How to stop your AirPods from switching between devices
If you’re trying to listen to podcasts or music on your phone, it can be annoying when your AirPods keep switching to other devices.  (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

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Apple issues huge state-backed hacking warning to users worldwide
Apple, which pioneered cyber threat notifications in 2021 to alert users of potential state-sponsored spyware attacks, and follower Google… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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Dozens of staffers quit Apple, leaving behind only 164,000
Inevitably, reports of key Apple executives leaving have prompted more Apple-is-doomed headlines that even absurdly claim the iPhone is at risk.Apple Park does not have a big "Exit" sign in it.Head of design Alan Dye is leaving Apple, head of environment Lisa Jackson is about to retire, and the list goes on. The list will keep going on, even after Tim Cook eventually makes headlines for retiring.These people are unquestionably an important part of Apple's success in recent years, to the extent that the company might look very different if they had left sooner. Some, like Lisa Jackson, definitely seem to be a big loss, although Alan Dye's departure is said to be making Apple staffers giddy with delight. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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M4 MacBook Air price slashed: Fantastic deal takes 20% off Apple’s slim laptop
The M4 MacBook Air is Apple’s best notebook for most people. It’s already affordable, and a deal knocks up to 20% off the price. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

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Best Mac Cleaner software: Reclaim disk space with a Mac cleaner app
Macworld Is your Mac slowing down, frequently freezing, regularly running out of RAM or just not behaving like it used to? Are you short of space on your Mac? Have you spotted the immense amount of room taken up by System Data and are now looking for a safe way to delete some of that data? What you need is a Mac cleaner app that will delete the clutter and digital debris from your system and free your RAM from memory hogs. What is the Best Mac Cleaner? The Best Mac Cleaner for you depends on what you want to use it for. Just looking for a quick and easy way to free up some space so that the latest version of macOS will install? You probably want something that doesn’t cost a lot for a one off use. Looking for something that won’t just clear space, but will also help you free up memory/RAM, diagnose problems, and even check for viruses, we have the solutions below.  PROMOTIONCleanMyMac X | Clear your Mac’s disk Use CleanMyMac X to find hidden junk and free up the unseen cache files. Locate old folders, background apps, and heavy memory consumers. Tune your Mac for maximum speed, and keep it malware-free and secure download free edition We like CleanMyMac because there is the choice of a yearly subscription or a one time purchase price if you think you might want to keep it for the long haul. Another option we really like is Parallels Toolbox which offers a bundle of handy tools for just about everything. There are also some cheaper options including Cleaner One Pro and Nektony’s App Cleaner & Uninstaller and free options such as Onyx and CCleaner. Best Mac Cleaner 2025 Below you can read about the Mac Cleaners we have reviewed. Read on to find out why we rate these options so highly. Later in this article we discuss how we test Mac cleaning software and run through a checklist of things you should do before running a Mac cleaner. We also answer various questions about using a Mac cleaner. 1. MacPaw CleanMyMac – The most comprehensive Mac cleaner Pros Improved interface and ease of use Wide range of cleaning tools Subscription or one-time purchase Cons Limited malware features Some technical knowledge still needed Price When Reviewed: Basic (1 Mac): $9.95 per month; $47.50 per year; $119.95 one time fee. Plus (1 Mac): $15.95 per month; $71.40 annually; $195.95 one time fee Best Prices Today: Retailer Price MacPaw (Basic: annual, 1 device) $47.40 View Deal MacPaw (Basic) One Time Purchase $119.95 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Few cleanup apps are as comprehensive as CleanMyMac from MacPaw, which was updated to version 5.0 (and dropped the X from its name) in 2024. Version 5.0 brought a redesigned interface that simplifies things by displaying the results of its scans as a series of tiles that give you a quick summary of each scan.  2025 updates to CleanMyMac introduced a bunch of new features and a change to the pricing structure, with a cheaper Basic version and a more expensive Plus version offered. The Basic version offers a limited set of features for less technically inclined users, while the Plus version offers the full range of features. CleanMyMac’s tools fall into five main categories that focus on different tasks: Cleanup, Protection, Performance, Applications and My Clutter. A new Smart Care feature gives your Mac a quick check-up and summarises the result of its scans for all five categories. The Cleanup tools focus on deleting junk. The Protection tools can scan for malware, detecting and quarantining threats. CleanMyMac isn’t a dedicated antivirus program like those featured in our Best Antivirus for Mac round-up, but it’s a nice addition. The Performance tools help with routine maintenance, such as clearing out DNS cache, or re-indexing Spotlight and Mail to speed up search results. Version 5.0.5 added a new option Purgeable Space, which scans your entire hard drive for old files, cache files, or temporary files and downloads that you can delete to save space. The Applications tools help you delete unwanted applications and left over installation files.  My Clutter can scan either individual folders or your entire Mac drive to locate old files. Version 5 added the ability to identify duplicate files, or photos that look very similar, so that you can delete them. There are also diagnostic tools, including the ability to identify apps that are using a lot of battery power. In version 5.1 the Space Lens was revamped to provide a visual guide to the use of storage on your Mac, but this feature only comes with the Plus version of the app. A Cloud Cleanup feature arrived in version 5.2.1 (also only available with the Plus version). This allows you to use CleanMyMac to scan your cloud storage on iCloud Drive, Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive. You can buy CleanMyMac from MacPaw’s own website, or from the Mac App Store, although the version sold on the Mac App Store omits a few features. You can choose from an annual subscription, or you can buy it for a one-time fee. It’s not the cheapest cleanup app, but it provides dozens of different tools for deleting old files and data.  