When Apple unveiled its first-ever smartwatch back in 2014, it’s fair to say that the world wasn’t exactly sure what it was for… and neither was Apple. In those early days, along with the fitness elements which would remain an enduring part of the product’s appeal, the company talked enthusiastically about sharing taps, sketches, and heartbeats with friends, which would not. It took time for users and third-party developers to teach Apple what they wanted from a smartwatch, and for the company to take that on board.

Today, the Apple Watch is a mature and versatile product. It’s so versatile, indeed, that you may not be aware of some of its most useful capabilities. In this article, we’re going to catch you up.

Take better iPhone photos

This was a superb piece of lateral thinking. There have always been situations where it’s difficult or impossible to trigger a camera because it needs to be out of reach, or out of sight, of the person taking the picture: when you’re trying to photograph the ports around the back of your Mac, for example, or when setting up a formal group photo that everyone wants to be in. Timers used to be the main solution, but often resulted in a mad scramble to place the camera correctly and get back in time before the time ran out. But the Apple Watch offers something better.

Open the Camera Remote app on your watch, and it will simultaneously open the Camera app on the paired iPhone. Whatever the iPhone’s camera can see, you can now see on your watch; you can switch between the front and rear cameras (and toggle some other settings) using the options button at the bottom right. Once you’re happy, hit the three-second timer button, look up and smile, and enjoy your perfect photo.

Unlock other Apple devices

An Apple Watch, once you’ve unlocked it with a single passcode input, remains unlocked as long as it stays on your wrist. It can thus act as a handy digital key that’s on you at all times, unlocking your Mac and iPhone by proximity alone.

On iPhone, open the Settings app and go to Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode on older devices), then scroll down and tap the toggle under Unlock With Apple Watch. On Mac, open System Settings and go to Touch ID & Password and click the toggle next to your Apple Watch.

Play games

As small as the Apple Watch’s screen may be, it can still support some fun games; they just need to be designed with that limitation in mind. You need to be selective. We’d recommend Deep Golf and Lifeline, both of which make perfect sense in this format, but there are some more excellent suggestions here.

Talk to ChatGPT

You probably have your own thoughts on the ethics of AI, but it’s hard to deny that ChatGPT is fun to play with. Thanks to the Petey app, you can now have those conversations on Apple Watch. Tap the ‘Ask me Anything’ button then type in a query (or better still, use the dictation button and save your tapping finger) and you’ll soon hear what our future AI overlord thinks of the matter. There’s even a complication, which means Petey is never more than a tap away.

Control navigation with air gestures

The standard control method for Apple Watch involves having the device on one wrist, and then tapping the screen and pressing and rotating the buttons and dials with the other hand. But there are situations where you need to control the watch with the same hand it’s on. And this is possible, thanks to AssistiveTouch, one of Apple’s handy accessibility features.

Open the Watch app on the paired iPhone. (Alternatively, you can set the feature up in the Apple Watch’s own Settings app, but I found this fiddly.) In the My Watch tab, select Accessibility, then scroll down until you see AssistiveTouch. Tap this, then tap the toggle at the top of the next screen to turn it on.

By default, doing a pinch gesture with the watch-bearing hand will take you forwards in menus, while double-pinching (pinching twice, rather than pinching once with two fingers) will take you back; clenching your fist will act as a tap, while double-clenching will open a menu of actions, which takes a little getting used to. In fact, the whole thing has a learning curve, but practice makes perfect, and you can change the actions tied to each gesture.

Tell the time without looking

If for whatever reason you are unable to look at your Apple Watch but you’d still like to know the time, Speak Time is the lesser-known feature for you. To set it up, open the Settings app on the watch and go to Clock, scroll down until you see Speak Time, then tap to turn it on. (Again, this can also be done in the Watch app on a paired iPhone; again, go to Clock then hit Speak Time.) Now you need only hold two fingers on the watch face for a second or so and it will tell you the time out loud.

