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The best macOS Menu Bar apps to use for your Apple Mac in 2022
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For many users, the menu bar on their Mac sits there, a little unloved, as a necessary but barely used part of macOS. But Apple wants to make the menu bar a useful part of your productivity workflow. And that’s why developers offer a range of ways that you can use the menu bar as a versatile tool. We’ve looked at one of these options from Apple – shortcuts – before. 

There’s an enormous variety of apps that you can add to your menu bar. Depending on whether they are for work or personal use, you can usually find a tool to meet your needs.

We’ve highlighted a few to get you started, but there are thousands more for you to explore on the App Store. They are a great way to save time and effort and make the most of the customization afforded to you by macOS.

What is a menu bar app?

The menu bar is much more customizable than some may realize. Found at the top of macOS, it’s the equivalent to parts of the taskbar found in Windows 11. Beyond looking at the time and connecting to your Wi-Fi, menu bar apps offer a wealth of different functions that, by placing them on the menu bar, can cut out additional steps that an app currently does for your needs.

Many of these can help with boosting your workflows and productivity. Instead of trawling through the Applications folder to select a single function from one app, you can just click on the app in the menu bar. While it seems incredibly simple, these can transform your workflow on your Mac, while offering you far more control over how you organize your desktop.

Quick View Calendar

Quick View Calendar on macOS menu bar

(Image credit: QuickView Calendar)

Free to download on the Mac App Store, Quick View does what it says on the tin. Instead of having to open your desired Calendar app from the dock to check a date, you can go to your menu bar and be greeted with a calendar, ready to browse.

Not only does Quick View only give you a monthly view, but it also allows you to display the number of the week if you need that shown. There are no other features here – it displays the date and that’s it, but it's the ease of use here that really shines.

You may be browsing in Safari to check for an upcoming event for instance, and with a quick hover over your menubar with your mouse, you can check Quick View for the relevant information, without leaving the web browser.

As it’s free on the Mac App Store, you can try it for a week and see if it fits your workflow.

AirBuddy 2.5

AirBuddy on macOS

(Image credit: AirBuddy)

So far, Apple hasn’t brought out a feature that allows you to view the battery status of your devices on your Mac. Alongside this, it can be a challenge in connecting your AirPods peripheral to your Mac, as there are moments where they’ll connect to your iPhone without realizing it. This is where AirBuddy 2 comes in.

Created by Gui Rambo, the app allows you to easily check the battery status of your AirPods by clicking the AirPods case on your menu bar, which will display the status of your devices. They do need to be connected to your Mac first, but after this one-time requirement, they’ll show.

There are also other helpful features once these are connected to your Mac. You can change the noise cancellation setting through a keyboard shortcut or connect them to a nearby device without you doing anything else. Update 2.5 also adds a number of new features; the most significant being the fact that AirBuddy will now work with non-Apple or Beats devices when they are connected to the Mac.

For a one-time fee of $ 9.99 / £10.99 / AU$ 11.99, AirBuddy expands how you can connect your wireless Apple devices to your Mac without simply connecting and disconnecting them from the Bluetooth menu.

Hand Mirror

Hand Mirror app on menu bar, on macOS Monterey

(Image credit: Hand Mirror)

We live in a world where video calls are everywhere. Whether it’s Zoom, FaceTime, or Skype, video calling happens regularly in our work and social lives. And we’ve probably all been in that situation where we need to join into a video meeting and your hair isn’t done, or the family dog has knocked over a plant in the background.

Free to download on the Mac App Store, This is where Hand Mirror comes in, without the additional steps that are often required in many video-conferencing apps.

It’s a simple app that doesn’t do much else, but it achieves exactly what it sets out to do. With one click, you can make sure that you and your environment are set up exactly as you want before joining that call.

Flow

Flow on macOS Monterey

(Image credit: Flow)

With the numerous distractions of rolling news, social media and other notifications on your Mac, a simple to use timer app is a great productivity tool to give you control of how you use your time more effectively.

Flow is based on the Pomodoro Technique, which is where you focus on a discrete task for a set amount of time, before taking a short break. Flow helps this by providing a simple timer in your menu bar, so you can see at a glance how long you have left before your next break. 

You can set the duration of both your periods of focus and the length of your breaks, to fully customize the balance of work and rest. It also allows you to block apps on your Mac, to further minimize distractions. 