There’s a free version available to download and a free trial version available on MacPaw’s website, but it restricts the app to only remove files up to a maximum of 500MB – and in the middle of deleting files it will demand you pay the license fee for the app. You can download that limited version and scan your Mac to see just now much space you can save before committing to buying the app. MacPaw is running a 30% discount for students – submit your university email address and receive a download code here.  You can get CleanMyMac here. Read our full CleanMyMac review 2. Parallels Toolbox – Everything you need in one app Pros Full suite of Mac tools including excellent cleaners Fully featured free trial Cons May be more than you require Price When Reviewed: $24.99 per year Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Parallels Toolbox Free 14-day Trial Free View Deal Parallels (1 year, 1 Mac) $24.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Parallels Toolbox offers more than 50 tools and among them are some real gems like the Clipboard History and video download tools, but in this round up of Mac Cleaners, we are most interested in the tools to free memory and the drive cleaner, among other utilities. Mac cleaning tools provided in Parallels Toolbox include Clean Drive, Uninstall Apps, Find Duplicates, and Free Memory. The Clean Drive tool can locate unnecessary files that are taking up space on your Mac, and also find duplicate files that you may no longer need. It offers easy notifications and access as to what’s eating drive space (i.e., log files, cache files, trash, browser data, mail cache, mobile apps, iTunes temp files, iOS device backups, and old updates) and offers a nice level of control as to clearing them out. Clean Drive also offers quick access to the macOS Storage pane, which tends to be overlooked, and allows you to adjust your storage preferences on the fly. The Free Memory tool notifies you as to where your Mac’s RAM/Unified Memory is going, which applications are using the majority of it, and allows you to mark the amount of free memory in macOS’ Menu Bar. The Uninstall tool can fully uninstall Mac apps, along with any related files that may be scattered around your Mac’s drive. You can go through a list of installed applications on your Mac, pick and choose what to remove, and reliably strip out both the app and its support files. It can also highlight large files that are taking up a lot of space, such as games that you may not need anymore. You can also run Find Duplicates to dig out any identical files – even ones that have different file names. Parallel’s Toolbox is included free of charge along with Parallels Desktop but you can also purchase it as a standalone product for both Mac and Windows, with an annual subscription fee. There’s also a free 7-day trial that will actually delete files, free memory and do all those other useful things without you buying the app! You can get Parallels Toolbox here. Read our full Parallels Toolbox review 3. Cleaner One Pro for Mac – A good cleaner at a good price Pros Quick, stable performance Excellent Dropbox Scanner utility Good value Cons The Menu Bar is a bit awkward Some UI elements could be tightened and improved Price When Reviewed: $19.99 a year for 1 device (usually $24.99) Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Trend Micro (1 year, 1 Mac) $19.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Cleaner One Pro for Mac is easy to download and install. The software requires is available in both free and paid subscription-based tiers. For the free tier, the software offers basic scanning and no user limits while requiring no credit or debit card to be stored with Trend Micro. The Basic tier, requires a payment method to be stored with Trend Micro, offers support for one device, access to additional tools, and easy uninstallation if desired. The Advanced tier requires a payment method to be stored with Trend Micro, and offers support for five devices, macOS and Windows support, quick uninstallation, and access to additional tools.  Cleaner One Pro is designed around an assortment of modules including Smart Scan, which looks over your storage, diagnostics, and applications, Junk Files, Big Files, Disk Map, Startup Manager, Duplicate Files, Similar Photos, App Manager, and File Shredder. The modules performed well during testing, and were able to locate large files and duplicates to be disposed of. The Smart Scan, as expected, goes through a general overview of storage, diagnostics, and applications to suss out garbage files and make recommendations as to what tools to use. The Junk Files module found a variety of unused disk images and installers. The Disk Map module worked as expected, offering a nice layout and concise display of what’s eating up your Mac’s hard drive. The Startup Manager offered an excellent peek under your Mac’s hood, especially in terms of launch agents, the module allowing you to activate or deactivate individual components File Shredder allows you to drop in files and folders to be securely deleting. The Dropbox Scanner tool, which hooked into my Dropbox account, compared files and file sizes, and offered a quick means of cleaning up larger files, which helped clear dozens of gigabytes of space and proved to be pretty unique as a feature. Cleaner One Pro is useful, lives up to its description, and offers an elegant and easy to navigate user interface that lets you prune your Mac down effectively. This useful set of Mac cleaning tools comes at a good price, and if you’re looking for something reliable in this field, it’s worth your consideration. There’s also an iOS version on the iOS App Store.  