Best apps for a new MacBook (Air and Pro)

From its maker: Droppy brings files, clipboard history and everyday controls to your Mac's notch or a floating Dynamic Island. Gather files in the File Tray, find text, links, images and files you copied, control music and arrange shelf widgets for your daily tools.

Cuewake lets you attach notes, checklists, links and files to Mac apps and webpages, so your next step is waiting when you come back to them. It is a one-time purchase at $9, needs no account, works offline and runs natively on Apple silicon. It needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later.

Attic tidies up after you. Old screenshots and downloads move to a folder on your Mac by themselves, and nothing is ever deleted. No cloud and no account. It is $5 once at its launch price, then $9 and $15.

Kofe Flow is a calm Pomodoro timer in the menu bar, with an iPhone app that stays in sync. Focus analytics stay on your Mac, and timer sync is optional and anonymous. It is free, with Lifetime Pro at $14.99 once.

Backdrop organizes your windows by project, so switching from one piece of work to another brings the right set of windows back together. It is a native Mac app, needs macOS 14 or later and no account. Try it free for 10 days, then pay $9.90 once.

LanesMac is a scrolling tiling window manager, inspired by PaperWM and niri on Linux. Every window gets its own column on an endless strip, and you move along the strip instead of stacking windows. It is $19.99 once, with a 24-hour free trial, and needs macOS 13 Ventura or later.

From its maker: Espresso is the Everything-style file search app pour Mac : every file on every disk as you type, even disks that aren’t connected. Native, private, free for personal use.

From its maker: Tidymint is a free, open-source Mac cleaner with no tracking. It shows what fills your disk space, explains each item, and moves only what you pick to the Trash, so the last cleanup can be undone.

ActionClip puts a small action menu beside text you select: copy, rewrite, translate, search or run a saved workflow. You can describe a new action and it builds one using AI prompts, JavaScript, AppleScript or shell commands. Free for 30 actions a day, with lifetime licenses from $12. It is a native Swift app for Apple silicon with macOS 15 or later.

From its maker: PasteNotch keeps the things you copy within reach, so you can find them again without digging through windows. - Search copied text, links, images and files.

From its maker: Native Mac app that designs, keyword-optimizes and localizes App Store screenshots and listing metadata using on-device Apple Intelligence. Free to download with an optional one-time Storeboard Pro unlock.

ScreenToast turns a raw recording into a finished product demo: automatic zooms, a smoothed cursor, captions and a spoken voiceover. The detail that stands out is that it hides secrets automatically, by its maker's description. That matters if your demo shows a dashboard with real data or a key on screen.

Editing is free. Pro is a subscription from $4.92 a month, which suits people who record demos every week more than people who need one video. It is built in Swift and needs macOS 14 or later.