Adobe Photoshop is for image editing like Microsoft Office for the office: absolutely dominant and in a professional environment you can’t get around it. However, if you aren’t using Photoshop and the Creative Suite, or Creative Cloud as it is now called, for professional reasons (and even if you are) the package has become very unattractive since the introduction of the subscription model more than a decade ago.

If you only want to edit a few photos every now and then you probably won’t think that a monthly subscription for around $9.99/£9.98 is worth it – because most of the time it is not.

A cheap and affordable alternative to Photoshop is Affinity Photo, which was released in its second major version in late 2022. Here you get an unlimited license for an extensive image editing toolbox for $69.99/£67.99 (the iPad version costs only $18.49/£17.99 up front).

If you also need software for vector graphics and print media, you can also get the complete Affinity V2 Universal License as a one-off payment of $164.99/£159.99. This consists of Affinity Photo 2, Affinity Designer 2 (an alternative to Adobe Illustrator) and Affinity Publisher 2 (an alternative to Adobe InDesign). This way you can even save a little – the complete package costs only 200 euros, including the versions for the iPad.

We’ve been testing Affinity Photo 2 for a while now and are generally very satisfied, especially considering what the software does for a relatively low price.

Familiar interface

If you are already familiar with Photoshop, you will quickly find your way around Affinity’s interface: The (default) layout overall is virtually identical, and the icons in the toolbar on the left differ but are similar or easy to follow with a few exceptions. Most of the basic keyboard shortcuts are also the same, which makes getting used to them much easier.

Affinity Photo does some things better than Photoshop, although this is of course a matter of taste. Personally, for example, I like the fact that the options for supported alignment (pixel alignment, magnetic alignment) are located in the top toolbar and not hidden in menus.

However, if you are familiar with image editing, Affinity Photo can be as confusing as stepping into an airplane cockpit and seeing tons of buttons and not knowing what they do. Luckily, to make it easier to get started and get around, Serif, the company behind Affinity Photo, has uploaded several dozen video tutorials to Affinity Photo’s YouTube channel.

In addition to the standard interface, there are several other pre-configured interfaces for special purposes – Serif calls them “Personas”: The standard interface is called “Photo Persona”, but there is also the “Liquify Persona”, which is specially designed for deforming, distorting and retouching images, the “Develop Persona” for developing raw images, and a handful of others. You can easily switch between the individual personas in the upper bar.

Just as in Photoshop, you can drag individual elements, windows and tools from the main window to another monitor. This allows you to effectively enlarge the workspace by swapping out tools and other settings.

It’s different on the iPad, where the interface is significantly simplified and optimised for the smaller screen and pen input with the Apple Pencil and fingers. Here, too, it is clearly reminiscent of the touch-optimised version of Photoshop.

Remarkable range of functions

The number of tools that Affinity Photo offers is also quite impressive. If you are interested in image editing and composing, the software offers almost the same functions as Photoshop: various layer types, (live) filters, adjustments (tonal value correction, contrast, etc.), effects (shadows, glows, etc.), masks, color gradients, brushes and much more – Affinity Photo will not fail to provide the basic functions. Affinity Photo even has a counterpart to the content-based filling of Photoshop, but here it is called “Inpainting”.

Differences to Photoshop only become apparent with AI-related functions. For example, some time ago Adobe added an AI-supported function that can completely replace the sky in landscape photos, which Affinity Photo does not have. Similarly, Photoshop can now recognise objects in images and select them quite accurately – also with the help of AI.

Affinity Photo can’t do that either, here you still have to select everything manually, even though the magic wand and the selection brush do a solid job even without AI.

One function that surprised me due to how intuitively it works in Affinity Photo is crop masks. To create a blurred background in the cover image for my article “The best games for the iPhone“, I drew three shapes, dragged the respective images into Affinity Photo and dropped them onto the respective shape in the layer list – done.

In Photoshop, this is only slightly more complicated, but still less intuitive: there, you drag the respective image in the list over the respective shape and then, while holding down the Option key, click on the line between the two layers to create a cut mask from the one above for the one below.

Surely this is a matter of habit, but for me personally, the drag-and-drop principle using only the mouse wins here against the combination of mouse and keyboard input.

The sample files that Serif makes available for download are very helpful. You can find them in a tab in the “Open” dialogue and can then look over the shoulder of professionals and see what they have used which tools for and in what way. In addition, there are also many YouTube tutorials for Affinity Photo, partly from Serif itself, and partly from a large community.

Creative Cloud – the biggest difference

Like many large software companies, Adobe has switched to a software-as-a-service model, which means that the focus is no longer on the software alone, but on a large package of software and various additional services. A big advantage of Adobe’s Creative Cloud, of which Photoshop is now a part, is precisely these additional services: You get access to Adobe Stock, a database of stock photos by professional photographers, over 20,000 different fonts and many other services that you would otherwise have to take obtain yourself.

Most of this is missing from Affinity Photo, where there is only the software with which you can edit images. You have to take care of fonts, cloud storage and collaboration tools yourself, but this can save you a lot of money, especially as a hobbyist, and use free platforms like Unsplash.

Stock photos are at least connected via Pixabay, an external platform for free or license-free photos and vector graphics. Affinity Photo does not explicitly refer to this–I only found the tab after a reader had pointed it out to me. It is commendable that Pixabay is completely integrated into the interface and does not refer to external browsers. The selection of graphics is perfectly fine, but cannot quite keep up with commercial platforms.

