Seven Surprisingly Useful Mac Apps You’ve Never Heard Of.
If you spend your time on macOS switching exclusively between the well-known apps everyone uses—the web browser, Notes, Apple Music—then you’re missing out. There are plenty of more unusual and original apps for Apple’s desktop operating system that are definitely worth checking out.
The apps listed below fit this description, and while they may not be installed on millions of Macs or offer particularly complex features, they are all quite useful. Give them a try and see how they can improve your macOS experience.
ScrollPods
Scrolling on macOS is easy, but what if it were even easier ? ScrollPods , paired with connected AirPods, let you scroll through web pages, documents, and more by tilting your head. This works with anything onscreen that allows scrolling.
The app is easy to set up and, based on my tests, works quite well. The default sensitivity is optimal: even slight tilts of the head allow you to easily move the page up or down, but you can adjust the sensitivity and define custom gestures for the app in its settings.
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ScrollPods (free)
Slide
With Slidr, you can expand the functionality of your MacBook’s trackpad by turning the left side of the trackpad into a brightness slider and the right side into a volume slider, allowing you to quickly adjust these settings without interrupting your typing or scrolling.
Before purchasing, you can try the free trial to see if this app is right for you. It’s incredibly easy to use: launch it from the menu bar, and you can adjust the sensitivity and position of swipe gestures, as well as swap the brightness and volume sliders if you prefer.
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Slidr (free trial, then $4.99)
Pipiri
Picture-in-picture mode can be very useful for multitasking, but it’s not supported by all apps—a problem that Pipiri solves. After installing Pipiri, any window on your macOS desktop can be converted to picture-in-picture mode, allowing it to appear on top of other apps.
For example, you can keep the AI agent window or social media feed on the screen while you do something else. A variety of settings are also available, including overlay window refresh rate, app hotkeys, and responsive resizing.
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Pipiri (free trial, then $9.70)
Gaptyk
Haptyk uses the hidden accelerometer built into every Apple Silicon-based MacBook keyboard to detect the force with which each key is pressed and generate a corresponding sound. You get the sound effects of a mechanical keyboard using your existing MacBook keyboard.
I tried the app, and it works perfectly: sound effects play without lag, and the sound quality is consistent across all apps. There are 16 different keyboard sound packs to choose from, along with a variety of customization options (including volume, pitch, and gain).
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Haptyk (free trial, then $8)
Secretive
If you frequently video chat, you’re familiar with that subtle feeling of unease that arises whenever you’re asked to share your screen or record something you’re doing. What browser tabs do you have open? Will an awkward notification pop up?
The Stealthy app solves this problem with minimal effort by hiding desktop icons, desktop wallpaper, and the dock, muting notifications, and clearing open app windows you don’t want on your screen. It can also launch automatically when you initiate a video call.
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Stealthy (free trial, then $12.99)
Hestimer
There’s nothing revolutionary about Gestimer , but it does a simple job in an intuitive way and will likely come in handy more often than you think. It lets you set timers and reminders simply by dragging the app icon from the macOS menu bar.
No need to open other apps or dig through calendars—just drag and drop, and the length of the drag adjusts the time. A countdown is constantly displayed in the menu bar, and you’ll receive a notification when the time is right.
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Gestimer (free trial, then $6.99)
Snap off
Unclack is a simple and useful app: it mutes your microphone while you type (this is especially handy if you’ve installed Haptyk, mentioned above). This means you no longer have to worry about your aggressive typing style distracting other video conference participants.
It works seamlessly from the menu bar, and you don’t have to do anything to turn it on or off—it just works, and you won’t even notice it’s there. If you need to talk and type at the same time, you can disable Unclack with a couple of clicks until you need it again.
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Unclack (free)