Conversely, if you’d like to know the time silently without looking at the screen, consider Taptic Time. (You can turn this on in the Watch app by going to Clock > Taptic Time, or following a similar route in the Apple Watch’s Settings app.) There are various options but I find the Digits format easiest: this would for example give one long tap, followed by four short taps, followed by three long taps, followed by six short taps, to give you the time 14:36.

Quickly reply to messages

The Apple Watch probably doesn’t seem like the optimal device for writing out messages, but watchOS has been cleverly designed to help. Tap a notification of an incoming message (or open the Messages app on your Apple Watch and tap a message there) and you’ll see the option to reply. This is easier than it sounds.

The easiest method is to select one of the pre-written replies, such as yes, no, and “Can I call you later?” One tap and the canned reply is winging its way to the recipient: easy. And if these replies seem too limited, write some of your own by opening the Watch app on your paired iPhone and going to Messages > Default Replies.

If you’d rather be spontaneous, you can type out a reply on your wrist in the onscreen keyboard, but we’d recommend that you instead swipe up and select the Scribble keyboard instead: this has you scrawl a letter at a time using the entire screen, which is much easier than hitting tiny keys. Or best of all, tap the dictation button and speak your thoughts out loud.

Make your battery last much longer

Hardly anyone seems to know that the Apple Watch now has a Low Power mode–perhaps because it already had a Power Reserve mode, which was far more drastic and made the watch basically unusable. But Low Power, finally added in watchOS 9 in 2022, is much closer to the equivalent iPhone feature, simply cutting back on features and settings to eke out a little more battery life.

To turn on Low Power mode, open Control Center by swiping up from the clock face, then tap the battery percentage. Just below the Battery Remaining figure, you’ll see a toggle labeled Low Power Mode. (Note that in watchOS 10, Control Center is instead accessed by pressing the side button.)

Preserve your privacy

The always-on screen offered on the Series 5 onwards has many good qualities, but you might be worried that it means personal data may be visible to other people. Fortunately, you can adjust the settings so that sensitive complications and notifications only appear when your wrist is raised.

Let’s start with complications, which could display personal data such as calendar appointments or health information. Open the Watch app on your paired iPhone. From the My Watch tab, go to Display & Brightness > Always On > Show Complications Data. From here you can pick and choose which complications are allowed to display their data when the always-on screen is in dimmed mode.

Similarly, if you go to Display & Brightness > Always On > Show Notifications you can fine-tune the notifications which appear in dimmed mode, and which are only allowed to reveal their information when you’ve raised your wrist.

Get discreet directions

When you’re lost in a new city, the last thing you want to do is advertise the fact that you’re a tourist (or indeed the fact that you’ve got an expensive smartwatch on your wrist and an expensive smartphone in your pocket). For this reason, it’s desirable to have Maps advise you of turnings in a way that’s discreet and doesn’t require that you look at the screen of your Apple Watch or iPhone.

While you’re still somewhere safe, open Maps on your iPhone and select a destination and the type of directions you want. Start the journey, and make sure you turn off the sound alerts by tapping the mute/unmute button on the right-hand side. Tuck the iPhone away in a pocket.

Now, as you walk along, the Apple Watch will alert you to left turns by giving you three sets of two short buzzes and signal right turns with a rapid and even series of 10 to 12 haptic taps. (You don’t need to count them, it’s the rhythm that gives it away.) When you reach your destination you get a long vibration.

Apple Watch

Want to buy a new Mac and don’t want to spend a fortune? Buying a new Mac is an expensive business, but there is a way to get a new Mac for less money.

We don’t mean buy a second-hand Mac from someone on eBay. We mean you can get a brand-new Mac directly from Apple for less money. Read Should I buy a secondhand Mac?

Want to know how? Shop at Apple’s Certified Refurbished Store. On the Refurbished Store you can find Macs from the past few years all with money off Apple’s usual price. See just how much you can save here: How much can you save at Apple’s Refurbished Store.

The price isn’t the only reason to shop at Apple’s Certified Refurbished Store though. Here we’ll tell you all the reasons why you should buy a refurbished Mac.