If you pay for the Pro version at $ 1 / £1 / AU$ 1 a month, or a lifetime license for $ 20 / £20 / AU$ 20, you can also block specific websites. As productivity apps for the menu bar go, this is a great option. Clean, simple to use, and even has a Dark Mode theme. 

Cheat Sheet

CheatSSheet showing Adobe Photoshop shortcuts

(Image credit: CheatSheet)

Most of us have been in that situation where you want to use a particular feature on your Mac, only to find yourself having to navigate through menus and submenus while being fairly sure there is a simple keyboard shortcut. This is where CheatSheet comes in to alleviate that frustration.

Free to download, CheatSheet provides you with a list of keyboard shortcuts for whichever app you are using at that particular time. Being able to quickly access a reference sheet can save you enormous amounts of time, especially for repetitive tasks.

Perhaps ironically, the more you use it, the less you will need to use it, as you will start to remember the most frequently used shortcuts. And pretty soon, you’ll stop having to switch from keyboard to mouse and back again.

iStat Menus

iStat menu on macOS

(Image credit: iStat)

Perhaps you’re a power user, or maybe you just love seeing the inner workings of your Mac. Either way, iStat Menus 6 will throw more information than you could ever need at you.

As a system monitoring app, this tells you exactly how your computer is performing: CPU and GPU monitoring, memory stats, memory usage, temperatures, disk usage, and battery levels can all be viewed from the menu bar with just a few icons.

This level of detail doesn’t come for free, however. But for a one-off cost of £8.99 / $ 8.99 / AU$ 8.99 from the Mac App Store, or $ 14.39 / £13.49 / AU$ 14.99 directly from iStat, which also includes 6 months of weather data, you're getting an awful lot of information. It’s also highly customizable, so you can choose exactly what information you want to see, and how it looks. 

Minesweeper

Minesweeper on macOS, on menu bar

(Image credit: Minesweeper)

Everyone needs a little downtime, and when used in conjunction with the Flow timer, what could be better than five minutes playing Minesweeper as a short break?

Minesweeper is a very simple but highly addictive game that involves clearing a grid of mines as quickly as you can. The simplest premise for a game can fit perfectly on your menu bar. 

Free to download from the Mac App Store, it sits on your menu bar, ready to take your attention away for when you're struggling with ideas.

This sits on your menu bar unobtrusively, and with one click, you can start playing. It’s a perfect game when you have a few minutes free for a quick break. 

ColorSlurp

Color Slurp on macOS through menu bar

(Image credit: Color Slurp)

Free to download from the Mac App Store, this tool is particularly useful for designers and developers. ColorSlurp allows you to choose the exact colors you need with accuracy and precision, thanks to a quick overview in the menu bar of what color it’s identified, and you can copy this into your photo editing app of choice thanks to the magnifier tool.

Being able to have complete control over your color palette is ideal for graphic designers, website developers, and others. Most importantly, it’s an enormous time-saver and a more accurate method for selecting your colors compared to having to use screenshots to pick out colors.

Bartender 4

Bartender 4 settings

(Image credit: Bartender 4)

With the previous apps we’ve mentioned, your menu bar may be starting to look a little cluttered if you've decided to install them all. With this in mind, we suggest Bartender 4, an award-winning app that allows you to decide which items on your menu bar are displayed.

Available to download as a free trial and to buy for £13.91 / $ 15.99 / AU$ 16.49, you can customize the spacing between menu bar items, and make use of the bar to access your hidden items, especially if you have a lot of menu bar apps and shortcuts.

It also offers a quick search function to allow you to find menu bar apps via your keyboard. It’s a great way to keep your menu bar tidy and organized.

Control Center

Control Center in macOS

(Image credit: Apple)

It would be remiss of us to compile a list of menu bar apps without mentioning the one that comes pre-installed on macOS. Control Center is the macOS equivalent of the iOS feature of the same name, which first appeared in macOS Big Sur back in 2020. It sits unobtrusively in your menu bar, available for you to control a host of options. 

This tool gives you control over a number of what might be considered ‘essentials’ such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Airdrop. 

Brightness and volume levels can also be adjusted from here, as well as media controls for any content you're playing in the background. Finally, there are options for Focus mode and Screen Mirroring. You can also add Accessibility Shortcuts if you wish. 

