Five Great Apps for Your Mac - February 2018 - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Five Great Apps for Your Mac - February 2018

Apps designed for the Mac often don't receive as much attention as apps for iOS apps, which is why we've launched a monthly series that highlights various useful, fun, and interesting Mac apps that are worth checking out.

This month's app selection, outlined both in the video and post below, includes apps with niche and broad appeal for taking notes, using Gmail, learning shortcuts, and more.

Watch on YouTube

  • Boxy ($5.99) - Designed for Mac users who use Inbox by Gmail, Boxy is a minimal email app for the Mac with a clean, simple interface that offers a rich feature set like smart replies, Markdown support, email snoozing, reminders, email bundling, email pinning, Google Calendar event parsing, useful archive search tools, and more. Boxy works with any Gmail email address and supports multiple accounts.
  • Sip ($9.99) - Sip is a bit of a niche app, but it's useful for artists, designers, interior decorators, app developers, and other content creators who like to create and maintain color palettes. Sip lets you create and organize color palettes that can be accessed right in the menu bar of your Mac and shared to all of your favorite design apps like Photoshop, Xcode, Illustrator, Sketch, and more. Choosing colors from any source is as simple as a key press, and a color dock makes all of your palettes readily available.
  • Agenda (Free) - Agenda is a note taking app that's a little bit unique because it's date based, which makes it ideal for project planning. Agenda offers a timeline organizational system that makes it easy to keep track of your progress on a project, with an "On the Agenda" tool for surfacing things that need to be addressed right away.

    There's a full text editor built in complete with styles and formatting, and notes can also be added to categories for even deeper organization. Agenda is a free download, but it will cost $24.99 per year to unlock premium features like creating calendar events, saving searches, and exporting in Markdown or HTML.

  • CheatSheet (Free) - CheatSheet is simple little app that's designed to offer an overlay with a list of all the keyboard shortcuts that are available on your Mac. It's customized to the current application that's open, so if you're running image editing app Pixelmator, for example, it'll display all of the available Pixelmator keyboard shortcuts.
  • DeskApp for YouTube (Free) - DeskApp is another simple but useful app that's designed to let you search for and watch YouTube videos from within the DeskApp app instead of through Safari, Chrome, or another browser. It allows for quick access to YouTube from the menu bar on your Mac, it supports multiple windows and tabs, and it has a clean, easy to use interface.

Do you have favorite must-have Mac apps that we haven't highlighted yet? Let us know what they are in the comments and we might feature them in a future video.

Make sure to also check out our January list, which covered apps like Unclutter, Dropzone 3, Bartender 3, and Magnet.

Popular Stories

Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display family lineup feature

Apple Announces OLED MacBook Pro With Touch Display

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:11 am PDT by
Apple today announced a new high-end MacBook Pro, which is available in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes. The new device has a PROLED XDR display that supports touch gestures, and a glowing rear Apple logo. Pricing on the MacBook Pro starts at $2,899 for the 14-inch model and $3,399 for the 16-inch model. Apple says the MacBook Pro has the "world's best display in a pro laptop." The PROLED...
iPhone Duo Display Cracking

Apple Alerts Stores to iPhone Duo's Display Cracking Issue

Friday October 30, 2026 3:20 pm PDT by
In a memo shared with Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers this week, and later obtained by MacRumors, Apple provided technicians with guidance on how to diagnose and address the iPhone Duo's inner display cracking issue. If a customer reports the issue, Apple advised technicians to inspect the iPhone Duo and repair or replace it in accordance with their standard procedures....
iPad mini OLED feature 1

Apple Executive Comments on New iPad Mini Lacking 120Hz Display

Thursday October 29, 2026 1:47 pm PDT by
While the new iPad mini has an OLED display, the device does not support ProMotion, meaning the display's refresh rate is limited to 60Hz instead of 120Hz. ProMotion support would have allowed for the iPad mini's refresh rate to automatically adjust from 10Hz to 120Hz depending on the content being displayed, but evidently Apple has kept the feature exclusive to the iPad Pro among iPad...