Apple’s not the only place that sells refurbished Macs. We discuss the Best place to buy a refurbished MacBook or Mac in a separate article and also make some recommendations below.

1. Refurbished Macs are as good as new

You might be thinking that buying from Apple’s Refurbished Store is a bit like buying secondhand, assuming that the Mac had a previous owner and for one reason or another they returned their Mac to Apple. Your concern might be that this means there is something wrong with the Mac, but as you will see from the point below, Apple will have identified and fixed any faults.

The Mac you are buying probably hasn’t come straight from the factory, but its interlude with a prior customer will have been brief. The previous owner may have exercised their consumer rights and returned it unused within 14 days (which is the extent of Apple’s refund and exchange policy). Or the Mac might have been used as a demonstration model, but this doesn’t mean that it will have been used by lots of people and it is unlikely to have undergone any intensive processing.

2. You can get the current generation Macs for less

You can save money on the current generation of Macs if you shop in the Refurbished Store.

For example, in July 2023 we found a refurbished 13-inch MacBook Air with M2 chip for $929, which is a saving of $170, and less than the M1 MacBook Air still sells for.

It usually takes a few months before Apple starts selling the current generation of Macs on the Refurbished Store, but Apple started selling refurbished M2 Pro and M2 Max MacBook Pro and M2 Mac mini in the refurbished store in May 2023, about four months after they initially went on sale in January 2023.

3. You can get more for your money

Buying from the Refurbished Store is a great way to get a more powerful Mac than the current entry-level for less money.

If you shop for your Mac in your local Apple Store, at an Apple Authorized Reseller, or in Apple’s online store, you can only buy the newest version of a particular Mac. Turn instead to the Refurbished Store and you will find Macs from the past few years at a lower price than their successors.

The really enticing thing is that these older Macs often aren’t a lot different from the current models. Sure, the newer Mac might have the next-generation processor, but if you had the choice of an M2 or an M1 Pro then the M1 Pro would still be a more powerful option. See our Mac processor comparison.

For example, we took a look at the Apple Refurbished Store in July 2023 and found a refurbished 14-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Pro chip (14-core GPU, 512GB SSD, and 16GB Unified Memory) for $1,539. This is a saving of $360 on the $1,899 price it had when it was new. But the deal is even better when you consider that a brand new 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 chip, configured to have the same 512GB SSD and 16GB memory, would cost $1,699 and would be a less powerful Mac with a 10-core GPU.

Typically you can see the following savings at Apple’s Refurbished Store for the current generation and older generation Macs:

• $90-$170 off a MacBook Air.
• $190 -$610 off a MacBook Pro.
• $90-$200 off a Mac mini.
• $200-$260 off an iMac.
• $270 off a Mac Studio.

There are also some big savings to be had on Intel-powered iMacs.

4. Apple tests and replaces parts if necessary

You might be thinking that this is all very well, but these are Macs that are likely to have been returned to Apple due to a fault with them. Would it be unwise to buy a Mac that has already proven to be faulty?

The great news here is that you can be sure that any fault will have been rectified by Apple. The company says that all refurbished Macs include “full functional testing, genuine Apple part replacements (if necessary),” as well as “a thorough cleaning”.

The Mac you are buying will have had more checks than any Mac coming straight from a factory so you can be sure that any problems will have been caught.

5. You get a one-year warranty and 90 days of tech support

Even better, you get a one-year warranty, so if anything does go wrong getting it fixed will be easy and free.

You also get complimentary technical support, which means you will be able to phone Apple up if you have any problems with setup, installation of software, and any connection problems.

You can also extend the one-year warranty up to three years if you buy AppleCare protection when you purchase your refurbished Mac.

If you buy secondhand from another source you will only have any remaining warranty left over–and since the model you are buying is likely to be more than a year old this protection will have expired.

6. It’s dispatched for free with free returns

Because you are buying the Mac from Apple directly it comes with other benefits. For example, not only will there be no shipping costs associated with your new Mac (Apple will dispatch it to you for free).

You will also be protected by Apple’s 14-day returns policy, which means that if you change your mind you can send it back, no questions asked, within two weeks.

