Five Mac Apps Worth Checking Out - April 2019

Apps designed for the Mac often don't receive as much attention as apps made for iOS devices, so we have a series here at MacRumors that's designed to highlight useful and interesting Mac apps that are worth checking out and potentially investing in.

This month's picks include apps for sharing files, organizing web apps, monitoring internet traffic, fixing repeating keys on a broken MacBook keyboard, and quickly pairing your AirPods to your Mac. Many of the apps we're highlighting this month were chosen by our MacRumors forum members.

  • CloudApp (Free) - CloudApp is a handy app that lets you share files, screenshots, videos, screen recordings, and more, via the cloud. You can drag a file into CloudApp and it'll be uploaded to the cloud and copied to your clipboard so you can paste the file into Slack, email, Messages, or elsewhere. You can annotate screenshots and files, making it a great way to communicate when collaborative editing is needed. CloudApp is free, but premium tiers with additional features are available starting at $10/month or $8/month on an annual plan.
  • Little Snitch ($45) - Little Snitch monitors all of the traffic on your Mac so you can see what apps are sending data, and where. It basically makes all of your Internet connections visible and gives you control over them, letting you approve or restrict what's being sent from your Mac. There's a world map so you can see where connections are being made, and there are modes for getting instant notifications or letting it run in the background.
  • Stack (Free) - Stack is a Mac app that's sort of an internet launchpad for web apps, describing itself as an "internet OS." It houses all the websites you might want to keep tabs on like Facebook, Messenger, Gmail, Slack, and more, keeping them in one convenient place. You can organize your different apps into categories, and the app provides unified notifications so you don't miss anything.
  • Unshaky (Free) - Unshaky is not an Apple-sanctioned app, and that's because it's meant to fix a major Apple problem - the faulty MacBook Pro keyboard. Unshaky is designed for people who have keys where the letters repeat, as it's able to detect the extra presses and eliminate them. We haven't tried this app ourselves because we don't have a keyboard with repeating letters, but it has positive reviews as a temporary fix from those who are having issues. If you have a repeating key you'll need to get a repair from Apple, but this can help while you wait.
  • AirBuddy ($5) - AirBuddy is a Mac app for the AirPods. It lets you pair your AirPods to your Mac the same way you do on your iPhone - just by opening up the AirPods case next to your Mac and then clicking. It's super simple, but if you use your AirPods with your Mac often, it's invaluable. A Batteries Notification Center widget on Mac displays AirPods battery life, charging case battery life, and the battery life of your Mac. The AirBuddy app works with Macs that support Bluetooth LE, which is all modern machines.

If you have a favorite must-have Mac app that we haven't highlighted yet, let us know in the comments, and we might feature it in a future video. Many of this month's app picks came directly from recommendations from our forum members, and it's these recommendations that have helped make this series useful.

For more of our Mac app picks, make sure to check out our Mac app archives.

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says These 7 U.S. States Plan to Offer iPhone Driver's Licenses

Monday February 9, 2026 6:24 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New MacBook Pros Could Now Arrive in March

Sunday February 8, 2026 6:02 am PST by
New MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips could arrive as soon as Monday, March 2, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the release of new MacBook Pro models is tied to the release of macOS Tahoe 26.3. The launch is said to be slated for as early as the week of March 2. He added that the M4 Pro and M4 Max models on sale today...

Top Rated Comments

outskirtsofinfinity Avatar
89 months ago
The fact that the Unshaky App is even a THING reflects very badly on Apple. Just... wow.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
slkjflla Avatar
89 months ago
Struggling to see the point of Stack
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
-Ryan- Avatar
89 months ago
I’ve used Little Snitch for over 15 years now. It’s an excellent piece of software.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lopoz Avatar
89 months ago
I recently discovered Pock and love it. Basically turns the touch bar into your Dock = more screen real-estate for me to use :)

(https://ibb.co/vD5r5xm)

https://pock.pigigaldi.com/

[edit] not affiliated in any way to the app btw...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dukebound85 Avatar
89 months ago
Haven’t used little snitch in so many years I forgot it was a thing
I found it BEYOND annoying with the alerts it causes
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mike Boreham Avatar
89 months ago
Does the fact that anti-virus apps are a THING (that is 100% necessary) for Windows reflect badly on Microsoft?
Yes.

But not a great analogy, because Microsoft are not writing malware, but Apple are making substandard keyboards.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)