The 13' MacBook Pro features 2560 x 1600 resolution and the 15' MacBook Pro features 2880 x 1800 resolution, making the MacBook Pro ideal for professional photo and graphics work, as well as high-def movies and games. Whether you plan to use your MacBook Pro for work or school, the right software can make your life easier and more productive. Think of Alfred as Spotlight with a dash of Siri. It’s an application launcher, but it can do a lot more than just that. With Alfred, you can quickly perform calculations, execute web searches, and find word definitions, among many other functions.This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made on our website. If you make a purchase through links from this website, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Read my full disclosure.
When choosing which laptop to buy, it makes sense to know what comes with it. And the most significant part of the decision is to know what software you get with the computer. First, I want to mention that whether you buy Macbook Pro or Air the software bundle that comes with them is absolutely the same. You don’t get more programs if you spend more on the Apple laptop. So, what software comes with a Macbook? Any Macbook comes with macOS (Mac operating system) and many built-in (free) apps presented in the table below:AppDescriptionSiriSiri is a virtual assistant, and it is the same app that runs on your iPhone. You can ask questions and request performing various tasks on your Mac.SafariDefault browser in all Apple products.MailDefault email clientFaceTimeVideo and audio communication app. Works and looks similar to FaceTime in iPhone.MessagesMessaging app.MapsNavigational system developed by Apple. Don’t confuse with Google maps!NewsAn app that downloads news on the topic you choose.BooksAn app from which you can access the books, PDFs, audiobooks you purchased in the Book store.StocksSimple app that provides basic information such as price, capitalization, and news about the stocks you following.HomeApp that can help to control various home appliances from your Mac.Voice MemosSimple app to record a conversation. Useful when recording lectures in college.NotesNote-taking app. Notes can be in many forms and shapes, including text, pictures, tables, checklists, videos, etc.CalendarBesides telling you which day it is, the Calendar app can help with scheduling your events.ContactsKeeps all contact information in one place (including contacts from other apps).RemindersSimple to-do app.Photo BoothThis is an app to use if you need to take a selfie with your friends. Also works like a regular photo booth.PreviewVery powerful tool for previewing images and PDF files. Also, it comes with some basic image/photo and PDF editing capabilities.Time MachineOne of the best backup tools on Mac. And it’s free.iTunesDownload and play your favorite songs, movies, TV shows, and podcasts.App StoreAll approved apps for Macs can be downloaded from the App store.
How about MS Office and programs such as Word and Excel? I will touch on this topic after I give an overview of all the built-in apps first.Built-in AppsmacOS
Every computer needs an operating system. The operating system performs basic operations such as starting programs, reading data from the disks, controlling the display and sound, etc.
All apps that run on any computer use operating system in order to interact with the user or various computer components.
Is it OSX or macOS? For a long time, the operating system on Mac was called OSX. You can still hear some people use this term. However, in 2016, Apple renamed it to macOS, so we will use this term going forward.
Each year Apple releases a new version of macOS. They used to be backward compatible, i.e., they supported all Mac models produced in earlier days.
Mojave was the first macOS which could not be installed on some of the oldest Macs. I expect every next release will have similar restrictions. So, if you have an older Mac, check you can upgrade it to the latest OS.Siri on Mac
Siri is a great virtual assistant tool which can increase your productivity if used properly.
What can Siri do? Most people use Siri to search for something on the internet. All you do is ask Siri a question, and it will transform the voice command to a text which will be sent to a search engine. Once Siri gets results, it will tell what it had found.
Another use is to find anything on the Mac. For instance, Siri is great when you need to find a document you worked on last week.
In my opinion, the most powerful feature of Siri is controlling Mac and connected devices. For instance, you can ask Siri turn off Wifi and Bluetooth, raise or lower the sound volume, send a message, set the alarm, take a selfie, etc.
And finally, people use Siri when they are bored. Siri can tell jokes, find the music you want to listen or read the news.Safari
Safari is an internet browser that gets pre-installed on almost all Apple products.
Is it the best browser? Definitely, not, but it does the work. The advantage of Safari is that Apple wrote it specifically for Apple computers. So, it supposed to have some edge over other browsers in terms of energy usage and speed.
If you don’t like Safari, you can always download your favorite internet browsers, such as Chrome or Firefox.Mail
Mail is fairly simple built-in email client. You can do things that any email client does: write and read emails, send attachments, sort and find messages, organize messages in folders. If you a regular email user then Mail client will be enough. Power users will find features limiting and will most likely invest in better solutions.
I use Mail to combine various secondary emails accounts in one place. I don’t use any desktop clients for my primary email, because I don’t want my messages to be stored on the computer in case if it ever gets stolen or lost.FaceTime on Mac
If you have an iPhone you probably already know what FaceTime is. With FaceTime, you can make a video call to anyone who has FaceTime installed on his/her Mac or iPhone/iPad. You can also make a group call. In both cases, FaceTime uses Wifi as transport.