Online store for additional content

If you need additional or pre-configured tools, some add-ons can be downloaded for a fee from the Affinity Photo online store – textures, overlays, brush presets and a few more. In terms of price, the offer seems quite fair: for $25/£25, you get 53 textures, brushes and templates with the “Vibrant Paint Strokes Bundle“, for example.

The “Handwritten Font Bundle” with six different handwritings and several styles each is currently the most expensive add-on at $44/£44, and the “Nature Brush Pack” with 68 “bio brushes” for $9.99/£9.99 is the cheapest. All in all, the selection is manageable, but the shop will probably be more of a nice add-on for Serif than a source of income to be taken seriously.

Verdict

If you are a beginner, hobby graphic artist, or photographer, Affinity Photo is an incredibly attractive alternative to Adobe Photoshop, which hardly differs from the class leader in its essential functions. You lose out on the really smart features here and there, but there is nothing wrong with learning how to retouch and select objects properly by hand.

In terms of appearance and handling, Affinity Photo is now so similar to Adobe’s software that if you know Photoshop it will take no time to get familiar with Affinity Photo. The main selling point, of course, is that Affinity Photo, for all that it offers, is available for $69.99/£67.99 with an unlimited license, unlike Adobe Photoshop, and does not require a monthly subscription. Buy once, use always – that’s how we like software. For the indecisive, there’s a free 30-day trial for each platform – Mac, Windows, iPad.

Translated from Macwelt by Karen Haslam.

MacOS, Personal Software

The next version of macOS will be called Sonoma, named after the Californian wine region.

Widgets – can add anywhere on the screen. Make sure they aren’t distracting, glanceable with out feeling intrusive. Add more Widgets form Widget Gallery. Through Continuity can access Widgets from iPhone on the Widgets on your Mac. iPhone just needs to be near by on or same WiFi network. You can use car widget from iPhone. Photographers can select photos from the widget without even going in to Photos app. 

Game Mode – ensures the game gets highest priority on GPU and CPU. Makes gaming on Mac more immersive. Reducing latency with controllers. In game responsiveness. With more Mac games coming, such as Death Stranding Directors Cut.

Metal – New Game Porting kit. New tools so devs can see in days how well their game will work on Mac. Significantly reducing the game development time. 

Video Conferencing – When you share your screen your face and presence can get lost. New video effect called Presenter overlay – various designs, you are separated from the background.  You can also add a reaction to your video to show how you feel about something. Two thumbs up brings up fireworks. YOu can use these video effects with other video conferencing apps./

Safari – “World’s fastest browser”. WebKit is being constantly updted and more updates are coming including new typography. Private browsing blocks private browsing windows when you aren’t using them. Passkeys and Passwords can be shared with a group – end to end encrypted via iCloud Keychain. Safari Profiles so you can separate between work and home profiles and school settings.

Web Apps – you can make a website you use a lot as a Web App. Add to dock and that icon appears in the Dock. You then get an app like appearance for the web page. Works great with other ways to access apps. Makes it easy to get to your favourite websites on Mac.

We will update this story as the news breaks, please reload this page for the latest news.

— Here are the rumors —

Apple’s WWDC will kick off with a keynote on June 5 at which we expect the company to take the wraps off of macOS 14, the next major version of the Mac operating system.

In this article, we’ll track the latest news about macOS 14, the features we hope to see and the rumors, and when it is officially unveiled, it’ll be your place to learn about all of the new features and updates.

macOS 14: What will be the name of the next macOS release?

Every year since macOS 10.9 Mavericks, Apple has used California landmarks to identify each new version of macOS. Apple has trademarked numerous names over the years, as shared by Parker Ortolani of The Verge:

there are 15 names of places in California Apple trademarked but never used, to date every name they have used was one of those trademarks

UNUSED:
Diablo
Condor
Tiburon
Farallon
Miramar
Rincon
Pacific
Redwood
Shasta
Grizzly
Skyline
Redtail
Sonoma
Sequoia
Mammoth

USED:
Ventura…

— Parker Ortolani (@ParkerOrtolani) April 21, 2023

If macOS 14 is a so-called maintenance release–as is rumored–with few new features, it will likely be named after a location near Ventura. Based on the names above, Rincon and Skyline are the most likely names.

Another potential name is Malibu, suggested by Mark Gurman of Bloomberg and about 40m miles south of Ventura, but that name hasn’t been trademarked by Apple.

macOS 14 release date: When will macOS 14 arrive?

Apple’s usual venue for revealing the next major version of macOS is its Worldwide Developers Conference. WWDC 2023 starts at 10am (PDT) on June 5, and during the keynote, Apple will reveal the name and new features of macOS.

Apple usually releases a beta of the new macOS to developers at WWDC, and you have to be a registered developer to access it. A public beta is released about a month later, and in order to get that, you must join Apple’s Beta Program. Read about How to install macOS beta.

This is what the beta release timeline could look like:

• June 5: macOS 14 is revealed and the developer beta is released.
• July: Apple releases the first public beta.
• June to September/October: This is the beta period. Apple will release several beta updates during this time.
• September/October: macOS 14 is released to the general public.