7. You could get your new Mac today!

Another benefit is that if the Mac is in stock at your local Apple Store you could pick it up today. And if you would prefer that it was delivered to you, it could arrive as soon as tomorrow.

8. You can purchase your refurbished Mac with financing options

If you don’t have the money right now you can still get your new Mac. Apple offers financing options. In the U.S. Apple offers its own Apple Card which brings the advantage of 3% Daily Cash Back when you buy from Apple.

The Apple Card isn’t available in the U.K., but Barclays and PayPal Credit provides finance if you want to buy a new Mac. You just need to apply for financing when you check out.

You can also trade in an old product to get credit toward your new purchase. You could get up to $775/£615 credit for trading in a MacBook Pro, for example.

9. You don’t have to deal with a previous user

Dealing with Apple is a real benefit. You don’t need to deal with a previous owner who might not be completely honest about problems with the machine, or might be difficult if later on you experience problems.

Dealing with Apple directly should give you peace of mind that you are buying exactly what is advertised and that if there are any issues they will be dealt with professionally.

10. You might be able to save even more

Apple isn’t the only place you can buy a refurbished Mac. There are a number of Apple Resellers and Refurbishment specialists who will also sell you a secondhand Mac that has been thoroughly checked over.

We’d advise that you are a little more cautious if it isn’t Apple selling the refurbished Mac, and we recommend that you don’t buy a very old Mac, even if it has been refurbished, but this can be a good way to get a reasonably new Mac for less.

These refurbished stores will have thoroughly checked the Mac so you can be confident it will work!

In the U.S.:

• Apple
• Amazon
• Back Market
• Best Buy
• Decluttr
• Gainsaver
• OWC
• Mac Of All Trades
• Refurb.me

In the U.K.:

• Affordable Mac
• Apple
• Amazon
• BackMarket
• Hoxton Macs
• Laptops Direct
• MacFinder
• Mac 4 Sale
• Music Magpie

If you want to know more about buying a refurbished Mac, read this: Where to buy a Refurbished Mac.

We also have
Best Place to buy a Mac and
When is the best time to buy a Mac.

For advice about which Mac to buy read out
Best Mac Buying Guide

And if you want a deal on a new Mac, read:
Best MacBook Pro deals or
Best iMac deals

Mac, MacBook

The Mac is an obvious candidate if you’re looking for a computer with which to make music. The choice can be overwhelming, though, with devices ranging from a few hundred dollars or pounds to thousands more than you might spend on a car. In this article we compare them all and explain which Mac is right for you.

There was a time when music production required hiring a studio, but technology moves fast. During the 1980s, there was a revolution in analog home recording kit; then the 1990s saw home computers gradually take over. Today, you can do everything from recording pop songs to mastering movie soundtracks on a Mac. But which Mac? That’s the question we’re here to answer!

Why use a Mac for music production

Whether you choose a Mac or PC for music production is largely down to the platform you prefer and who you’re collaborating with. However, there are a few reasons why musicians who choose to use Macs do so.

One reason is the simple fact that Macs are incredibly easy to use, so musicians don’t get sidetracked trying to set things up or fix problems. The recent addition of the M-series of Apple-made chips also means that they are very powerful, often outperforming Intel-equipped PC equivalents. Mac laptops are also slim and light, with superb build quality – a benefit if you are carrying them around to gigs as well as using them in a studio. 

Best Mac configuration for music production

If you are going to make music with a Mac then there are a number of things that you need to consider. We’ll run through each of these below to help you make your final decision.

Software

The software you use – your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) – is as arguably as important as the computer you choose. There are plenty of options available on macOS, which you can read about in our round-up of the best music recording software for Mac.

Two impressive packages you can only find on Macs are Apple’s own Logic Pro and its enthusiast-focused cousin GarageBand. (Read our Logic Pro and Garageband reviews.)

GarageBand is essentially an audio sketchbook, albeit a powerful one in the right hands. It’s great for quickly getting down the bones of songs or compositions, with plenty of support for plug-ins. We know of several professional musicians that use it for creating demos of ideas, which they can then share with other musicians in the early stage of writing. Best of all, GarageBand comes free with every Mac, just another good reason for using Apple’s computers to create your music.