Additionally, FaceTime on Mac can connect to your iPhone and make a regular phone call.Messages on Mac
If you have an iPhone, you probably noticed that messages sent to someone who has an iPhone have blue color while non-iPhone users get green messages. It’s because Apple uses proprietary messaging protocol when sending messages between Apple products using Wifi instead of the cellular network.
What does this mean for you? It means that you can send messages to iPhone or Mac users from your Mac without having a cellular connection. Also, it means that these messages do not count to your SMS limit (if you have one in your mobile plan).
Unfortunately, to send messages to Android friends, you still have to have an iPhone which Mac can use SMS.News app
With the News app on Mac, you can follow a channel or even a specific topic of interest. Apple will aggregate the news and send them to you periodically. You can read them in the app and then like or even share.
In 2019 Apple launched a subscription service called News+. It’s a paid service. With this service, you can get stories from premium newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal or Time.Books app
If you frequently purchase books from the Book Store, they will appear in the Books app. You can see books in all (or almost all) Apple devices, including MacBook Pro. If you don’t buy books or prefer to use Amazon, then you don’t need the app.Stocks app
Besides following news, you can also follow stock prices. With the Stocks app, you can add ticker symbols to your watchlist. You can also view stocks in the Notification center on Mac. Stocks app also allows seeing price charts with multiple ranges.
Overall, it’s a very basic app for an average investor — nothing to write home about. Serious investors may find the app lacking functionality.Home app
The Home app is a program that may become very big in the future when we all going to have smart homes. If you have a device that can be controlled over the network you can add it as an accessory to the Home app.
Once installed, you can then control lighting, temperature, home security, TV, and speakers. The list is endless. Besides issues commands and changing things in real-time you can set schedule.
For instance, you can set up the thermostat to start heating the house right before you arrive home. And all of this can be controlled thru Siri which will manage the Home app and its accessories.Voice Memos
My personal favorite. Whether you are recording the lecture in class or just recording your notes for the next blog, Voice Memos can capture your recordings. You can then replay or even edit recordings, although editing capabilities are not too impressive. You can later transcribe voice memos to a text.Notes app
Apple has a rudimentary note-taking app. Whether you need to save a recipe or make a to-do list, you can use Notes. This is not the best app by all means, but it comes with some neat features. You can attach different media such as pictures, videos, and even locations on the Maps.
There is also a collaboration feature. You can share a note with multiple people and work together. I’ve never tried it myself because I believe Google Docs is a much better and simpler tool to use for this purpose.Calendar
Each computer needs a calendar app, and Macs have a pretty good one. As most applications in macOS, this one integrated with other programs on your laptop. So, if you need to add a location on Maps in your calendar event, you can do it. Other features include sending and receiving invites.
Calendar app obviously connected to your Mail app so you can see all meetings from all Mail accounts in one place. You can also color-code your calendars so you can quickly spot events related to family, work, or others.
Overall, it’s a relatively simple app. I always have it on my Dock because I keep forgetting which date it is 🙂Contacts
I don’t use the Contacts app at all. With this app, you can aggregate multiple contact lists in one giant collection. But I don’t see any need for that. I prefer to keep contacts on my phone, not a laptop.Reminders
Another app without a clear purpose. I use Reminders on my iPhone, but on the Mac, I don’t see a need for it when there is a much more powerful Calendar app. And if I need to take notes to collaborate with other people, I can use the Notes app.Photo Booth
While most of us use MacBooks for work and study sometimes, we want to have some fun, and Photo Booth is super fun to use. With this app, you can quickly snap a selfie of yourself or yourself with friends.
Prefer videos? Not a problem, you can shoot videos with Photo Booth as well. If you need time to set up the scene, there is a default three-second countdown before taking a photo. You can also use various effects to make your photos funny. And finally, you can use any image to create a custom backdrop.Preview
Preview is a very powerful tool on your Mac. When I switched from Windows to Mac, one thing I was missing was an MSPaint program. It took me some time, but I finally learned how to use Preview to edit images for my blogs. In some case, Preview is even better than my old favorite.
For instance, Preview keeps a history of changes you made to the image even after you close the app. In fact, I don’t know any other standard file editing software other than Preview, which allows you to go back in history after you saved the changes and close the program.
Another area where Preview can be useful is PDF annotations. You can add text, signature, or even shapes to any PDF document. And again, Mac keeps the history of changes so you can always go back in time.Time Machine
Speaking of going back in time, Time Machine is not a fantasy novel. On the Mac Time Machine is a backup tool. If there is one thing that I would like you to remember from this post is you need a backup strategy for your computer. Things happen (virus, crash, documents accidentally deleted) and often the best and only remedy is to restore the old image of your MacBook from the Time Machine device.Best Applications For Macbook Pro 2017
I wrote a very detailed blog post about Time Machine and other possible backup tools, so please check it out: Time Machine on Mac: How it Works, Best Practices and FAQBest Apps For MaciTunes for Mac
iTunes is an audio and video player that comes standard with any Macbook. If you have an mp3 file or a movie file on your disk, then iTunes is probably the tool that will start when you double click on the file. iTunes also starts when you play movies or music from CD/DVD player (internal or external).
