Five Mac Apps Worth Checking Out - July 2020

Apps created for Macs don't typically receive as much coverage as apps designed for iPhones and iPads, so we crated a series here at MacRumors to highlight interesting Mac apps worth checking out. This month's apps focus on productivity and feature great tools for working from home.

  • Twobird (Free) - Twobird is an email app from the makers of Notability that's designed to integrate with Gmail accounts, adding tools for creating notes, setting reminders, and collaborating with others on notes and tasks. Twobird is basically an all-in-one app that merges list making, note taking, email management, and more, and it's worth checking out for those who like multi-function apps.
  • Rectangle (Free) - Rectangle is an app for moving and resizing macOS windows using keyboard shortcuts and snap to align functionality. It's a free, lightweight app that's ideal for managing multiple windows on your Mac.
  • Silicio (Free) - Silicio adds a mini player with album art and a Today Center widget for controlling music that's playing on the Mac. It works with iTunes, the Apple Music app, Spotify, and more, providing customizable themes, sizes, and shortcuts along with Touch Bar integration.
  • Bumpr ($2.99) - Bumpr is a simple Mac app that's designed to choose where to open links when you click them. If, for example, you click on a web link, Bumpr pops up a menu displaying all of your installed browsers so you can choose where to open the link. The same is true for mail apps, which makes this a solid option for those who use multiple mail and browser apps.
  • SideNotes - ($19.99) SideNotes is a note taking app that's hidden at the side of your Mac's display by default, but pops out when you need it for jotting down quick notes. The app keeps notes readily available on your desktop, but hidden away when not needed so there's not another open app taking up space. SideNotes can be accessed with a keyboard shortcut or a swipe gesture, and when opened up, will stay on top of other windows. It supports folders, lists, formatting, and more.

Know of a must-have Mac app or game that we haven't highlighted yet? Let us know in the comments below and we might feature it in a future video. For more of our Mac app picks, check out our essential Mac apps archive.

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 With Apple's Own 5G Modem 'Confirmed' to Launch in March

Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
airtag purple

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch Next Year With These New Features

Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development. Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag. Timing Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Magic Mouse Next to Keyboard

No, Apple CEO Tim Cook Didn't Say He Prefers Logitech's MX Master 3 Over the Magic Mouse

Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false. The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Real Mock

Apple Releases iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 With Security Fixes

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
at t turbo indicator iphone 16 pro max v0 8hrh7w5f3w1e1

AT&T Turbo Indicator Showing Up in iPhone Status Bar for Subscribers

Wednesday November 20, 2024 3:42 am PST by
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence. Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476 The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Surpass iPhone 6 as Thinnest iPhone Ever

Monday November 18, 2024 1:07 pm PST by
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick. "We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote. If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
bug security vulnerability issue fix larry

Make Sure to Update: iOS 18.1.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 Fix Actively Exploited Vulnerabilities

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:52 am PST by
The iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 updates that Apple released today address JavaScriptCore and WebKit vulnerabilities that Apple says have been actively exploited on some devices. With the JavaScriptCore vulnerability, processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to arbitrary code execution. The WebKit vulnerability had the same issue with maliciously crafted...

Top Rated Comments

Apple_Robert Avatar
57 months ago
What makes Side-Notes worth $20? Seems steep.

Bumpr looks like a good app.

Thanks, Dan
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
[AUT] Thomas Avatar
57 months ago
We receive and store any information you knowingly provide to us. For example, through the registration process and/or when new email accounts are added to your Twobird account, we may collect the following personal information to allow us to operate the service: name, email address, and Gmail authentication and refresh tokens (which allow our servers to perform email tasks on your behalf, such as returning Reminded emails to your inbox). Your Gmail account is required to be associated with the Services in order for you to use the Twobird Services.
Looks like another fake client... a client for google services should connect directly to the google servers... At least on a desktop there is absolutely zero reason to go over 3rd party servers...
Has this been tested?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kaostheory777 Avatar
57 months ago
Rectangle is great. It's basically as slick as and identical to Magnet but completely FREE!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
s66 Avatar
57 months ago

Hi there, Les here from Ginger Labs. I'm one of the programmers working on Twobird. We addressed a similar question over in another thread ('https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/app-recap-bluelane-originate-twobird-and-major-app-updates.2243460/?post=28623481#post-28623481'). For most things, the Twobird client connects directly to Gmail. But for a few things like reminders and notifications, these features really can't work in a purely client-side way. We use as little data as possible to make them work as expected. Hope I addressed your concern (let me know if I didn't!), and let us know if you have any other questions or feel free to email us at feedback@twobird.com
It's utterly unacceptable to catch somebody's credentials in a client and use them on your server to connect to 3rd party service directly. The security and privacy implications of doing that are simply insane.



* Twobird ('https://www.twobird.com') (Free) - Twobird is an email app from the makers of Notability that's designed to integrate with Gmail accounts, adding tools for creating notes, setting reminders, and collaborating with others on notes and tasks. Twobird is basically an all-in-one app that merges list making, note taking, email management, and more, and it's worth checking out for those who like multi-function apps.

PLEASE add a big fat WARNING that this app will use a server under the maker's control to connect directly to your gmail account without use of the client and as such poses risks to your security and privacy.

I'd outright remove the suggestion, but I fear that boat has sailed.

Thomas, post: 28674895, member: 1021539"]
Looks like another fake client... a client for google services should connect directly to the google servers... At least on a desktop there is absolutely zero reason to go over 3rd party servers...
Has this been tested?
Good catch, thanks! Hope it gets removed from the article as the implications of such a things are just too ridiculous to even consider.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Forti Avatar
57 months ago
Well... the SideNotes looks kinda good, especially with "stay on top". But to be worth $20 it should at least provide ios/android app with synchronization..

I've tested reactangle and it's just "simple". I was using hammerspoon but it requires some programing skill to configure it.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SpaceGrayAlways Avatar
57 months ago
Just putting it out there, Bumpr is not free. ('https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bumpr/id1166066070?mt=12') It costs $2.99.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)