When they want to get serious though, there’s a good chance they’ll switch to Logic Pro X, which is the far more powerful and feature-rich DAW.

RAM 

Music software is notoriously hungry for memory. A lack of RAM (in Apple terms this is referred to as Unified Memory) becomes a serious bottleneck in any pro-level project. You’ll be able to run fewer instruments and fewer effects; you’ll spend more time rendering and less time doing things live.

Consider 16GB your minimum. This shouldn’t be difficult, all Macs and MacBooks can be equipped with 16GB RAM – and we recommend that you do configure your Mac to at least this level, if not more. Note that M2 and M1 Macs ship with 8GB RAM as standard. The M2 Macs can be updated to 16GB RAM and top out at 24GB, while M1 Macs could only support up to 16GB RAM. If you think you might need 32GB RAM then you will need to upgrade to the M2 Pro (an option in the MacBook Pro or Mac mini), which comes with 16GB as standard and supports 32GB. For 64GB or 96GB RAM, you need the M2 Max (an option for the MacBook Pro or Mac Studio). And for 128GB or 192GB RAM you’ll need to look at the M2 Ultra (in the Mac Studio or Mac Pro).

Storage

Storage is likely to be an important factor in your decision. All Apple Macs use SSDs and have done so for many years now. This is a benefit because hard drives can be a bottleneck due to their relatively low speed compared to SSDs, and they can be noisy.

However, SSDs are far more expensive per GB than hard drives. Entry-level Apple notebooks have 256GB SSDs, but pro instrument and effects collections when installed can require hundreds of GB, and that’s before you even start to add your own music files. So you probably want a minimum of 512GB SSD with your Mac. Another reason to avoid the lower-capacity Macs is that we’ve found the smaller SSDs to be slower than their larger-capacity counterparts.

You must figure out what you’ll need, and whether assets will be stored internally or externally. External drives can be fine for large sample libraries and the like, especially when connected using Thunderbolt, but you then need to determine how to take everything with you if you’re a musician who works with people in many different locations. Cloud storage might be a good option here: check out our Best Cloud Storage Services for Mac.

Portability

Speaking of being at different locations, you must decide whether you need the Mac to be portable or not. If you’re always moving around, working with various musicians in different countries, a Mac Studio probably won’t fit in your hand luggage. But if you’re a solo musician who only ever creates music in a home studio, you could get more bang for your buck with a desktop machine such as the M2 Pro Mac mini.

If you are studio based you may think that you need an iMac so that you can take advantage of the large display, but you can plug in an external display to any Mac, so even if you had a laptop Mac you could happily use it with a 30-inch screen when you are at your desk.

Ports

You also need to consider the other kit you want to use. If you don’t have any extra kit (if all of your music-making happens inside a Mac) then this won’t be a concern, and, in theory, any Mac might do. But if you have a pile of audio interfaces, USB instruments, headphones, monitors, and other vital hardware, trying to get by the two USB-C ports found on the MacBook Air and entry-level MacBook Pro models will drive you to despair. (In which case you might want a USB hub to use with your new Mac).

Luckily in recent times, Apple has added more ports to its newest Mac laptops, so you will find SDXC, Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, and more on the side of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro. The Mac mini and Mac Studio also have a nice selection of ports.

Processor

High-end audio work can be extremely processor intensive, especially when using professional plug-ins and effects. If your demands are great, you’re going to need a Mac with fairly serious processing power. Ergo, whichever Mac you decide to buy, avoid low-end models that seem to lurk in the line-up to enable Apple to say ‘from’ and use a lower price-tag in marketing material. That said, the current crop of entry-level Macs with their M2 Chips are proving to be quite formidable.

For the ultimate option turn to the MacBook Pro, Mac mini or Mac Studio with the M2 Pro or M2 Max. The M2 Ultra in the Mac Studio and Mac Pro might also appeal, but would likely be overkill.