Top Rated Comments

jclo Avatar
113 months ago
please stop with this advertising
Just for the record, these Mac apps were all independently picked and used by us.

We don't accept suggestions for these lists from app developers or companies, and our lists are in no way paid advertisements. If you don't like these suggestions, definitely point us in the direction of some good Mac apps -- we're doing these lists because it's not always easy to find useful Mac apps. Would love to hear from you guys.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
stevejobsson Avatar
113 months ago
I am very disheartened by the negative comments. Is this a sign of our times? Fer heavens sakes these suggestions are offered with the intent to broaden our knowledge of what's available to, maybe, help some Mac Users. Sure, many apps might only appeal to a small subset of readers. If you don't need the app, don't use it. I am delighted with "Cheat" and hope this negativism won't discourage future postings of nifty apps. The comments above remind me of the story of an old man on the beach with his grandson. A large wave comes in a washes the child out to sea. At this point the old man looks skyward as exclaims: God, please I implore you, return my Grandson to me! There's a sudden clap of thunder and a bolt of lightning and another large wave rolls in, carrying his Grandson safely to the beach. The old man hugs his Grandson with joy, looks skyward and exclaims: But, he was wearing a hat!
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
113 months ago
definitely point us in the direction of some good Mac apps -- we're doing these lists because it's not always easy to find useful Mac apps. Would definitely love to hear from you guys.
My votes go for a lot that help with common issues you read in the forum, though they’re not so much productivity apps like these are. They’re all free.

MalwareBytes for Mac - fixes almost any PUPs you’ll get, very effective at getting rid of them.

OmniDiskSweeper - useful for seeing a simple visual breakdown of what’s taking up disk space.

AppCleaner - good for completely uninstalling apps along with their associated files that don’t stay in the Applications folder.

The Unarchiver - my go-to application for extracting RAR files and other common compressed file types that you find on Windows.

Boxer - really intuitive version of DOSBOX for playing legacy games.

Blackmagic Disk Speed Test - for drooling over the crazy Flash speeds in newer Macs.

Preview - although it’s built into macOS, it’s got this great Instant Alpha feature to remove white space. Infinitely easier and more intuitive than Photoshop, I was mega impressed when I stumbled on it. Not sure if you’ve covered it already but it’s definitely worth checking out.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jclo Avatar
113 months ago
My votes go for a lot that help with common issues you read in the forum, though they’re not so much productivity apps like these are. They’re all free.

MalwareBytes for Mac - fixes almost any PUPs you’ll get, very effective at getting rid of them.

OmniDiskSweeper - useful for seeing a simple visual breakdown of what’s taking up disk space.

AppCleaner - good for completely uninstalling apps along with their associated files that don’t stay in the Applications folder.

The Unarchiver - my go-to application for extracting RAR files and other common compressed file types that you find on Windows.

Boxer - really intuitive version of DOSBOX for playing legacy games.

Blackmagic Disk Speed Test - for drooling over the crazy Flash speeds in newer Macs.