The final version of macOS 14 will be released to the general public in the fall. In the recent past, the release has come several weeks after the new version of iOS ships. Here are the release dates for the previous five versions of macOS:

• macOS 13 Ventura: October 24, 2022
• macOS 12 Monterey: October 25, 2021
• macOS 11 Big Sur: November 12, 2020
• macOS 10.15 Catalina: October 7, 2019
• macOS 10.14 Mojave: September 24, 2018

macOS 14 compatibility: Which Macs will be able to run macOS 14?

When Apple released macOS Ventura, the company cut numerous older Macs from the compatibility list, including:

• 2015 iMac
• 2016 MacBook
• 2015-2017 MacBook Air
• 2015-2016 MacBook Pro
• 2014 Mac mini 
• 2013 Mac Pro 

There haven’t been any rumors about Apple dropping support for any Macs this year like we have with the iPad, so it’s very possible that the compatibility list for macOS 14 is the same as Ventura. Here’s the possible compatibility list:

• MacBook models from 2017 or later
• MacBook Air models from 2018 or later
• MacBook Pro models from 2017 or later
• Mac mini models from 2018 or later
• iMac models from 2017 or later
• iMac Pro (all models)
• Mac Pro models from 2019 or later
• Mac Studio (all models)

There is always the possibility that a Mac may be compatible with macOS 14, but some of the new features won’t run on older Macs of the list. Some new features may also require Apple chips and not run on Intel-based Macs.

macOS 14: How to install the beta and official version

Apple changed the beta process in macOS 13.4, so the way to install the macOS 14 beta is different to what it was previously. Instead of downloading the Beta Access Utility for every device, you’ll only need to register your Apple ID for the beta program to install betas on every Apple device that is signed into that account.

Then when you go to Software Update, you’ll see a new tab for Beta Updates, which will list the version of the beta you’re running. If you want to install the beta, select macOS 14 Public Beta, and if you want to return to Ventura, select Off. To install the official version, you need to wait for Apple to start shipping it in the fall. Then, you’ll be able to use Software Update in System Settings, or you can download it from the App Store.

Just remember: betas are not as stable as the official version–features may be implemented and then withdrawn, or they may not work properly, UI can change, and third-party app compatibility isn’t guaranteed.

macOS 14: Rumored new features

Rumors about new features have been light—all we know so far is that macOS 14 is not expected to be a major release loaded with new features. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported in April 2023 that it likely won’t be “groundbreaking or significant” but rather will continue the trend of adding iOS features. As he writes: “The dream scenario is that you own an Apple Watch, an iPhone, a MacBook, an iPad, an Apple headset, and all five of those devices are capable of doing all the same things just in different use cases and at different times of the day.”

It’s also been reported that Apple has shifted some macOS resources to xrOS as Apple prepares to launch its new AR headset at WWDC.

macOS 14: New features we want to see

Even if macOS 14 consists entirely of iOS features that make their way to the Mac, there are plenty we’d like to see.

Dynamic Island for the Mac

With the iPhone 14 Pro, Apple introduced the Dynamic Island, which uses the pill-shaped cutout for Face ID and the selfie camera as an extraordinary UI element. It’s an ingenious feature that needs to at least come to the MacBook Pro.

Dynamic Island would alleviate the clutter on the right side of the macOS interface, which houses notifications, reminders, and widgets. But it could also be a great way to monitor the progress of something an app is working on in the background, act as an indicator for battery life, or display what Apple Music is playing, as on the iPhone. 

Besides, Apple’s 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro and the M2 MacBook Air already have display notches, so a trip to the Dynamic Island should be easy to book.

Time Machine iCloud backups

This was on our wishlist for macOS 12 and macOS 13, and it’s going to stay on every wishlist until it happens. As I said before, I’ll say it again: Having an offsite backup is always a good idea, and Time Machine could be updated to do that along with the option for a local backup.

Since Apple doesn’t seem to be interested in adding this feature to macOS out of necessity, allow me to take a different angle: It’s good for Apple’s bottom line. Think about it, Apple. You could make precious Services money from Time Machine iCloud backups by selling iCloud+ storage. Apple already has a $9.99/£6.99 tier that offers 2TB of storage— and I could see a new $6.99/£3.99 for 1TB of Time Machine iCloud+ storage tier. That’s about $84/£48 per year, and say, 500,000 users sign up for that. That’s a lot of money you’re making each year and a lot of happy Mac customers. How can you pass that up, Apple?

Multi-item clipboard

One thing that we think could make a huge difference to the way we work is something that Windows users have enjoyed for years: the ability to copy and paste multiple items. Right now Mac users can copy and paste one thing at a time, but Windows users can have multiple items on their clipboard and can choose which one to paste. It’s such a simple thing and so useful, we really can’t understand why it’s not available on Macs unless you use a third-party tool, like Parallels Toolbox.

Fine-tune System Settings

In my macOS 13 wishlist, I wanted Apple to rename System Preferences to Settings to match iOS and iPadOS. My wish came true, but at a price: Apple took it a step further and redesigned the UI to be more like the iPhone. That caused consternation for the most hard-core Mac fans and confusion among even iPhone users–and sent a lot of Mac users to Google to find settings they thought were lost. There’s no going back now; System Settings and its UI are here to stay. But it could use some fine-tuning.

We’d love to see Apple separate the interface from iOS. The look is fine, but some settings don’t make sense tucked away behind General or Desktop & Dock. Top on the list: Time Machine (especially if Apple unlocks iCloud backups).