This one may be preloaded, but it’s a feature that you’ll find yourself using more often than usual, mainly because it offers many useful functions, all in one location. 

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Developers want to know from Apple if an iCloud issue will finally be fixed
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If you use an Apple device, there’s a good chance that you use iCloud, its service of syncing your content across multiple devices, alongside streaming files and your tasks in certain apps that also use the service.

However, you may have experienced some issues where your content on one device, isn’t showing on another. This has begun to be known as the 503 error – where iCloud syncing isn’t working properly.

This would have been fine for users and developers if this had been an issue for a few days or a week, but it’s seemingly been since last summer that issues relating to iCloud have remained.

It’s now at the point where developers are venting their frustrations as to whether this issue will be resolved for their apps, and for users.

We speak to developers about their 503 experiences

A Twitter thread on January 25 by Becky Handsmeyer, developer of YarnBuddy and Scribblet, wanted to see if there was another way of reporting the issue to Apple. Soon after, other developers replied to her through a thread.

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We reached out to Handsmeyer to explain the issue further. “My headache with this started with a 2-star review 21 days ago where a user complained of crashes and broken syncing. Since then I’ve gotten 6 more complaints of broken syncing, some through reviews but mostly via email.” 

Handsmeyer continued “No amount of troubleshooting seems to help (reinstalling, making sure iCloud Drive is enabled, etc). I’ve seen multiple developers complaining about iCloud issues and 503 errors including James Thomson, Paul Haddad, and the developer of Streaks. One person said they had used a DTS session and Apple acknowledged the issue but have no timeline for a fix.”

Other developers such as GoodNotes recently published an article regarding the issue, due to users experiencing 503 issues. The article mentions “This issue is not apparent to us and we've escalated the case to Apple Technical Support team for investigation. It seems it's happening to other apps as well.”

But there’s no end in sight for a fix as yet, and users are becoming more frustrated that their content is not syncing properly.

James Thomson, the developer of PCalc, explained to us that it looks as though the issue may be related to the latest updates of iOS 15, macOS 12 Monterey, and others.

“I started seeing some iCloud syncing issues with PCalc with the OS betas during the late summer. It was taking several minutes to sync over settings, rather than the usual seconds, and people assumed the syncing wasn’t actually working.” Thomson explains. “That persisted into the releases, and eventually, I turned things off by default because it was causing problems where people were losing some of the changes they were making due to the long delays. Hopefully, it’s something Apple can fix soon, and I can turn it back on again then.”

Analysis: What’s taking so long?

Looking through the Twitter thread of other experiences from developers, you can place the issue back to when Apple’s software updates were heading toward their final release, just before the iPhone 13 series were announced at September’s event.

When major software releases are pushed out, you can assume services that are hidden to users, are also updated, so that they can work with the new features that have been announced and implemented.

But considering that this is four months since the release of iOS 15 and the other software updates, with no context for developers as to what the issue actually is, and when it will be fixed, is bringing unnecessary frustrations to Apple.

We’ve reached out to Apple for comment as to whether the 503 issue is in the process of being fixed.

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Aerial 3.0 brings Apple TV screensavers to your Mac… in HDR
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A macOS app called Aerial has been updated with new screensaver options, alongside featuring HDR, integration with Spotify and Apple Music, and much more.

New screensavers from Apple have trickled out in recent years, with the latest one being the ‘hello’ logo that’s appeared on the redesigned iMac 24-inch (2021) models. But while AppleTV has had attractive flyover screensavers that show a view of certain cities, they’ve never moved over to other Apple devices.

Thanks to Aerial, you can now get similar screensavers for your Mac. It offers plenty of customization options, including the ability to create playlists and display certain overlays such as weather, battery status, timers, and more.

For version 3.0, the 16 screensavers from tvOS 15 can be used on your Mac, such as Yosemite National Park, Grand Canyon, Torres del Paine in Chile, and others.

Analysis: A welcome macOS 13 addition

Configuring Aerial in System Preferences > Desktop and Screen Saver is an easy affair, where you can tailor these to your location, the time of day, or to a certain order. 

There are also custom flyover screensavers from Jetson Creative, all free to use, alongside picking other screensavers from tvOS 10 and above.