Read our full Cleaner One Pro for Mac review 4. MacCleaner Pro – Impressive tools at a good price Pros Impressive set of tools Good tutorials Good configuration Cons Occasionally awkward user interface Price When Reviewed: $29.95/a year for 1 Mac, or $74.95 for 1 Mac (one time purchase) Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Nektony (1 year, 1 Mac) $29.95 View Deal Nektony (one time purchase, 1 Mac) $74.95 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket MacCleaner Pro from Nektony is divided into a core app and several module apps, namely App Cleaner & Uninstaller, Disk Space Analyzer, Duplicate File Finder, Memory Cleaner, and Funter. The core app can perform an overall disk cleaning and help free up storage space by eliminating extraneous files.  The App Cleaner & Uninstaller module works well, and allows you to see the app you’re removing as well as its support files. This module has been improved compared to version 3, and now offers you easier access to startup programs and extension files, allowing you to enable, disable, or remove them. A Remaining Files feature allows you to chase down loose files, while an Open With feature lets you assign applications to open certain file types. With Duplicate File Finder it’s easy to specify file types to look for, such as audio and photo files, with an impressive level of precise control. Memory Cleaner module offers an easy interface to show which applications and processes are consuming the most RAM. Funter module finds hidden files within your operating system.  The Fast Cleanup option was able to clear up 11.4GB of drive space, most of these being application cache files, while the Deep Cleanup feature helped reclaim 65.4GB of drive space.  We did have some peculiar instances in which a reminder poped up advising us to clear disk space for a macOS Sonoma (which was already installed). On another occasion when we paused scanning after half an hour we saw a request for full access to the hard drive.  MacCleaner Pro is easy to install, runs well and has a good feature base. You can buy it on an annual or monthly subscription or as a one-time purchase. The free trial version is fully functioning for two days and will actually perform some of the tasks you need to do, rather than ask you to buy the full version. Read our full Nektony MacCleaner Pro review 5. Avast Cleanup Premium – Generous trial Pros Reasonable price Speedy performance 60-day trial Good level of customization for each module Cons Cleanup functions can be somewhat destructive Price When Reviewed: $29.88 a year for 1 Mac (usually $65.99) Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Avast (first year, 1 device) $29.88 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Avast Cleanup Premium for Mac provides a range of utilities to clean your Mac and remove unwanted files. Some modules go beyond expectations. However, care and customisation is needed to avoid accidentally deleting important files. Avast Cleanup Premium for Mac is divided into modules: Quick Clean, Clean Clutter, Clean Browser, Find Duplicates, Analyse Photos, Uninstall Apps, Startup Manager, System Monitor, and Statistics. The Quick Clean module is the most generic and helps reclaim hard drive space by cleaning app cache, log files, trash, cookies, and web cache files. The Find Duplicates feature finds and organises duplicates on your system, giving you control over the process. The Analyse Photos module scans local and external photo libraries and volumes, identifying rough copies of old photos and offering to delete them. The Uninstall Apps, Startup Manager, System Monitor, and Statistics modules are unexpected gems. The Startup Manager module easily located 51 startup items that could be toggled on or off. The System Monitor offered a good user interface and layout, monitoring system sensors like fan speed, power usage, and battery condition. However, Avast Cleanup Premium for Mac has some issues. Setting up took an extra day due to a server-side error. The software automatically opts into third-party product offers unless you disable this option in the Privacy tab, which is annoying. But more concerning, is how powerful and broad the modules are: using the generic cleanup function without specifying what you want to clean up can be risky, especially when the browser cleaner removes generic cookies and autofill items, which can be useful later. Be cautious when using these tools, as they can accidentally remove files you might need. Avast’s utilities are effective and stand on their own. There’s something worth trying here. The software, especially with its 60-day free trial, is worth considering. A free version with a scan function is also available. Read our full Avast Cleanup Premium for Mac review 6. CCleaner Pro – Good collection of tools Pros Fast and effective Good price Dug out malware others missed Cons No quick access to tutorials Duplicate Finder interface isn’t straightforward Price When Reviewed: Free; Pro version: $39.95 a year Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Piriform Software (annually) $39.95 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Piriform Software’s CCleaner offers some useful tools in a friendly, appealing package. It retails for $39.95/£39.95 for CCleaner Pro, which covers one device for one year. There’s also a free version: CCleaner. CCleaner centers itself around several modules, which consist of Quick Clean, Clean Clutter, Clean Browser, Find Duplicates, Analyze Photos, Uninstall Apps, Manage Startups, System Monitor, and Statistics. Uninstall Apps tool worked well and the Manage Startups tool dug up a chunk of files and and offered an easy way to remove them. The Clean Browser tool was able to locate and remove 2.01GB of cache files and cookies and Find Duplicates found 106.45GB of duplicate files. The Quick Clean tool was able to locate app cache files, log files, trash, cookies, web cache, and duplicate files offered to clear 6.5GB of cache files. System Monitor offered system specs, access to sensors, and information such as fan usage, disk usage, battery cycles and temperature. The scheduling tool worked well, CCleaner offering a good level of customization. There’s a good set of tutorial videos for CCleaner’s various versions, but you have to go looking for them. Piriform should offer quick links to these tutorial videos they’ve already produced and published. There’s an excellent collection of tools to be found in CCleaner. The interface is clean, it runs well, and it doesn’t make the mistake of trying to perform every task under the sun. Read our full CCleaner Pro review 7. Onyx – Excellent free option Pros Excellent utility Good customization Reliable bug fixes and updates Cons Scheduling feature needs refinement Intimidating Price When Reviewed: Free Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Titanium Software (Donationware) Free View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Onyx is one of the best utilities on the market, and it’s free! OnyX is Donationware, with users asked to send along whatever they believe the program is worth. It provides easy access to the powerful underlying tools within the macOS operating system. You can run powerful sets of customizable scripts to perform functions such as checking volume structures, getting low-level system specifications, repairing permissions, cleaning up system databases, and sorting out under-the-hood level system details.  