Preview - although it’s built into macOS, it’s got this great Instant Alpha feature to remove white space. Infinitely easier and more intuitive than Photoshop, I was mega impressed when I stumbled on it. Not sure if you’ve covered it already but it’s definitely worth checking out.
Great list, thank you. We'll certainly check these out.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mw360 Avatar
113 months ago
No point in buying SIP. Just use a digital color meter which is totally free and is on every mac, make a TXT file and then with the color code and import it into your chosen app.. Simple savings.
The great thing about Sip is not having to do any of that.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
113 months ago
DeskApp for YouTube? Seriously? A web browser app is getting front stage placement on macrumors? Wow... Extremely disappointed.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Latest Stories
Apple Watch Ultra 4 Hits All-Time Low Price With Amazon's $99 Discount
Apple Watch Ultra 4 Hits All-Time Low Price With Amazon's $99 Discount
4 hours ago
Reminder: Apple's Big Discount on Beats 360 Ear Cushions Ends Today
Reminder: Apple's Big Discount on Beats 360 Ear Cushions Ends Today
4 hours ago
Here's a New Tour of Apple's HomeView Software
Here's a New Tour of Apple's HomeView Software
4 hours ago
Apple Reveals New iPad Mini's Battery Capacity
Apple Reveals New iPad Mini's Battery Capacity
5 hours ago
Top Stories: Apple's Big MacBook Pro, iPad mini and iMac Updates
Top Stories: Apple's Big MacBook Pro, iPad mini and iMac Updates
6 hours ago
'Pluribus' Season 2 Reportedly Starts Production Today
'Pluribus' Season 2 Reportedly Starts Production Today
13 hours ago
iPhone 18 Pro Sales Surge in China, Offsetting Decline in U.S. and Japan
iPhone 18 Pro Sales Surge in China, Offsetting Decline in U.S. and Japan
14 hours ago
HomeView Software 27.2: Wallpapers, Control Center, and More
HomeView Software 27.2: Wallpapers, Control Center, and More
20 hours ago
Apple Alerts Stores to iPhone Duo's Display Cracking Issue
Apple Alerts Stores to iPhone Duo's Display Cracking Issue
21 hours ago
iOS 27.3 Will Enable These Apple Intelligence Features in China
iOS 27.3 Will Enable These Apple Intelligence Features in China
22 hours ago
Apple Says iOS 27.3 Beta Coming Next Week
Apple Says iOS 27.3 Beta Coming Next Week
22 hours ago
Apple's Flash Storage Suppliers Are Finally 'Getting Their Revenge'
Apple's Flash Storage Suppliers Are Finally 'Getting Their Revenge'
23 hours ago
14 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 27.2
14 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 27.2
1 day ago
iPhone Duo Review: One Week Later
iPhone Duo Review: One Week Later
1 day ago
Samsung Mocks iPhone Duo Display Cracks in New Ad Campaign
Samsung Mocks iPhone Duo Display Cracks in New Ad Campaign
1 day ago
The MacRumors Show: OLED MacBook Pro, iPad Mini 8, and More
The MacRumors Show: OLED MacBook Pro, iPad Mini 8, and More
1 day ago
MacBook Pro With Touch Display: 15 More Details Revealed
MacBook Pro With Touch Display: 15 More Details Revealed
1 day ago
Russia Places Apple on State Surveillance Registry
Russia Places Apple on State Surveillance Registry
1 day ago
Halloween Weekend Brings Discounts on Apple Accessories and Pre-Orders
Halloween Weekend Brings Discounts on Apple Accessories and Pre-Orders
1 day ago
Apple Has Released More Than 25 New Products in the Past Two Months
Apple Has Released More Than 25 New Products in the Past Two Months
1 day ago
Local Code Launches as Free, Private AI Assistant Tool for Mac
Local Code Launches as Free, Private AI Assistant Tool for Mac
1 day ago
Apple Acquires Ascend.io
Apple Acquires Ascend.io
1 day ago
HomePod Mini 2 Launches Today: All the New Features
HomePod Mini 2 Launches Today: All the New Features
1 day ago
AirTag 2 4-Pack Drops to New Low Price of $69.99
AirTag 2 4-Pack Drops to New Low Price of $69.99
1 day ago
Rian Johnson's iPhone Camera App Goes Viral
Rian Johnson's iPhone Camera App Goes Viral
1 day ago
Where Did All the iPhone Duos Go? Mostly to Apple's Stores
Where Did All the iPhone Duos Go? Mostly to Apple's Stores
1 day ago
Apple's Touchscreen MacBook Pro Could Ship 1.5M Units in 2027
Apple's Touchscreen MacBook Pro Could Ship 1.5M Units in 2027
1 day ago
New Apple TV 4K and iPad Mini: RAM Amounts Revealed
New Apple TV 4K and iPad Mini: RAM Amounts Revealed
2 days ago
Apple Executive Comments on New iPad Mini Lacking 120Hz Display
Apple Executive Comments on New iPad Mini Lacking 120Hz Display
2 days ago
Here's a Hands-On Look at HomePod Mini 2's New Two-Tone Colors
Here's a Hands-On Look at HomePod Mini 2's New Two-Tone Colors
2 days ago

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors