Setting up a new MacBook: the essential apps and settings

A new MacBook is the fastest it will ever feel. Keep it that way: change a few settings, install a few apps, and stop there.

Day one settings

• Touch ID and Apple Pay in System Settings › Touch ID & Password.
• FileVault on, in Privacy & Security. It encrypts your disk.
• Find My Mac on, in Apple Account › iCloud.
• Time Machine with an external drive, in General › Time Machine.
• Tap to click and a faster tracking speed, in Trackpad.
• Hot Corners (Desktop & Dock › Hot Corners): one corner for Lock Screen is handy.
• Dock: remove apps you won’t use and turn on auto-hide for more space.

Essential apps (keep it short)

• A browser. Safari is the most battery-friendly on a Mac; install Chrome or Arc only if you need them.
• Raycast for launching apps and quick commands.
• Rectangle for snapping windows with the keyboard.
• Ice to keep the menu bar tidy, because the notch hides icons that don’t fit (here’s why).
• peeq to make the notch useful: music, calls, messages, a timer, screenshots and files, right at the top of the screen.

Want more? See the best productivity apps for Mac.

What not to install

Skip “cleaner” and “optimizer” apps. macOS manages memory and caches itself, and these apps often ask for deep access they don’t need. Skip antivirus suites too: macOS has XProtect and Gatekeeper built in.

Give the notch a job

Your MacBook’s notch is the one piece of screen nothing uses. peeq gives it a quiet job and nothing more. Get early access.