More Apple iOS apps

With macOS Ventura, Apple finally made Mac versions of the Clock and Weather apps that have been in iOS since forever. Why stop there? There are plenty of iOS apps that aren’t available on the Mac: Translate, Clips (which was on my macOS 13 wishlist), Health, Wallet (those two were on my macOS 12 wishlist), Support…maybe not Compass, Measure, and Magnifier. And hey, while they’re at it, revive Warren Buffet’s Paper Wizard and bring it to the Mac!

A version of macOS for iPad

Apple’s always said it won’t happen, but there was a rumor (back in October 2022) that macOS 14 could be destined for the M2 iPad Pro.

According with my source Apple would be testing a smaller version of macOS exclusively for the new iPad Pro M2!
“Mendocino” should be the codename for macOS 14. A simplified version should be planned for the M2. pic.twitter.com/f4RrainlZ1

— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) October 20, 2022

The rumor came via Majin Bu Twitter, who said that Apple is working on a “smaller version of macOS” that will run “exclusively” on the M2 iPad Pro. Majin Bu doesm’t have a great track record though, and there is little evidence that Apple is working to merge the iPad and Mac lines, so it may never happen. But with Final Cut and Logic Pro now available on the iPad Pro we should never say never.

Bu claims that the “simplified” version of macOS 14 will have “a 25% larger macOS UI” that’s presumably optimized for touch. Apple’s already optimised Final Cut and Logic Pro for touch–if it did the same for macOS could we even see a touch-screen Mac? Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has suggested such a Mac could be in Apple’s sights, despite Apple’s insistence that it won’t go down that path.

Sync the Clock app across all devices

As I just said, with macOS Ventura, Apple finally brought over Mac versions of the Clock and Weather apps that have been in iOS and iPadOS. Yay! However, the Weather app syncs between devices, and the Clock app doesn’t. That means that alarms that you set on one device aren’t available on others. Boo!

It’s easy enough to set an alarm, but it would be way easier if those alarms synced across devices. While we’re at it, why not sync world clock entries? Or even timers–I create a lot of timers and would like to be able to control them from multiple devices. Oh, and since everyone might not want their iPhone timers on their Mac, then give us the option to turn syncing off.

Stability and optimization

I can keep going with the wishes–a lot of what I wanted in my macOS 12 and macOS 13 wishlist have yet to become reality, and I’d still like to see them happen. But reports have said that macOS 14 won’t have many major changes, since the company is supposedly focusing on the AR/VR headset and its operating system, rumored to be called xrOS. Development for macOS 14, iOS 17, and iPadOS 17 is seemingly a lower priority until that device is unveiled.

Unified version numbers

Speaking of which, wouldn’t it be easier to read if they had the same version number? We’d love to see Apple jump from macOS 14 to a number more akin to iOS 17. Is it time for macOS 2024, iOS 2024 and iPadOS 2024?

MacOS

Apple’s WWDC will kick off with a keynote on June 5 at which we expect the company to take the wraps off of macOS 14, the next major version of the Mac operating system.

In this article, we’ll track the latest news about macOS 14, the features we hope to see and the rumors, and when it is officially unveiled, it’ll be your place to learn about all of the new features and updates.

macOS 14: What will be the name of the next macOS release?

Every year since macOS 10.9 Mavericks, Apple has used California landmarks to identify each new version of macOS. Apple has trademarked numerous names over the years, as shared by Parker Ortolani of The Verge:

there are 15 names of places in California Apple trademarked but never used, to date every name they have used was one of those trademarks

UNUSED:
Diablo
Condor
Tiburon
Farallon
Miramar
Rincon
Pacific
Redwood
Shasta
Grizzly
Skyline
Redtail
Sonoma
Sequoia
Mammoth

USED:
Ventura…

— Parker Ortolani (@ParkerOrtolani) April 21, 2023

If macOS 14 is a so-called maintenance release–as is rumored–with few new features, it will likely be named after a location near Ventura. Based on the names above, Rincon and Skyline are the most likely names.

Another potential name is Malibu, suggested by Mark Gurman of Bloomberg and about 40m miles south of Ventura, but that name hasn’t been trademarked by Apple.

macOS 14 release date: When will macOS 14 arrive?

Apple’s usual venue for revealing the next major version of macOS is its Worldwide Developers Conference. WWDC 2023 starts on June 5, and during the keynote, Apple will reveal the name and new features of macOS.

Apple usually releases a beta of the new macOS to developers at WWDC, and you have to be a registered developer to access it. A public beta is released about a month later, and in order to get that, you must join Apple’s Beta Program. Read about How to install macOS beta.

This is what the beta release timeline could look like:

• June 5: macOS 14 is revealed and the developer beta is released.
• July: Apple releases the first public beta.
• June to September/October: This is the beta period. Apple will release several beta updates during this time.
• September/October: macOS 14 is released to the general public.

The final version of macOS 14 will be released to the general public in the fall. In the recent past, the release has come several weeks after the new version of iOS ships. Here are the release dates for the previous five versions of macOS:

• macOS 13 Ventura: October 24, 2022
• macOS 12 Monterey: October 25, 2021
• macOS 11 Big Sur: November 12, 2020
• macOS 10.15 Catalina: October 7, 2019
• macOS 10.14 Mojave: September 24, 2018

macOS 14 compatibility: Which Macs will be able to run macOS 14?