Aerial app on macOS

(Image credit: Aerial)

Using these on the recently-released MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021) in HDR makes the screensavers look absolutely fantastic.

Seeing landscapes from locations such as Scotland, Florida, and others really showcases the quality of the new MacBooks’ screens. Combine that with the customization options on offer, and it makes you wonder why Apple hasn’t officially brought these screensavers to macOS.

Aerial 3 on macOS

(Image credit: Aerial)

Screensavers have been a constant feature in computers since the first ever one, created by John Socha in 1983, with an app called ScrnSave. 

There’s a good chance you’ll have seen a screensaver full of pipes, or one where you’re walking through a house. But with advances in display technology, from CRT to LCD monitors, they have diminished in use in recent years.

But with apps like Aerial and official features from Apple, there’s an opportunity for screensavers to return in a big way again. Not just for macOS, but for Windows 11 as well. Perhaps remakes of the pipes and houses screensavers from the mid-nineties, alongside methods to download more screensavers from the Microsoft Store.

But in the meantime, Aerial does a great job of showcasing how screensavers can thrive in 2022, and what Apple and Microsoft could do for future updates of macOS and Windows.

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Apple iMessage vs Google RCS is complicated… but what about older phones?
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Since iOS 5 back in 2011, Apple introduced a new message standard called iMessage. If you use an iOS or Mac device, you’ll most likely have used the feature through the Messages app.

These show as a blue bubble that allows you to send reactions, emojis, GIFs, and more.

However, a relatively new standard in messaging has started to appear in recent years called RCS (Rich Communication Services), which is trying to replace the SMS standard that iMessage uses.

RCS is designed to bring the same functionality that iMessage, WhatsApp and other messaging apps offer in a form that works across multiple types of device.

Google's Head of Android, Hiroshi Lockheimer, has accused Apple of bullying by forcing users to use iMessage instead of RCS. But Lockheimer, and others, are forgetting those who don’t use smartphones, and that’s a problem.

The pros and cons of RCS

If you use an Android phone through the messages app, and you live in the United States, you will be able to reply with reactions, emojis through an encrypted connection. That's something that SMS doesn’t provide.

Since RCS made its introduction in 2008, the Open Mobile Alliance has been leading the way in trying to replace the SMS standard with this. It makes it easier for users to share content without being charged for it, such as how MMS, or picture messaging still does to this day.

However, the standard is limited. Many carriers in the United States haven’t agreed to implement RCS, leaving it spotty across cellular networks at best. While some other countries, such as the United Kingdom, currently have no carriers supporting RCS.

Combine this with the fact that Universal Profile, which is the latest attempt for carriers to implement the same RCS standard across the phones that each provides, has been delayed. It’s essentially pot luck in whether your phone and carrier will feature RCS.

But there’s yet another handicap to this. Google is decided to activate RCS within its own Messages app, which means that regardless of the carrier you’re on, you’ll be able to use the service. 

This applies to UK users, but others would rather send messages through WhatsApp and other apps.

Google’s Head of Android, Hiroshi Lockheimer tried to rectify his comments over the weekend, alongside linking to a TikTok video of Maxwell Weinbach giving his reasons for why he thought it was bad that Apple hadn’t implemented RCS.

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But while they both provide compelling arguments on one side, there’s another aspect that Google and Weinbach have both left out. This could also be why Apple has yet to implement RCS.

Forgetting the casual user

The majority of us have family members who simply refuse to upgrade to a smartphone. Or at least, refuse to upgrade to a newer smartphone that was released after 2011.

It’s a comfort blanket to some where they’re familiar with the design and the features that the old phone brings. They’re comfortable in using SMS messaging, the camera app and Facebook, and nothing else.

RCS doesn’t factor into this. While Google’s Messages app requires Android 5.0 and above, it’s pot luck whether older phones will support RCS within the app. And that’s if your friend or family member is using Google’s Messages app on their phone.

While the feature is clearly beneficial to those who message frequently, influencers and heads of these departments seem to be missing the bigger picture on who RCS benefits and whether there should be more efforts to make RCS standardized, rather than from one app or waiting for some carriers to come on board.

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Did Apple win CES 2022 without even being there?
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Google, Intel, Nvidia, AMD. These and other companies made it a mission to mention Apple in some way at this year’s CES.