Graphics

There’s also the question of the GPU. Historically, recording and editing audio didn’t utilize many graphics card resources, unlike 3D design and video editing. Things are more complicated these days as some audio software is GPU-accelerated. It’s also a factor should you require additional displays. Apple’s M2 Macs offer 8 or 10-core GPUS and should suffice in most cases.

If you think you will benefit from more graphics prowess then look to the 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M2 Pro (16 or 19 graphics cores) or the M2 Max (30 or 38 graphics cores). The Mac Studio and Mac Pro go further offering the M2 Ultra with 60- or 76-core GPU.

Display support

Speaking of external displays, note that if you want to plug in more than one additional display the standard M1 and M2 MacBooks won’t officially support more than one additional display (although there are ways around this, see: How to connect two or more external displays to Apple M1 or M2 Macs). The Mac mini, Mac Studio and all other MacBooks support a number of external displays. This could matter if you wish to use graphics with the music you play.

Best Mac for musicians

Mac, Professional Software

Apple’s free Mac apps: Photos and Preview can get the basics of editing an image or photograph, but if you want to do anything more advanced you’ll need a dedicated image editing app. Adobe’s Photoshop is the industry standard, due to its wide range of features and capabilities.

Here’s how to get a copy of Photoshop on your Mac, or, failing that, the next best thing. Plus, because you can’t beat free, we’ll also explain your options for getting Photoshop on Mac for free. We have also rounded up the Best Mac free image and photo editors if you just want a free photo editor and it doesn’t have to be Photoshop.

If you’d like to get the same software on your tablet, read How to get Photoshop on iPad.

How to get Photoshop free on a Mac

A lot of people will be wondering if there is a way to get Photoshop for free on a Mac. First a warning: if you find Photoshop on a file-sharing site don’t download it. This is because it’s very unlikely to be a legitimate version of the app and will almost definitely cause you problems – this is how viruses spread.

Back in June 2022 Adobe started a trial of a free web-based version of Photoshop in Canada. That version of Photoshop is available globally now, but it is in beta and only works on the Chrome browser or Microsoft’s Edge, with support for Firefox in the works. As yet there’s no news on when it will come to Safari.

It doesn’t include all the features of Photoshop, but there are lots of quick and easy editing tools available. For example, there are Quick Actions for lighting effects or removing the background from an image

The main editing page looks similar to the desktop version of Photoshop, with a set of editing tools running down the left-hand side of the window, including Selection tools, Paint Brush, Adjustments for color and lighting, and a Type tool for adding text. If you are unfamiliar with the tools each has a quick video tutorial.

On the right of the editing window, you’ll find a detailed set of tool palettes for working with layers, masks and effects. There’s also a palette that allows people to collaborate online by adding comments to their projects as well–which is unique to this version of Photoshop.

This free version of Photoshop only requires that you register for a free Adobe ID account. We wonder if it may become part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud subscription plan in the future, but for now, it’s a way to get Photoshop for free.

Another option that will give you access to some of the Photoshop tools for free is Adobe Express (there’s also a Premium subscription version for $9.99/£9.98 per month that includes some additional editing tools.) This online web app also includes a number of useful photo-editing tools that are available for free through any web browser. If you want to do some photo-editing you can easily import photos of your own or use some of the free stock photos that are included with Express.

When you import a photo, Express allows you to quickly resize it or pan around in order to focus on a particular part of the image. You then enter the main Express workspace, which includes a selection of simple filter effects, as well as slider controls that allow you to quickly adjust brightness, contrast and other settings. You can import additional photos and superimpose them in order to create a collage, and you can also add text and graphics, including a number of ready-made logos and artwork for creating posters, fliers and other documents. Express even has simple layer controls, which allow you to edit photos, text and graphics elements individually.

How to get full Photoshop for free

Those free versions of Adobe Photoshop don’t include all the features. If you want to use the full version of Photoshop there are a few options that could get you a copy of Photoshop free for a limited time, or on a short-term subscription.

Trial: The first option is a Photoshop trial. There is a 7-day free trial that gives you access to the full program, with no restrictions.