it’s easy to access complex system functions such as security, login options, Display Calibrator, Keychain Access and so on.  Our only criticism would be that the Scheduling feature is a bit vague and seems to only function around specific days, hours, and minutes. And a set of tutorial videos would be useful. Users have complained that support is slow in getting back to them – but this is donationware, so, to be fair, it’s understandable.  Read our full Onyx review 8. Daisy Disk – Nice one off price Pros Quickly scans storage and finds large files Graphical representation File name previews Can check cloud storage Cons Some user-interface quirks Price When Reviewed: $9.99 Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Software Ambience (One time purchase) $9.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket DaisyDisk incorporates a clean, fun, interesting user interface via which it sets out to help you visualize the data on your Mac and its local, network, and cloud-based volumes, map it out, see which files are taking up the most space, and help you free up gigabytes of drive space. DaisyDisk supports a number of file formats and file systems, as well as network volumes, virtual elements and disk images, and can mount and scan just about anything as long as the volume itself is operational.  It can also mount cloud-based services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and Box so you can find ancient files to be deleted. I was able to clear up dozens of gigabytes of space in the process. See our round-up of the best cloud backups for Mac. We did have some difficulties with Google Drive, which refused to allow DaisyDisk access, stating that the app was blocked and “tried to access sensitive info in your Google Account. To keep your account safe, Google blocked this access.” This appears to be a conflict between DaisyDisk’s developers and Google and hopefully it will be sorted out soon. DaisyDisk users are also currently unable to add and sort through Apple’s iCloud Drive accounts given Apple’s sandboxing of the environment. You can scan a local copy of your iCloud Drive contents using the “Scan Folder…” button but not the web-based data, which is frustrating. In addition to being able to scan entire volumes at once, you can click the “Select Folder…” button and navigate to a custom folder.  With DaisyDisk it’s entirely up to your own discretion as to which files and folders to delete, with nothing more than a five-second countdown clock and time period in which to cancel the decision. Apple’s Disk Utility app can be accessed from the Menu bar to perform disk repairs on the fly.  Unlike so many apps you don’t have to sign up for a subscription package: the app retails for a one off fee of $9.99/£9.99, which is excellent value.  Read our full Daisy Disk review 9. MacPaw Gemini – Dependable duplicate deleter Pros Capable of finding multiple duplicate types Excellent search customization Handy preferences and options Cons Lack of additional filters makes sorting located duplicates tedious Needs a scheduling feature Price When Reviewed: From $19.95 for 1 Mac, annually Best Prices Today: Retailer Price MacPaw (1 year, 1 Mac) $19.95 View Deal MacPaw (one time purchase, 1 Mac) $44.95 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Though not strictly a Mac cleaner, like other apps in this round-up, MacPaw’s Gemini 2 can certainly help you get back some disc space. It is a duplicate removal tool that focuses specifically on reducing the thousands of duplicate photos in your Photos library. It also hunts down duplicate files within Apple Music and across the macOS operating system. The app is available through Apple’s App Store and MacPaw’s SetApp application, which grants access to Gemini and other apps for $9.99 (£7.60) a month. It is easy to install and offers a seven-day free trial in exchange for either your credit or debit card information. The app includes scripts for easy scanning of the Photos library and your Music library, as well as custom folders and external volumes that can be chosen from a menu or dragged, dropped, and quickly scanned. Other features include Menu Bar elements, whitelists that can be created that are exempt from being scanned, and a Duplicate Monitor feature that helps compare files and heads off duplicates before they begin to pile up. In testing, Gemini 2 quickly sought out duplicates, offered the option to remove them, and eradicated them from our hard drive. This also applies to music files and other document types, and the Duplicate Monitor warns you about possible duplicates that have been carried over to your hard drive. However, there are some caveats, such as confusion about account registration and permissions after downloading and installing Gemini 2 from the App Store. MacPaw is urging its clients towards SetApp subscriptions, which offer full access to the company’s apps for a given rate per month. While Gemini 2 runs well, a scheduling feature for folder or volume scans would not go amiss. An improved filter for locating duplicate items would be more helpful. Despite some minor hurdles, Gemini 2 is well-written, sharp, helpful, fast, works well with all kinds of duplicates, and lends a good feature set to the macOS operating system without being overbearing. It hones in on its tasks and performs them well enough to earn the trust of users. Read our full MacPaw Gemini review 10. AVG TuneUp Premium Pros Good speed and performance Great level of customization and ability to add whitelists as needed Reasonable price point and (currently) good offer Cons Buggy – main window couldn’t be set to full screen or resized The Uninstall Apps module required multiple authentications Bad Photo feature in the Analyze Photos module functions on vague criteria Price When Reviewed: $65.99 per year for one device; currently $34.99 for 10 devices (usually $79.99) Best Prices Today: Retailer Price AVG $65.