When Apple released macOS Ventura, the company cut numerous older Macs from the compatibility list, including:

• 2015 iMac
• 2016 MacBook
• 2015-2017 MacBook Air
• 2015-2016 MacBook Pro
• 2014 Mac mini 
• 2013 Mac Pro 

There haven’t been any rumors about Apple dropping support for any Macs this year like we have with the iPad, so it’s very possible that the compatibility list for macOS 14 is the same as Ventura. Here’s the possible compatibility list:

• MacBook models from 2017 or later
• MacBook Air models from 2018 or later
• MacBook Pro models from 2017 or later
• Mac mini models from 2018 or later
• iMac models from 2017 or later
• iMac Pro (all models)
• Mac Pro models from 2019 or later
• Mac Studio (all models)

There is always the possibility that a Mac may be compatible with macOS 14, but some of the new features won’t run on older Macs of the list. Some new features may also require Apple chips and not run on Intel-based Macs.

macOS 14: How to install the beta and official version

Apple is changing the beta process in macOS 13.4, so by the time the macOS 14 beta arrives, the method will be different. Instead of downloading the Beta Access Utility for every device, you’ll only need to register your Apple ID for the beta program to install betas on every Apple device that is signed into that account.

Then when you go to Software Update, you’ll see a new tab for Beta Updates, which will list the version of the beta you’re running. If you want to install the beta, select macOS 14 Public Beta, and if you want to return to Ventura, select Off. To install the official version, you need to wait for Apple to start shipping it in the fall. Then, you’ll be able to use Software Update in System Settings, or you can download it from the App Store.

Just remember: betas are not as stable as the official version–features may be implemented and then withdrawn, or they may not work properly, UI can change, and third-party app compatibility isn’t guaranteed.

macOS 14: Rumored new features

Rumors about new features have been light—all we know so far is that macOS 14 is not expected to be a major release loaded with new features. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported in April 2023 that it likely won’t be “groundbreaking or significant” but rather will continue the trend of adding iOS features. As he writes: “The dream scenario is that you own an Apple Watch, an iPhone, a MacBook, an iPad, an Apple headset, and all five of those devices are capable of doing all the same things just in different use cases and at different times of the day.”

It’s also been reported that Apple has shifted some macOS resources to xrOS as Apple prepares to launch its new AR headset at WWDC.

macOS 14: New features we want to see

Even if macOS 14 consists entirely of iOS features that make their way to the Mac, there are plenty we’d like to see.

Dynamic Island for the Mac

With the iPhone 14 Pro, Apple introduced the Dynamic Island, which uses the pill-shaped cutout for Face ID and the selfie camera as an extraordinary UI element. It’s an ingenious feature that needs to at least come to the MacBook Pro.

Dynamic Island would alleviate the clutter on the right side of the macOS interface, which houses notifications, reminders, and widgets. But it could also be a great way to monitor the progress of something an app is working on in the background, act as an indicator for battery life, or display what Apple Music is playing, as on the iPhone. 

Besides, Apple’s 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro and the M2 MacBook Air already have display notches, so a trip to the Dynamic Island should be easy to book.

Time Machine iCloud backups

This was on our wishlist for macOS 12 and macOS 13, and it’s going to stay on every wishlist until it happens. As I said before, I’ll say it again: Having an offsite backup is always a good idea, and Time Machine could be updated to do that along with the option for a local backup.

Since Apple doesn’t seem to be interested in adding this feature to macOS out of necessity, allow me to take a different angle: It’s good for Apple’s bottom line. Think about it, Apple. You could make precious Services money from Time Machine iCloud backups by selling iCloud+ storage. Apple already has a $9.99/£6.99 tier that offers 2TB of storage— and I could see a new $6.99/£3.99 for 1TB of Time Machine iCloud+ storage tier. That’s about $84/£48 per year, and say, 500,000 users sign up for that. That’s a lot of money you’re making each year and a lot of happy Mac customers. How can you pass that up, Apple?

Multi-item clipboard

One thing that we think could make a huge difference to the way we work is something that Windows users have enjoyed for years: the ability to copy and paste multiple items. Right now Mac users can copy and paste one thing at a time, but Windows users can have multiple items on their clipboard and can choose which one to paste. It’s such a simple thing and so useful, we really can’t understand why it’s not available on Macs unless you use a third-party tool, like Parallels Toolbox.

Fine-tune System Settings

In my macOS 13 wishlist, I wanted Apple to rename System Preferences to Settings to match iOS and iPadOS. My wish came true, but at a price: Apple took it a step further and redesigned the UI to be more like the iPhone. That caused consternation for the most hard-core Mac fans and confusion among even iPhone users–and sent a lot of Mac users to Google to find settings they thought were lost. There’s no going back now; System Settings and its UI are here to stay. But it could use some fine-tuning.

We’d love to see Apple separate the interface from iOS. The look is fine, but some settings don’t make sense tucked away behind General or Desktop & Dock. Top on the list: Time Machine (especially if Apple unlocks iCloud backups).

More Apple iOS apps

With macOS Ventura, Apple finally made Mac versions of the Clock and Weather apps that have been in iOS since forever. Why stop there? There are plenty of iOS apps that aren’t available on the Mac: Translate, Clips (which was on my macOS 13 wishlist), Health, Wallet (those two were on my macOS 12 wishlist), Support…maybe not Compass, Measure, and Magnifier. And hey, while they’re at it, revive Warren Buffet’s Paper Wizard and bring it to the Mac!