While Adobe advertises the free 7-day trial, you can actually get 14 days free, because you can cancel within 14 days of your initial order and get fully refunded. In fact, you could, theoretically, get 21 days free if you had the trial and then canceled your subscription after 13 days.

Monthly cancel any-time subscription: The second option is signing up for a monthly subscription on a monthly rather than an annual basis. This won’t give you Photoshop for free, but the option will allow you to subscribe to Adobe Photoshop on a temporary basis and cancel when you no longer need it. We’ll run through the various subscription options in the sections below.

To explain how it works we need to explain the difference between Adobe’s two monthly subscription packages:

There are two monthly subscription packages: one is cheaper ($20.99/£19.97 a month) because it is part of an annual plan; the other is a more expensive option ($31.49/£30.34 a month), but you can cancel without having to pay Adobe anything.

Photoshop with 100GB of cloud storage	U.S.	U.K.
Annual plan paid monthly	$20.99	£19.97
Annual plan paid upfront	$239.88	£238.42
Monthly plan (cancel at any time)	$31.49	£30.34
	Buy it here	Buy it here

Adobe explains the legal terms of the various contracts here. Basically, if you sign up for the cheaper ‘annual contract, paid monthly’ and then choose to end your subscription you will be able to do so, but if you end the contract after the first 14 days “you’ll be charged a lump sum amount of 50% of your remaining contract obligation and your service will continue until the end of that month’s billing period.”

This is a slightly better scenario than if you were paying annually – in that case, your contract will continue to the end of the term. You wouldn’t get any money back.

This is why the best option, in this case, is to sign up for a month-to-month contract. In this case, the contract will automatically renew every month, but should you choose to cancel (we explain how to cancel below) you will be able to use Photoshop until the end of that month, at which point your contract will cease.

If you need Photoshop, but you don’t want to tie yourself into a contract with Adobe, this could be the best option for you. However, you should note that you will lose access to anything you have saved in Adobe’s cloud after 90 days.

If these options aren’t right for you, but you don’t want to pay for Photoshop you will need to look for alternatives to Photoshop. We have a round-up of the Best Mac free image and photo editors, which includes some free options such as Seashore and Gimp.

How to get Photoshop on a Mac without a subscription

If you were hoping to buy a copy of Photoshop to own, as in not paying on a subscription basis, we have some bad news for you: Adobe no longer sells what is known as a ‘perpetual license’ for Photoshop and its other apps.

There is one option though: you can buy Photoshop Elements. Photoshop Elements is designed for amateur rather than pro photographers, but it does offer a number of photo editing features that might be sufficient for your needs.

You can buy a copy of Photoshop Elements directly from Adobe’s website for $99.99/£86.56. Buy Photoshop Elements from Adobe. See our review of Photoshop Elements for more information.

You can also buy Photoshop Elements on the Mac App Store, where the price is actually less than Adobe’s price at $79.99/£79.99.

The benefit of Photoshop Elements is that you can buy it outright and install it on your Mac. You will have access to features like masks, layers, colorisation, image manipulation and other useful, more consumer-level effects with Elements.

If you’re a creative professional though, or are used to the full-blown version of Photoshop, then you may find too many tools missing from the box. If you want to take a look there’s also a 7-day free trial of Photoshop Elements so you can take the software for a test run.

Understandably there are lots of Mac users who are disappointed that Adobe doesn’t sell a ‘perpetual license’ for the full version of Photoshop anymore. Many years ago professional Mac users might have owned a version of Adobe CS and used it for years, but the slow rate at which companies updated probably lead Adobe to switch to a subscription model.

If you don’t care about how up-to-date your software is you might be interested in buying a secondhand copy of Photoshop, or an old Mac with Photoshop installed. Just be aware that Adobe doesn’t support all older versions in terms of updates, so the ones you find might not be compatible with later iterations of macOS, plus newer Macs won’t run old versions of Photoshop.

You’ll also need to confirm that the software license hasn’t already been used, as usually these are non-transferable. And generally, we would advise against buying a used Mac (unless it’s certified refurbished).