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket AVG’s TuneUp Premium for Mac claims to reclaim lost space by removing junk data, duplicate files, and poor-quality photos, improving Mac performance. The software is divided into modules: Quick Clean, Clean Clutter, Clean Browser, Find Duplicates, Analyse Photos, Uninstall Apps, Manage Startups, System Monitor, and Statistics. Each module runs quickly, has a user-friendly interface, and effectively removes common detritus, recovering gigabytes of lost drive space. The modules work as advertised, with AVG adding customisation to filter files, folders, drives, and volumes. The Clean Browser module lets users create a Cookie Allowlist to avoid conflicts. The Find Duplicates application categorises found documents and allows adding folders or external drives for sorting. Utilities like Uninstall Apps and Manage Startups also worked well. Manage Startups provides deeper insights into startup load than macOS Settings, with easy toggling of settings. The System Monitor module offers system information, including CPU/memory usage, sensors, disk usage, battery usage, and life, and is available from the Menu Bar. However, there are issues. The Uninstall Apps module required two Touch ID authentications, which seems odd. The user interface is polished but doesn’t allow full-screen mode or resizing. The Bad Photos feature in Analyse Photos is vague, and the few images it found didn’t seem damaged, blurry, or out of focus, but rather oddities that didn’t fit into the Photos Library. AVG TuneUp Premium for Mac offers a good program with excellent customisation, allowing users to add exceptions and whitelists before applying large-scale filters and cleanup routines. The software focuses on its core tasks, such as antivirus protection, without attempting to do everything else. However, there’s room for improvement. Read our full AVG TuneUp review 11. Intego Washing Machine Pros Reclaim drive space and remove duplicate files Good customization, filters, and settings Cons Annoying pop-ups Installation difficult Price When Reviewed: $19.99 for one Mac for first year (usually $49.99) Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Intego (1 year, 1 Mac, 60% off) $19.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Intego’s Washing Machine X9 is a handy cleaning utility for the Mac that focuses on reclaiming disk space via the Reclaim tool, removing duplicate files on your Mac’s hard drive with the Duplicates tool, and organizing folders using the Organize tool. As is standard, the software (compatible with macOS 13 High Sierra or later) requires that you grant it full access to your hard drive though your Mac’s Privacy and Security settings. Less standard was that we had to locate the Intego Washing Machine X9 app in the Applications folder and drag it into Full Disk Access in Privacy and Security settings to get it to function. It is more common that an installer will add an easy icon that can be dragged into the macOS Full Disk Access pane to complete the installation. There’s a good level of customization. Like similar applications, the Reclaim tool can chase after caches, downloads, language files, logs, and trash files to help clean up disk space. The initial run cleared approximately 24GB of drive space from my M2 MacBook Pro’s SSD. The Duplicates tool took about five hours to create an initial index for my 1TB SSD. It offered control over duplicates that can be selected and specific options and naming filters. The Organize feature can help organize messy folders into a Snapshot folder for reorganization later. This tool can work with specific folders such as the ever-messy Desktop folder, your Home folder, and macOS’ Smart Folders, and help pull things into order. This Organize feature does feel like slapping a band-aid on the larger problem of a folder’s disorganization though.The Scheduling option only allows for a specific week or month to be chosen, and it would have been nice to be able to schedule a process for a few minutes from now, as is common with similar software. While it’s nice to be able to reclaim a few dozen gigabytes of drive space and have control over the duplicate files on your Mac, Washing Machine offers nothing groundbreaking. With the current discounts and its attractive user interface it’s worth a look though. Alternatively, Intego’s Washing Machine X9 is bundled with Intego’s larger security suite so you could take advantage of that and get a Mac Cleaner with Intego’s Antivirus solution. The Mac Premium Bundle includes VirusBarrier, NetBarrier, Content Barrier, and Personal Backup solutions. Read our full Intego Washing Machine X9 review 12. Nektony App Cleaner & Uninstaller Pros Friendly interface, good performance Cheap option Cons Mediocre update utility Problems with Remaining Files module  Price When Reviewed: $14.95 a year for 1 Mac Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Nektony (1 year, 1 Mac) $14.95 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket App Cleaner & Uninstaller simplifies the process of removing unwanted applications, startup programs, extensions, remaining files, and updates. The Applications module indexes all applications and allows users to easily find and remove even the remnants of software. The Startup Programs module provides a convenient list of startup applications, categorised into All Programs, Active, and Disabled, and lets users select which to remove. The Extensions module categorises Mac extensions into Installation Files, Web Browser Extensions, Screen Savers, Settings Panes, Internet Plugins, and Widgets, making it easy to locate and remove specific extensions. Unfortunately, App Cleaner & Uninstaller’s Remaining Files and Updater elements are problematic. The Remaining Files module, though useful, offers a generalised ‘Remove’ feature that can remove critical system elements like the App Store, affecting your Mac’s functionality. During testing, it targeted Adobe Creative Cloud applications and files, removing file systems and requiring reinstallation of several Adobe applications. While a generalised cleanup is possible, the Remaining Files module should be used carefully to avoid removing critical elements. The Updates feature missed major updates like ff-Works, Slack, and Microsoft Office.  