A version of macOS for iPad

Apple’s always said it won’t happen, but there was a rumor (back in October 2022) that macOS 14 could be destined for the M2 iPad Pro.

According with my source Apple would be testing a smaller version of macOS exclusively for the new iPad Pro M2!
“Mendocino” should be the codename for macOS 14. A simplified version should be planned for the M2. pic.twitter.com/f4RrainlZ1

— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) October 20, 2022

The rumor came via Majin Bu Twitter, who said that Apple is working on a “smaller version of macOS” that will run “exclusively” on the M2 iPad Pro. Majin Bu doesm’t have a great track record though, and there is little evidence that Apple is working to merge the iPad and Mac lines, so it may never happen. But with Final Cut and Logic Pro now available on the iPad Pro we should never say never.

Bu claims that the “simplified” version of macOS 14 will have “a 25% larger macOS UI” that’s presumably optimized for touch. Apple’s already optimised Final Cut and Logic Pro for touch–if it did the same for macOS could we even see a touch-screen Mac? Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has suggested such a Mac could be in Apple’s sights, despite Apple’s insistence that it won’t go down that path.

Sync the Clock app across all devices

As I just said, with macOS Ventura, Apple finally brought over Mac versions of the Clock and Weather apps that have been in iOS and iPadOS. Yay! However, the Weather app syncs between devices, and the Clock app doesn’t. That means that alarms that you set on one device aren’t available on others. Boo!

It’s easy enough to set an alarm, but it would be way easier if those alarms synced across devices. While we’re at it, why not sync world clock entries? Or even timers–I create a lot of timers and would like to be able to control them from multiple devices. Oh, and since everyone might not want their iPhone timers on their Mac, then give us the option to turn syncing off.

Stability and optimization

I can keep going with the wishes–a lot of what I wanted in my macOS 12 and macOS 13 wishlist have yet to become reality, and I’d still like to see them happen. But reports have said that macOS 14 won’t have many major changes, since the company is supposedly focusing on the AR/VR headset and its operating system, rumored to be called xrOS. Development for macOS 14, iOS 17, and iPadOS 17 is seemingly a lower priority until that device is unveiled.

Unified version numbers

Speaking of which, wouldn’t it be easier to read if they had the same version number? We’d love to see Apple jump from macOS 14 to a number more akin to iOS 17. Is it time for macOS 2024, iOS 2024 and iPadOS 2024?

MacOS

There are two main reasons why someone might want to install a VPN on an iPhone. One important reason is to protect their privacy and increase their security. Another key reason is that a VPN can be used to make it look like you are based in a different country, which can unlock content that wouldn’t be available where you actually are.

If you are concerned about how secure the data on you iPhone is a VPN may be a solution that could give you peace of mind. We have a selection of VPNs for iPhone that we recommend below. But first we’ll quickly address why you might, or might not, want an VPN to protect the data on your iPhone.

Apple talks a lot about how secure iOS is thanks to built-in features such as strong password recommendations, iCloud Keychain password management, two-factor authentication, and the use of Face ID and Touch ID to unlock your iPhone and sign into websites and accounts. Apple lets iPhone users control whether information is shared with apps installed on their device and stop email senders getting details (such as location based on an IP address) when an email is opened. It is also possible to wipe an iPhone remotely if it is lose or stolen, and Lockdown Mode can be used to lock down an iPhone if you are the victim of a cyberattack (such as Pegasus, which hit the headlines in 2021). For details of other ways Apple protects your iPhone see our iPhone security tips.

Safari in iOS will protect you from malicious websites, stop you being tracked, and enable private browsing, and, as part of an iCloud subscription (from $0.99/£0.79 a month), iCloud Private Relay will encrypt your data and send it via a relay to hide your location and IP, and hide details of what you are browsing to prevent websites from being able to create a profile of you. This latter feature is similar to one of the benefits a VPN can offer–but it’s important to note that it only works with Safari and it may not work within certain networks because it is identifiable as a proxy server.

A typical VPN won’t prevent malware from attacking your iPhone, but it will encrypt your data so that nobody can spy on it; hide your iP address so that websites you visit can’t identify you and create a profile based on your behavior; and, unlike iCloud Private Relay, it will do this whatever app you are using. As a result websites you visit can’t track you; your internet service provider can’t see what you’re up to; and nobody can find out what you buy, where you shop, what you watch, when you go to bed and where you’re going on holiday.

One of the most popular features a VPN can offer is the ability to hide the region you are surfing from. This means you can surf as if you are based in another country–and access content that would otherwise not be available to you. This opens up services such as U.S. Netflix for those in the U.K or BBC iPlayer for those in the U.S. (It’s important to note, mind you, that using a VPN to get around geo-restrictions is usually against the terms and conditions of streaming companies such as Netflix, Amazon, and the BBC.)

While VPNs are a novel concept for many people, they are very simple apps to use and require no previous knowledge or technical expertise. It’s as easy as launching the app, pressing the Connect button and then launching Safari or whichever app you want to use. For more information, we have a separate articles that explain how to use a VPN on an iPhone and why you might need a VPN on your iPhone. You might also want to check out our round-up of the best VPN deals, which we update monthly, just be aware that low prices for the first year of two are common, but a higher subscription price will kick in as soon as that offer period ends.

