5 must-have apps for first time MacBook users
Last Updated: 2026-05-06 09:35:30
Apple's macOS has a thriving ecosystem of unique, high-quality applications, which can be used for different use cases, including for school projects, office work, coding, content creation, or just browsing the web.
While Apple's default apps (like Mail, Notes and Calendar) are pretty good these days, you’re bound to find some great third-party options, either in the App Store or elsewhere on the web, to improve your overall experience while using a MacBook.
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Here, we’ve rounded up 5 of the best apps that we recommend installing on any new Mac, as they increase productivity or add essential functionality missing from macOS. Do note that some of them are available on the Mac App Store, while others can be downloaded from the particular developer's website.
Fantastical
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While macOS on a MacBook comes with Apple’s native Calendar app, it’s somewhat limited in its scope and abilities. However, Fantastical is a great alternative as a calendar app, as it has exceptional natural language processing, an intuitive UI, and integrated task management support.
The app can create events and add all the relevant details with just a small brief from a user. Further, it has a clean user interface, support for reminders and to-dos, and can be easily synced with popular platforms like Microsoft 365 and iCloud. All of these make it an essential app to download on your Mac.
Paste
Paste is a one-stop clipboard manager on macOS that stores everything you have copied, preventing data loss. It works efficiently across all Apple devices, and the ability to search through past text items makes it a valuable utility. The tool gives you total control over what you copy, including texts to links, images, and files.
The app also allows you to turn off the options to track the passwords you copy to improve privacy. Users can take advantage of Paste by using a hotkey, and with the native iCloud support, they can keep track of all the things copied and pasted on multiple devices.
App Cleaner & Uninstaller
If you are new to MacOS, managing all the installed apps can be a pain, especially if you completely want to remove an application’s associated service files, caches, and logs. Thankfully, Nektony’s App Cleaner & Uninstaller works as a one-stop shop for managing all the apps on your MacBook, as it ensures all the uninstalled apps are removed properly by cleaning leftover files that macOS might miss.
It also lets users manage login items, launch agents, and browser extensions to optimise Mac performance. The tool can also be used to track and update installed apps, so that they are always up to date.
Wallper
We get some great wallpapers with macOS, but they get pretty boring to look at after a while, especially with the limited collection and lack of customisation features. However, the Wallper solves this problem as it contains hundreds of dynamic 4K wallpapers that make your desktop feel alive and provides all the controls you possibly need.
This includes the ability to change the wallpapers daily and add a real-time performance monitor to ensure the live wallpaper isn’t hogging resources on your Mac. The app provides access to more than 500 live wallpapers and access to the community gallery, so that you can apply any type of picture on your desktop based on your liking or mood.
Bear
The standard Notes app on macOS is serviceable, but the Bear app provides you with an experience of a premium note-taking app, which is hard to replicate. It has an easy-to-use yet far more feature-rich interface, allowing users to create to-do lists, mark notes with tags and apply themes to organise them.
Through the app, you can even draw or include pictures in notes for a better understanding of a particular memo. The app lets you keep things simple, with its user-friendly design, ensuring that you don't spend more time creating a to-do list than completing the task.