Read our full Nektony App Cleaner & Uninstaller review You may also like to consider:Disk Doctor, $2.99/£2.99 a year.Tuneup for Mac, $65.99/£54.99 a year. We have also looked at MacBooster, find out why we don’t recommend it here: MacBooster Review: it’s no surprise people think it’s malware. For more information about why a Mac cleaner app could be useful read: Why your Mac needs a cleaner app. We also discuss Tips for cleaning up your Mac. How Macworld tests Mac Cleaning software To test Mac cleaning software, Macworld’s experts run the applications on a test system and perform real-world evaluations to assess their performance in typical use cases . The review process focuses on several key criteria to determine the software’s effectiveness and value. The primary steps and evaluation criteria include: Scanning and File Removal: The software is first used to scan a test system for junk files, caches, and temporary files that can be deleted. Success is measured not just by the amount of space the app frees up, but also by ensuring the cleaning process doesn’t cause data loss or performance slowdowns. Module Effectiveness: Beyond simple file cleaning, the evaluation extends to the various modules included in each app. This includes testing the efficiency of features like app uninstallers and RAM management tools. User Experience and Value: Our reviewers also assess the software’s ease of use and overall value for money. For example, CleanMyMac is noted for simplifying its scan results into a series of tiles for a quick summary. Features and Innovations: New and updated features are also a point of focus. For instance, a 2025 update to CleanMyMac introduced a “Purgeable Space” option to scan for old files and a “Space Lens” feature that provides a visual guide to storage usage, which were highlighted in its review. Our goal is to provide unbiased recommendations based on real-world testing. Our approach is to use the products ourselves, running real-world tests to accurately assess how the software will perform in typical use. Why you should trust Macworld Macworld’s Mac cleaner app reviewer, Chris Barylick, is an Apple-Certified Macintosh Technician with more than twenty years of experience fixing Macs and in this time has seen just about every scenario that can be conceived of. You can trust the unbiassed recommendations and buying advice of Macworld’s team of experts because we use the products ourselves, running real-world tests to accurately assess how the software will perform in typical use. How to choose the best Mac Cleaner The best Mac Cleaner for you will depend on your requirements. Some of the options here do so much more than remove obsolete files from your Mac to free up space. Others promise to uninstall app completely, some will help you free up RAM, and some will even double up as antivirus software. The Mac Cleaner that meets your needs within you budget is the one that will best suit you and you can rest assumed that any app mentioned in this round up that fits your criteria comes with our recommendation. Mac cleaning: Beginners checklist There are a few things you should do before you use a Mac cleaner to make any changes to your Mac. Make a backup: Whether you use a Mac Cleaner, or try to delete things like caches and system files yourself, we strongly recommend that you make a backup first. Things can go wrong and you will be glad to be able to ‘undo’ what you did should a problem arise. Do some housekeeping: Before you use a Mac Cleaner, see if you can clear some space with a little bit of a tidy up. Delete old downloads from your downloads folder; open the finder and delete any largest files you don’t need; empty your trash. Check Apple’s recommendations: Also take a look at Apple’s own suggestions of ways to free up space in Settings > Storage, these are likely to include using iCloud and deleting things like Messages and Mail with large attachments. Get advice: Read our guidance on How to clear disk space on a Mac and How to delete System Data on a Mac. FAQ 1. Can you clean your Mac without using a Mac Cleaner? macOS doesn’t have a built-in system cleaner, but with a little knowhow you can do the job yourself. It is possible to clean your Mac for free, however there are risks involved. There’s a reason why Apple doesn’t let you access the contents of System Data: if you delete the wrong thing it could bring down your whole Mac! However you can follow the steps in this tutorial to free up space without spending anything: How to delete System Data on a Mac. 2. Is it worth paying for a Mac Cleaner or can I clean my Mac for free? There are several options available that offer free trials or are completely free. Free Trials: Some Mac cleaner apps, such as CleanMyMac, DaisyDisk, Parallels ToolBox and MacCleaner Pro featured above, offer free trial versions that allow users to clean their Mac for free for a limited period. Free Versions: CCleaner has a free version with useful cleaning features. OnyX is a free utility that provides access to powerful tools for cleaning and maintenance of the macOS operating system Some of these trials will merely show you how much space you can free up, but several are essentially free Mac Cleaners that will allow you to clean your Mac for free, albeit for a limited period. While some of these options may have limitations or time restrictions, they provide a way to clean your Mac without immediate cost. 3. Is there a totally free Mac cleaner? CCleaner and OnyX are the best options if you are looking for a free Mac cleaner. Alternatively you can use Apple’s built in tools to help you find ways to make more space and delete data you don’t need. See: How to check a Mac’s free hard drive space and How to clear disk space on a Mac and How to find and delete duplicate files on Mac. 4. Should you use a Mac cleaner Using a Mac cleaner application can be beneficial for system maintenance and performance, especially if a Mac is slowing down, freezing, or frequently running out of RAM. However, those who are a little more confident may find that following Apple’s own recommendations to free up storage are preferable. For example, Apple’s own tools show what can be deleted from a Mac and recommend other ways to free up space. A Mac Cleaner may do more harm than good if it removes things needed by the operating system or deletes things unnecessarily. Related Articles How to clear cache on a Mac How to clear RAM on a Mac How to speed up a slow Mac How to clean install macOS on your Mac