There is an iTunes store where you can purchase music and rent movies. You can join Apple music as a subscriber, and you can manage your subscriptions in iTunes.App Store
While the list of built-in apps in macOS is good enough, you will always need more programs. There are two main ways to get new programs on MacBook: download from the vendor web site or buy from Apple Store.
If you have both options, I suggest you always go through Apple Store route. Apple has very strict requirements for any app they host in their stores. At the minimum, they all free from viruses. And yes, Macs can get viruses. Another advantage of the App Store is the ease of updates. You can configure the app to install updates automatically same way you configure the operating system updates.
And finally, any app you bought from the App Store you can download again if you deleted it. If you downloaded the app from the vendor web site, the process of downloading and finding a license might be quite complicated.
So this was a brief overview of built-in apps that come pre-installed on any new MacBook. There other applications that you can install for free. Specifically, there are two popular software suits: iLife and iWork.iLife apps
Initially, the iLife software suite consisted of multiple apps, most of which were discontinued. The only two apps left are iMovie and GarageBand.GarageBand
The GarageBand lets you play, record, edit, mix, and share music! You do not have to worry that you do not know a single note. Everything is there. Just open the application, select an instrument, then press the notes that tingle your ears. As easy as that, you can create your music. You can also add your voice by recording it.iMovie
iMovie, on the other hand, gets you in touch with your video skills. It is the perfect application for neophyte video editors. It provides a user-friendly interface but lets you turn your raw footages into one creatively edited video. Personally, I use iMovie to edit my YouTube videos, and I found it very easy to learn and use.iWork apps
There is a suite of apps that mimic Microsoft Office functionality, and they are free for anyone using macOS: Numbers, Pages, and Keynote. You can download all three from the App Store.
*Numbers is an alternative for MS Excel. You can save Numbers spreadsheets as Excel documents or import Excel documents in Numbers.
*Pages is an alternative for MS Word. You can save Pages documents as Word files and edit Word documents in Pages.
*And Keynote is an alternative for Powerpoint. As you already understand, it is possible to work with Powerpoint documents in Keynote.
What Apple empathizes is that with iWork, you can work on MS Office documents just in different apps.
Apple provides a way to share the documents built-in iWork apps through the iCloud or Box. Another neat feature you can use Touch ID to lock and unlock the iWork documents.MS Office on Mac
iWork may be a viable alternative to MS Office, but feature-wise it’s nowhere near to Microsoft suite. Fortunately, Microsoft ported the big trio of apps to macOS. These apps look a little different than Windows counterparts (key combinations are different), but they are very close. If you had experience working with any Office apps on Windows, you would quickly figure out how to edit documents on Mac.
Does MacBook Pro come with Word or Excel? No, Macs do not come with MS Office pre-installed. Although it is free to download, remember that you still have to pay to have an account for the Microsoft office to be activated in your MacBook Pro. The Microsoft Office from the App Store only gives you a 30-day free trial.How to get Microsoft Word or Excel on MacBook for free?Free Applications For Macbook Pro
There are three possible ways to get Word or Excel for free:
*Get Office license at work. For instance, your account may allow you to install up to five copies. So you can install one at the work computer and one at home. But first, ask permission from your manager.
*Get Office license in college. Most colleges in the US provide free Office licenses.
*Download from pirate web sites. I do not recommend doing this for two reasons: it’s illegal and very hacked programs contain viruses. In fact, if you see any link with a promise of a free Word install, know it’s a scam. Don’t click on those links!
There are, however, two ways to get MS Office for less money:
*Get a student edition. In this case, you either need to be a student or know someone who’s a student.
*Some sites may offer to sell Microsoft apps for deep discounts. What they do is they have volume editions, i.e., multiple licenses they paid for. Then they sell those individual licenses. All you need is to download the program and apply for the license. Is this legal? I don’t know. As they say, consult with your attorney.And finally, photoshopApps For Macbook Pro
Does Photoshop come with MacBook Pro/Air? No, it does not. Adobe offers 7-day free trial version after which it is required to subscribe for one of their plans: Photography ($9.99/mo), Photoshop ($20.99/mo) or Creative Cloud Apps ($52.99/mo). Students and teachers can get Creative Cloud Apps for $19.99/mo.
When you hear the word 'app,' you immediately think of those small programs for your smartphone. However, an app is simply any piece of software that serves some kind of purpose, either online, on your computer or another electronic device.
Some of the best and most versatile apps are available for Mac. We've compiled a list of the best free Mac apps, from well-known ones such as Dropbox and Skitch, to lesser known ones such as Adium and CheatSheet.
SEE ALSO: The 25 Best Free iPad Apps
Some of these apps can be found within Apple's App Store, while others are registered under the GNU GPL license, meaning that you can view and change the source code easily. Many of them are also compatible with various plugins and add-ons, which make it easy to customize the app to your liking.Best Weather App For Macbook ProBest Free Application For Macbook Pro
Which free Mac apps would you add to the list? Let us know in the comments section below.Best Applications For Macbook Pro 10
Homepage image: Flickr, John Watson
