating system comes with Math Notes, new features in Messages, a new way to mirror your iPhone on your Mac screen, and more.
Expand Expanding CloseCapturing a screen recording on your Mac is valuable for a variety of scenarios. There are handy third-party apps to help with this, but Apple offers a free built-in option with macOS. Follow along for several ways to screen record on Mac.
Expand Expanding CloseThe Mac’s position as an established, decades-old platform means that any time Apple makes changes to the way that platform works, some pushback is expected. In macOS Ventura, for example, the company redesigned the System Preferences app to look and feel more like the iPhone and iPad’s Settings app. The rebranded System Settings debuted to some notable backlash, especially during the beta cycle.
Now, ahead of WWDC in a few weeks, AppleInsider reports that Apple is planning some changes for System Settings in the forthcoming macOS 15. Will they be enough to win over the app’s critics?
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