While Apple wasn’t actually at the event in Las Vegas, it still felt like everyone was talking about the company.

If you watched Intel and Nvidia’s live streams, you would have heard about products that were faster than Apple’s M1 Max chips for example (although further research looks to have put cold water on these claims by both companies already).

It’s only when you scratch the surface that you find that Apple has already been regarded as the winner at CES this year in a variety of categories, without being there in any official capacity.

Apple was in the eye of many at CES 2022

Intel was quick to compare its newest Alder Lake chips with the M1 Max, currently available in the MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch models. The press release directly states that the Intel Core i9 chip is faster than the M1 Max, but when you consider the heat that dissipates from this CPU compared to Apple’s chips, there’s more than just speed that Apple beats the competition on.

Intel comparing its Core i9 chip with Apple's M1 Max

(Image credit: Intel)

The Core i9 can draw up to 115 watts of power, while the M1 Max requests 60 watts in regular use, and it usually doesn’t exceed 90 watts when macOS demands more power from the chip.

But this is just one example from Intel, as the company also showcased Apple Watch and iMessage integration with upcoming Evo PCs through Screenovate, an app that was recently acquired by the company in December.

Google also announced an effort to mimic the connectivity that Apple’s ecosystem of devices boasts. Soon, you’ll be able to pair multiple devices through an upcoming feature called Fast Pair. This allows your Android phone to unlock your Chromebook, or having your Pixel Buds being able to swap between your phone and laptop with no issue.

However, this isn’t just about Google and Intel being inspired by Apple’s software features.

But wait, there’s more

Find My is Apple’s service of integrating with other products that can be found through the Find My app. It’s the same method that AirTags offer, but the company is allowing other companies to use the same technology. Targus was one example at CES by integrating Find My into a backpack.

Belkin also announced earbuds that would feature Find My, alongside a mount for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 series that will be able to track your face, ideal for video calls or for creating the next viral TikTok video.

There’s also more efforts by companies such as Eve to integrate Apple’s HomeKit, which is a way of managing your home devices through the Home app, so you can control lights, your heating, and soon window blinds to switch on and off around your home when needed.

These are just some examples of what was announced at CES 2022, but it only shows how Apple was everywhere at the event, but not present itself. The only time where someone from Apple appeared at CES was in 2020 when Jane Horvath, Apple's senior director of privacy, took to the stage in a privacy roundtable.

And, the year before, the company decided to put up a banner in front of CES promoting the fact that your information is stored on your iPhone only.

Apple showcasing a privacy banner back at CES 2019

(Image credit: Future)

This just proves that Apple doesn’t need to be at CES – companies such as Belkin with its products and Intel with its charts do the hard work for the company regardless. While there’s still doubt on whether events like this are still needed in a post-pandemic world, the underlying theme was that companies are getting ready to suit up for a battle that’s mostly, already been won by Apple.

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Disney Plus gets even better for families with Apple SharePlay on iPhone and iPad
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The Disney Plus streaming service now supports Apple SharePlay, meaning subscribers can sync up TV shows and films on the platform through a host of different Apple devices.

This latest update to the Disney Plus app has come into effect on iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS, meaning anyone watching on their iPhones, iPads or Apple TV 4K streaming devices can benefit. You will need to be running version 15.1 or above on these operating systems, though.

The update is a godsend for large families, or those hoping to connect virtually with friends and relatives over the holidays, supporting up to 32 simultaneous viewers. 

Each viewer will need to subscribe to Disney Plus separately, though, and obviously own a compatible Apple device. For those outside the Apple ecosystem, there's still a way to gain similar functionality.

Gather round, everyone

Disney Plus launched its own GroupWatch feature earlier in the year, which lets up to seven subscribers (or four profiles on the same account) co-watch a title at the same time – and it even works on non-Apple products.

The rise of co-watching has been a fascinating development in the world of TV streaming services. Platforms are increasingly offering their own official functionality, having seen after a surge in third-party browser add-ons that let users sync up their Netflix accounts and even message in a sidebar during streams.

Not everyone is catching up, though. Netflix has yet to support Apple SharePlay, despite no doubt being the most desirable place to get this kind of functionality. For big virtual gatherings, Disney Plus Christmas movies may have the advantage over Netflix Christmas movies.

Via Pocket-lint

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