For more information read: What version of macOS can my Mac run?

If a subscription to Photoshop isn’t for you, and Photoshop Elements isn’t enough, we recommend you look at alternatives to Photoshop, many of which have comparable features with the benefit of being available to buy outright. The best options include PixelMator Pro, Affinity Photo and others. See: Best Photoshop alternatives for Mac.

Is there an education discount for Photoshop?

There is one other way you can save money while getting a copy of Photoshop for your Mac.

If you are in education then you may qualify for a discount. However, you can’t sign up for a reduced price on the Photoshop-only tier, you have to get the entire Creative Cloud collection, which includes Photoshop and a large collection of other Adobe apps. The student and teacher deal for Creative Cloud does represent quite a hefty reduction.

At the time of writing, Students and Teachers pay $19.99/£16.24 a month, which is around 70% less than the normal subscription rate.

Photoshop for Mac price

If you have accepted that you need to pay for a subscription to Photoshop you will want to know how much it costs. There’s not actually a straightforward answer: it depends on how you want to buy it.

Whether you love or hate the subscription model, there are a few options to choose from if you want to get a copy of Photoshop:

Photoshop: If you just want the single Photoshop app you can have that for $20.99/£19.97 a month if you sign up for a year, or $31.49/£30.34 a month if you just pay on a monthly basis. Sign up on Adobe’s website.

Photography Plan: However, the Photography Plan is actually the best deal. It includes Photoshop, Lightroom (for web and mobile), and Lightroom Classic (for desktop). That bundle costs $9.99/£9.98 a month, but you will be on a contract for a year. You get 20GB storage included (there’s a 1TB storage option that costs about $10/£10 more a month). Sign up on Adobe’s website.

Plan: Photography Plan with 20GB cloud	U.S.	U.K.
Annual plan paid monthly	$9.99	£9.98
Annual plan paid upfront	$119.88	£119.21
Monthly plan (cancel at any time)	n/a	n/a
	Buy it here	Buy it here

Plan: Photography Plan with 1TB cloud	U.S.	U.K.
Annual plan paid monthly	$19.99	£19.97
Annual plan paid upfront	$239.88	£238.42
Monthly plan (cancel at any time)	n/a	n/a
	Buy it here	Buy it here

Business: If you are a business user you ought to sign up for the Business option where you can get a single Photoshop license for $35.99/£26.49 ex VAT a month per license. It’s worth noting that all the Adobe CC apps, including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, and Acrobat, cost $84.99/£61.99 (ex VAT) per license a month. Sign up on Adobe’s website. 

How to cancel a Photoshop subscription

The ease with which you can end your Photoshop contract is one of the benefits of Adobe’s decision to switch from selling copies of Photoshop outright to a subscription model.

It also means that you only need to pay for Photoshop for as long as you need it. So if it’s just for a short-term project you can unsubscribe as soon as the work is done.

Here’s how to cancel your subscription:

1. Sign in to the Adobe web page where plans are managed.
2. Sign in to your Adobe account.
3. Under the My Plans tab find Manage Plan (or View plan) and click on that.
4. Now click on Cancel plan.
5. Give your reason for cancellation.
6. Click on Continue.

Best alternatives to Photoshop on Mac?

There is plenty of great photo and image editing software available on macOS, many of which come with lower price tags than Adobe products. One of our favorites is Affinity Photo from Serif, which boasts a wide range of powerful tools, a friendly interface and costs $69.99/£67.99 as a one-off payment, and also offers a 30-day free trial.

Another popular choice is GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program), which is completely free and comes with an incredible range of tools and features. The interface can take a little getting used to, which is not uncommon with open-source software, but once you get to know your way around, you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve. There’s also a large collection of tutorials for the software on YouTube, so if you’re willing to put in the time then it’s a powerful suite that will cost you nothing at all.

We also recommend you read Best Mac for photo editing.

You may also be interested in: How to get Adobe Illustrator on a Mac and How to get InDesign on a Mac.

Personal Software, Professional Software