Best VPN app for iPhone

Personal Software, Security, VPN

Apple includes the free Photos app on all Macs, iPhones and iPads, but this app is primarily intended for organising your photo collection, and only has a limited selection of editing tools.

If you’re a keen photographer and want to have more creative control over your work–but don’t want to pay for the privilege–then take a look at the free photo editing apps for Mac below. We’ve taken a look at the best alternatives to Photos that provide a wider and more powerful set of photo-editing tools.

In this article we round up the best free photo-editing programs for the Mac, including Adobe Express, Google Photos, Gimp and more. If you don’t mind paying for a decent photo editing app then we recommend you take a look at our round up of the Best photo editing software for Mac, which includes the likes of Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and Photoshop Express, Pixelmator Pro, Affinity Photo and many more.

If you were hoping to get Photoshop for free read How to get Photoshop on a Mac, which includes a section on a way to get Photoshop for free.

Best free photo editor for Mac

Personal Software

Macs may be a far less tempting target for malware and viruses, but they’re not immune from attack. Even if you don’t care about adware or being used as means to infect users on other platforms, it’s still possible to fall victim to ransomware, or password theft.

Accordingly, good antivirus for Mac software will protect your Mac on all of these fronts. It’ll catch malware that’s still spreading or in circulation; block ransomware; protect older systems with out-of-date software from security vulnerabilities; prevent your Mac from acting as a carrier for malware aimed at other operating systems; and keep infected files off of any virtual machines you’re running.

As to the question of which Mac antivirus software you should choose, our current top pick is Intego Mac Internet Security. However, you will find several other recommendations below that may suit you better, depending upon the type and number of devices that need protection and also how much you want to pay.

Our top contenders in our best Mac antivirus round up dominate by posting perfect (or virtually near perfect) scores from security research labs, passing our own malware detection tests with flying colors, offering well-designed interfaces, and even throwing in extra features like a firewall or password manager.

For some great discounts and deals see our best Mac antivirus deals round up.

Updated May 5, 2023 to update the F-Secure review.

Best antivirus for Mac reviews

Best Mac antivirus at a glance comparison

Here is an overview of the top Mac antivirus software tested above.

Developer

Product name

USB scan

Ransomware protection

Adware prevention

Anti phishing  protection

Email protection

Firewall

VPN

iOS version

Parental Controls

Support

Trial

Price

Intego

Internet Security X9

Y

Y

X

Y

X

Y

X

Y

Y

Y

7 days

$49.99/£49.99 / ye ($24.99/£20.99 /yr deal)

Clario

Antivirus 1.5 for Mac

Y

Y

Y

Y

X

X

Y

Y

X

Y

7 days

£107.88/£107.88 / ye (currently $50/£50 /ye); ($4.17/£4.17 / mo for a year, or $8.99/£8.99 /mo billed monthly)

AVG

AntiVirus for Mac

X

X

X

X

Y

X

X

Y

X

X

60 days

Free (Paid for version is $2.49 per month for one year / $2.39 a month for two-years / $2.29 a month for three-years)

Norton

360 Deluxe

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

30 days

$39.99/£34.99/yr

McAfee

Total Protection

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

30 days

$34.99/£34.99/yr

Avast

Premium Security

Y

Y

X

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

X

Y

60 days

$44.99/£39.99/yr

Bitdefender

Total Security

Y

Y

X

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

30 days

$39.97/£34.99/yr

Eset

Cyber Security Pro

Y

Y

X

Y

Y

Y

X

X

Y

Y

30 days

$49.95/£39.95/yr

Trend Micro

Antivirus for Mac

X

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

30 days

$39.99/£49.95

Avira

Prime

Y

Y

Y

Y

X

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

30 days

$99.99/£85.99

Do Macs need Mac antivirus software?

Plenty of Mac aficionados will tell you that Apple computers are inherently secure and don’t require protection. We’d argue that they are wrong – or overconfident, at the very least.

Not long ago, the Silver Sparrow malware was detected on Macs powered by the M1 processor and infected hundreds of thousands of Macs in total. The bad guys, then, are still very much targeting Mac users and they’re getting smarter and greedier. As a result, cyber security is something you can’t afford to ignore, and good Mac antivirus is a very good place to start if you want to stay safe.

Macs are generally more secure than their Windows brethren for two reasons. On the technical side, macOS is a Unix-based operating system. As a Unix-based operating system macOS is sandboxed.

Sandboxing is like having a series of fire doors: even if malware gains access to your Mac, it is unable to spread to other areas of the machine. They are more difficult to exploit than Windows PCs, but Macs are not unhackable.

More general advice can be found in our Mac security tips; and those who have been hit by a malware attack should try how to remove a virus from a Mac.

How to choose the best Mac antivirus

Features fundamental to all packages are two ways to find viruses: on-demand protection and via always-on protection. The former finds viruses by examining one file after another during scheduled scans, or when you choose to undertake a scan, perhaps because you’re worried your Mac might be infected. The speed at which the Mac antivirus app can do this is important, because some take a long time and also hog the Mac’s CPU while they do so. Waiting six hours to find out if your Mac is infected is neither convenient nor relaxing.