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Deals: 512GB iPad Pro $450 off, 24GB M5 MacBook Pro $200 off, Apple Watch Ultra bands, more
Alongside the Black Friday pricing that is somehow still live on AirPods 4 with ANC down at $99, today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break is kicking off with a giant $450 discount on Apple’s 512GB M4 iPad Pro at Amazon. We also have the most affordable 24GB M5 MacBook Pro you can buy down at $200 off the list price joined by some accessory deals – Apple’s 240W USB-C cable at $18, the new Crossbody Strap at nearly 30% off,  and a series of deals on Apple Watch Ultra bands. Scope it all out below.  more…

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Tony Fadell, iPod co-creator, might want to be Apple’s next CEO: report
A new report offers an overview of the various succession possibilities for when Apple’s CEO Tim Cook eventually steps down, including a dark-horse candidate like Tony Fadell returning. more…

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Default Folder X 6.2.3
Adds open Finder windows to the Open/Save dialog utility's Quick Search results. ($39.95 new, free update, 28.6 MB, macOS 10.13+)

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Fantastical 4.1.5 and Cardhop 2.4.3
Adds Control Center controls for both the calendar and contact apps. ($56.99 annual subscription new, free update, various sizes, macOS 12+)

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Apple TV’s cloying Born to be Wild trailer puts cute face on extinction
If the "Born to Be Wild" documentary series trailer is any indication, you're going to need lots of tissues when you watch this six-parter. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

