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As I revealed recently, I’m not much of a tinkerer when it comes to macOS. I have my favourite little tweaks, but they’re not particularly adventurous.
However, I know what I like, and over the many years I’ve used macOS as my main operating system, I’ve learned how to tweak it perfectly for my various use cases.
Since publishing my video where I revealed exactly how I customise macOS out of the box, I’ve had a few comments asking why I removed certain default apps from the dock.
So, here’s a definitive list of the apps that get immediately culled – and why.
1. Launchpad
I never use Launchpad. Do you?
I have two methods for opening apps. The first is via the dock for my most used apps, and the second is via spotlight when I need to head into something I use less often (or when I can’t be bothered to reach for the mouse).
The Launchpad was the result of Apple’s slightly odd ‘back to the Mac’ initiative a few years back when they inexplicably inserted a number of iPad-like features into their desktop operating system.
The Launchpad is one we really didn’t need, Tim.
2. Apple Mail
I don’t really have anything against Apple Mail – it’s a pretty decent email client which has improved considerably over the years.
It just doesn’t quite live up to some of the third-party competition – Microsoft’s venerable Outlook included.
3. FaceTime
I use FaceTime on the Mac occasionally, but it’s always rather fleeting and usually reserved for family calls on the iPad or iPhone.
This might change when macOS Monterey arrives later this year, where we’re going to be treated to a FaceTime update which looks set to bring it up-to-speed with the likes of Zoom and Teams.
For now, though, it just clutters my dock. So it gets binned, immediately.
4. Maps
I’ve never used Apple Maps on the Mac.
Why would I?
5. Contacts
This app feels like such a relic. Again, I can’t think of a single reason I’d ever need to head into Contacts.
When I want to email someone, I open Spark, start a new message and begin typing their name. If I want to call someone, I ask Siri or look through my recent calls list.
Perhaps I’m missing some incredibly useful functionality within Contacts – or maybe it offers some kind of productivity-boosting capability I’m yet to discover. If so, let me know below, please.
6. Calendar
If you haven’t used Fantastical yet, I really recommend giving it a go.
Once again, there’s nothing necessarily wrong with Apple’s default Calendar app, but it just isn’t as nice to use as Fantastical. It feels clunky by comparison and lacks Fantastical’s brilliant quick entry feature and menu bar ‘widget’ (which I use all of the time).
7. Podcasts
I never listen to podcasts on my Mac.
8. Apple TV
I never watch TV on my Mac.
9. Numbers
Hands-up – I’m a Microsoft Office user.
Yeah, I know.
Again, I have nothing against Numbers, and I quite like Apple’s approach to spreadsheets, but Excel reigns king when it comes to number manipulation (plus, let’s be honest – everyone else uses it).
10. Keynote
As you may have guessed by now, I use PowerPoint for presentations.
Keynote is actually a superb piece of software and arguably lets you create far more attractive presentations more quickly than you can with Microsoft’s alternative.
Alas, everyone uses PowerPoint.
11. Pages
Yeah, you guessed it.
If I have to use a traditional word processor, I head into Microsoft Word, simply because a couple of my contracts require me to. Plus, again, it’s about as ubiquitous as software comes.
Despite that, the main reason I remove Pages from the dock is so that I can put Ulysses in its place.
That’s it. I don’t think I’m too brutal with the dock, am I?
4 Comments
Oh Mark, where do I start, well as the song says ?”Lets start at the very beginning”?
1/ Totally agree
2/ Only ever use Mail, works fine for 99.9999% of what I need and Outlook is spawn of the devil.
3/ I do use FaceTime a lot to communicate with sites and site staff and anything not Zoom, hope to replace that.
4/ Use Maps all the time, great to check for suppliers in a given area, working out travel distances for expenses and of course Quiz Questions
5/ Contacts is one of my most useful Apps on the Mac as it contains so much info about people and companies that I use on a daily basis plus the sync with phone and iPad. Ties in perfectly with mail for doing emails.
6/ Calendar is my default diary, scheduler, and planner. The ability to start typing address or person and the it picks up the address and links to Maps to even set up directions is brilliant. The list of schedule entires that it can do is very impressive plus customise functions. Again syncs to all my other devices. I’m never sure that these other Apps like Fantastical will be able to achieve the same level of sync.
7/ I often listen to Podcasts on the Mac as well as car.
8/ OK only occasionally.
9/ Are you kidding me, Numbers leaves Excel way behind for 90% of users and there actual use of Excel. While a brilliant App its way to big for the vast majority of use. I won’t pay for office365, as I have worked for the past decade without it. Numbers is perfectly able to open all Excel sheets (not something all Office users can do) and export back as Excel sheets that all can read. Also I find much easier to use as Excel has got too cluttered and too many icons to work through.
10/ Almost same as the reasons with Numbers applies to Keynote.
11/ I can understand your reasons here as I do little in the way of word processing so will bow to your better experience but will re-iterate the reasons for Pages as opposed to Word.
So I presume, its horses for courses, as to what you use and feel comfortable with, so lets carry on:-
?Doh, a dear, a female dear…. Ray, a drop of Golden Sun……?
Haha – great comment. Thanks, Martin!
Hmm, to my surprise you prompted my interest in this topic Mark – subjective though the matter is.
I would be curious to know what devices you do listen to podcasts on, if any? iPhone? iPad? I can see a “listen anywhere or on the move” benefit with the aforementioned arguably a little more than a laptop. Apple TV. This is the most interesting one for me. I might watch it on my iPhone/iPad if I was to subscribe to Apple One. But, no way would I buy the Apple TV box to connect to my TV.
Engaging, well-written article as usual.
Thanks, Brian. I only listen to podcasts on my iPhone.