Always-on malware protection is what protects the user outside of the times when scans are run. If some malware arrives, perhaps via an email or a downloaded file, then the always-on protection should be able to detect it and either quarantine it (copy it to a safe folder so the user can decide what to do with it), or simply delete it. Usually a notification is shown when malware is detected in this way, but not all antimalware apps show the same amount of explanation of what’s happened – and this was one of the factors we examined in our testing.

Outside of direct malware detection, many security suites include additional tools such as ransomware protection. Ransomware is a type of malware that, once it’s infected a computer, encrypts all the user’s files and then demands a fee to decrypt them. To protect against this infection, anti-ransomware features typically block any app from writing to a user’s home folders, such as Documents or Photos, unless the app’s pre-approved (a process called whitelisting). Lots of apps come already pre-approved, of course, such as Microsoft Word, or Apple’s own Photos app. But you can add others.

Several products also include virtual private network (
VPN) add-ons. These protect an internet connection by encrypting it, and this is useful when utilising unsafe open WiFi such as that provided by a café or hotel. In our experience, these are not replacements for separate paid-for VPN services as many do not unblock video streaming services and some are cut-down versions which constantly nag you to pay extra for the full, premium versions.

Web protection via browser plugins or extensions is also a common component and aims to stop you (or your children) doing anything you regret online, such as visiting fake or infected websites or handing over personal information.

There are usually different options from each vendor, and you get more extras with the top packages, and far fewer with free ones. They might include password managers, parental controls, cloud storage – the list goes on. Generally, the underlying antimalware engine is the same in all products from the same company, so you can save money if you don’t need those additional features.

Do bear in mind that all antivirus for Mac apps are sold as yearly subscriptions. That’s right, you can’t just pay once and use forever. Often there’s a hefty discount for that first year’s subscription, but this can burn you when automatic renewal occurs a year later and the full retail price is charged: often 100% more. Alternatively, you can purchase several years’ subscriptions at once for a bigger discount.

Some of the best Mac antivirus subscriptions allow you to install the software on more than one computer (including Windows and Android devices), which can sometimes add significantly to the value – all computers, phones and tablets within a household can be protected with one subscription.

Spotting fake Mac antivirus software

Beware that, due to the fact that people are so concerned about malware threats on the Mac, there have been cases of malware disguising itself as an antivirus app, such as the Mac Auto Fixer pop-ups that appeared on some Macs suggesting that software needs to be installed (at a high price). This is similar to another fake antivirus app called MacDefender.

Another Mac antivirus company that is often thought of as unscrupulous is MacKeeper. In the past various reports have suggested it is a scam or at worst malware. In recent times MacKeeper has attempted to transform itself and leave its disreputability behind. It has, for example, gained Apple Notarization – which means the software is checked by Apple for malicious components. The company has also been working to get certifications from various bodies to prove it isn’t a PUP, including an AV-Test certificate. If you have any problems with MacKeeper we do explain how to remove it here: How to uninstall MacKeeper.

How we test Mac antivirus software

Each software package is evaluated creating a clean installation of macOS, cloning it for each AV product, and then booting separately into each one to install a different package. This was to ensure that previous app installations didn’t interfere with new ones – sometimes AV software treats other AV software as an infection.

In addition to visiting malicious websites, downloading known malicious software, and even running said malware on our Mac, we also reference the most recent reports from two labs that regularly cover macOS malware: AV Comparatives and AV-TEST. These laboratories test AV software against sets of known malware as well as products that are grouped as potentially unwanted applications (like adware).

The latter doesn’t damage or expose your computer or its files but may consume power and CPU cycles. Because the testing effectively looks at a combination of virus databases and behavior, they remain good gauges even after many months. When an antivirus for Mac software package lacks a rating from a known security research lab, we do more extensive testing with real malware.

Finally, while we gave props for a lot of different features and behaviors, we marked products down if they lacked any or all of the following:

• A nearly perfect score on macOS malware detection
• Ransomware monitoring
• Native browser plug-in or system-level Web proxy
• A high score on Windows malware detection

Privacy concerns

Using a Mac antivirus product, especially any that includes tools to also improve your online privacy, may lull you into believing you’re safe from personal and private information leaking out. That’s not quite the case. While there’s no reason to panic, you should consider a few reasonable issues.

First, an antivirus for Mac product may upload the complete text of files flagged to the cloud, where it can be analyzed by separate tools hosted there. This practice is normal and sensible: Some malware can detect when a running process may examine it, and will then engage in subterfuge. Antivirus software makers also can access their massive databases to examine files with characteristics that trigger their algorithms—certain elements that match known malware. As a result, security researchers discover new viruses, worms, Trojans horses, and the like.

However, helping the greater good means you’ll have to be comfortable with trusting a third-party with your file contents. Where appropriate, we noted privacy policy issues in individual reviews.

Second, this software may also rely partly or entirely on cloud-based checks of URLs, malware, and the like. Accordingly, an AV package might upload every URL you visit, metadata about files, signatures of files, information about your computer’s hardware, a list of running or installed applications, and more. Companies vary on their disclosure of such policies, and may not let you opt out of this kind of sharing. We note issues in each review as available.

Third, anti-virus software makers also get a sense of what behavior is happening on your computer that’s being monitored or blocked, and may use that information for their own purposes. In some cases, you can opt out of this information gathering.

Antivirus, Personal Software, Security