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The magical Logitech MX Master 3S Mac mouse just hit its all-time low price
Macworld If you absolutely hate using your Mac’s trackpad and feel like it’s testing your patience more than actually helping you be productive, you need an actual mouse. We’re not talking about Apple’s Magic Mouse—you need the Logitech MX Master 3S for Mac, which is on sale at Amazon’s Woot for $80, a savings of $40 on its usual $120. The Logitech MX Master 3S mouse is remastered for macOS and iPadOS users. It comes with an 8K DPI sensor that tracks precisely on nearly any surface, including glass, and it’s super silent thanks to its Quiet Clicks technology. This is pretty much ideal for shared workspaces or when you’re working late at home. Its MagSpeed scroll wheel is also uber fast and precise, yet ultra-quiet. We gave it 4.5 stars in our review and didn’t have many bad things to say about it. Its ergonomic design offers a more natural wrist posture than you’d get with the Magic Mouse. You can use the Logi Options+ app to customize the speed of your scroll wheel, and so on. You can also pair the MX Master 3S with up to three Mac devices and transfer files between them, which is nothing short of, well, magic. Go ahead and get the upgrade you deserve with the Logitech MX Master 3S for $80 at Woot. Buy now at Woot

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Cocktail 19.3
General-purpose maintenance utility updated with support for macOS 26 Tahoe. ($29 new, free update, 2.1 MB, macOS 26+)

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QuickTime Turns 34
On Dec. 2, QuickTime turned 34, and despite its origins in Apple's chaotic 1990s (1991 to be exact), "it's still the backbone of video on our devices," writes Macworld's Jason Snell. That includes MP4 and Apple's immersive video formats for Vision Pro. From the report: By the late '80s and early '90s, digital audio had been thoroughly integrated into Macs. (PCs needed add-on cards to do much more than issue beeps.) The next frontier was video, and even better, synchronized video and audio. There were a whole lot of challenges: the Macs of the day were not really powerful to decode and display more than a few frames per second, which was more of a slideshow than a proper video. Also, the software written to decode and encode such video (called codecs) was complex and expensive, and there were lots of different formats, making file exchange unreliable. Apple's solution wasn't to invent entirely new software to cover every contingency, but to build a framework for multimedia creation and playback that could use different codecs as needed. At its heart was a file that was a container for other streams of audio and video in various formats: the QuickTime Movie, or MOV. [...] QuickTime's legacy lives on. At a recent event I attended at Apple Park, Apple's experts in immersive video for the Vision Pro pointed out that the standard format for immersive videos is, at its heart, a QuickTime container. And perhaps the most ubiquitous video container format on the internet, the MP4 file? That standard file format is actually a container format that can encompass different kinds of audio, video, and other information, all in one place. If that sounds familiar, that's because MPEG-4 is based on the QuickTime format. Thirty-four years later, QuickTime may seem like a quaint product of a long-lost era of Apple. But the truth is, it's become an integral part of the computing world, so pervasive that it's almost invisible. I'd like to forget most of what happened at Apple in the early 1990s, but QuickTime definitely deserves our appreciation. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Apple TV comedy with 96% Rotten Tomatoes lands new season
Platonic aired its second season this summer and scored rave reviews, and Apple has now confirmed that season 3 is on the way with stars Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne returning. more…

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Red Dead Redemption and new SpongeBob game come to iPhone
Play "Red Dead Redemption" and "Undead Nightmare" on iPhone and iPad now and dive into epic adventures. Here's how. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

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Apple TV comedy ‘Platonic,’ starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne, lands season three renewal
Apple TV on Friday announced a season three renewal for “Platonic,” the acclaimed, global hit comedy starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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SoundSource 6.0
Major upgrade for the audio control utility brings grouped output devices and integrated AirPlay streaming. ($49 new, $25 upgrade, 51.6 MB, macOS 15+)

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Acclaimed Apple designer says he ‘could not be more excited’ for new design era
Responses to Alan Dye’s departure from Apple keep coming in, and the latest from an acclaimed long-time Apple designer bodes extremely well for the new design era under Steve Lemay. more…

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Netflix beats Apple to buy Warner Bros. Discovery in unprecedented deal
Netflix buys Warner Bros. for $72B, outbidding Apple to win a tremendous content bonanza that includes Warner Bros. studios, HBO and HBO Max. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

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Apple published a new Press Release
Apple just published a new Press Release:MLS Cup streams free on Apple TV this Saturday

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