Hey! How's it going? My name is Shu. If you just got a new Mac or are looking
for some upgrades for your Mac to be more productive, this video is for you.
Here's the list of my favourite Mac apps that will help you get the most out of it.
Number one is Texts. This is such an useful Mac exclusive app. Texts is a like an universal inbox
that connects all your messaging apps. So you can connect your WhatsApp, Twitter DMs, Instagram
DMs, Facebook Messenger, Slack, Discord and so on and then see all the messages in one place.
So if you’re using multiple apps to talk to your friends and colleagues, Texts can be life-changing
because you no longer have to switch between apps, which is honestly a bit tiring. And it’s
easy to miss and forget some messages if you’re using different apps all the time.
Also, if you’re unhappy with Twitter DMs or Instagram DMs,
Texts adds some solid improvements like a reminder to reply and labels just like you
can do with emails. That was the main reason why I started using Texts to be honest — I
just didn’t like the default Twitter DMs. So if you’re like me, you might love this one.
If you’re looking for a new web browser for you Mac,
there are a few browsers you might want to try. Arc is one of my favourite browsers that is
exclusive to Mac. It’s probably the most fun web browser to use. It’s got an unique beautiful
design as well as lots of useful features. The best one is the splitscreen where you can see
multiple websites and apps side by side. And you can save the layouts so you can use them
anytime which is pretty cool. There are many other cool things you can do with it too. For example,
you can create multiple spaces for different purposes or even different projects. And
then also create a canvas where you can organise information visually. This is really helpful when
you’re doing a research and have so many notes and ideas. It can easily be your note app if you want.
Another browser you might want to try is Microsoft Edge. For now, it’s the only web browser that
integrates with AI and ChatGPT. Although Google will probably do the same soon. Anyway,
it’s incredibly useful. There are so many things you can do with it. But maybe the most
useful one is that you can access the new Bing which is Microsoft’s AI-powered search engine,
with just one click. Just like with ChatGPT, you can ask it any questions, have some conversations
or write some things for you. The quick access to Bing is probably the best thing about it.
So if you want to have an AI assistant while you browse, you should get Microsoft Edge.
Speaking of AI, another great Mac app to access ChatGPT and other AI assistants is Poe,
which I actually introduced last week. It’s Mac and iOS exclusive for now. You can access
the default ChatGPT as well as the new version powered by GPT-4. Although the new one is for
subscribers only, so you have to pay a monthly fee to use it more than once. And then there
are also other AI assistants like Claude which is a serious competitor to ChatGPT. Overall,
it runs super smooth and the response is fast. And it’s basically free,
so you should definitely check it out. Let’s get back to web browsers. If your
priority is privacy, perhaps DuckDuckGo is the one for you. It offers some great privacy
protection features such as tracker blocking and site encryption. If you’re worried about
Google collecting your personal information like every website you visit, this is great.
I don’t usually use it to be honest, but I like its email protection feature. It lets
you generate a random email address that you can use for signing up to websites. This way,
you don’t have to expose your real email address and thereby protect
your privacy better. So I almost always use this feature whenever I sign up to a website,
newsletter or any kind of service that requires my email address. Also, if you’re a privacy-conscious
user, you should add apps like Fastmail and 1Password to your stack too. These are great.
By the way, I got this smart desk mat recently and I love it. It’s made by a company called MOFT who
is the sponsor of today’s video. MOFT is a company that makes beautiful ergonomic products for your
work and lifestyle. I’ve been a huge fan of their products for a long time such as this laptop
stand and the foldable phone stand. So I’m really happy to be able to talk about them in this video.
One of their latest products is this guy — the MOFT smart desk mat,
which is a multifunctional mat that can turn any surface into a smart workspace.
It comes with a wireless charger, NFC tags, magnetic book and tablet holders, cable organisers
and many more. I've been using it for a few weeks now and I love how it keeps my desk organised and
clutter-free. I can charge my phone wirelessly without any cables. I can even put my Apple watch
on it if I wanted to take it off a little bit. There are a few things I really like. One is
this wrist rest. It’s very comfortable and can support my wrist and hands while I type.
Another thing is that you can change the angle of the mat depending on how you want to use it.
If you just keep it flat but you can lift it up a little so you can use it as a laptop stand. And
then when you’re reading a book or have a tablet, you could use it as a book or tablet stand too.
But my most favourite feature is its NFC function. I can customise what happens when I tap my phone
on the NFC tags. For example, I can set it to open a Focus Timer, Spotify or turn on Do Not
Disturb mode when I'm working. There are so many choices. It's very convenient and fun to use.
If you're interested in getting your own smart desk mat, you can check out their
website from the link in the description. They have lots of beautiful top quality products.
Okay, let’s get back to the list. You probably know this one because it’s in almost every Mac
user's toolkit. It’s CleanMyMac. Every time I make a video about Mac apps,
I always include it simply because it’s that good. I won’t go into too much detail about it,
but essentially it cleans up your Mac from all the junk that you don't need. I like how
it scans everything on your Mac and cleans it up including potential virus. It just
makes the experience of using Mac so much better especially if you plan to use it for a long time
because it’s great at keeping it running fast and smooth and making the battery last long.
Sometimes, journaling is a great way to keep your mind calm and destress yourself. Also it’s
nice to have a record of your journey. For that, Stoic is a fantastic journaling app.
It’s actually more than a simple journaling app. You can of course start writing on a blank page,
but there are also many prompts and writing exercises which make it easier to build your
journaling habit. And then it also has a built-in meditation and breathing exercises too. Of course
it doesn’t have as many meditation exercises as the major meditation apps like Headspace
and Calm. But to be honest, this is more than enough for me. And it’s available on mobile
too so you can always start journaling and do a meditation whenever you like.
Raycast is the first app I install whenever I get a new Mac. It can transform your Mac into
a productivity machine. It's a free app that lets you control your computer with just your
keyboard and helps you boost your productivity and efficiency by allowing you to quickly access apps,
files, settings, and more. With Raycast, you can use keyboard shortcuts to launch apps,
switch between windows, search the web, create notes and reminders, control music playback,
and perform many other actions. You can also customise it to suit your preferences
and workflow by installing extensions that add more functionality and integrations. The
Raycast store has so many extensions that you can probably find something that fits
your needs. There's even an extension that lets you to talk to ChatGPT directly from
Raycast! Also I love that it's designed to be fast, lightweight, and easy to use. It works
seamlessly with macOS and integrates with popular apps like Spotify, Slack, Zoom, GitHub, and more.
If you want to take your Mac experience to the next level, you should definitely give it a try.
The last one is Rewind. It’s kind of a crazy app. It records everything you do on your Mac
and then lets you go back and watch it whenever you like, hence the name Rewind. You might find
this concerning from a privacy standpoint but all the data is stored locally on your Mac and
you can delete it whenever you like. It’s crazy but actually super useful especially when you
want to recall something that happened on your computer. For example, if you forgot what someone
said in a Zoom meeting, you can use Rewind to find the exact moment and replay it. Or if you
need to copy some text from a document or an email that you closed, you can use Rewind to search for
it and paste it anywhere. It also gives you full control over what apps and windows are recorded,
so you can exclude any sensitive or private information from being captured.
By the way, if you want to know more amazing Mac apps, check out this video. I talk about
some of the other great apps in it. Thanks for watching! See you next time.