5 app recommendations in April 2023

The Apple Mac is an extremely versatile computer. Whether for work, for private use at home, at school and university or for blogging on the go - everything is possible. To ensure that you are well equipped for a wide range of tasks and that you use good software in addition to the right hardware, Sir Apfelot has had a monthly collection of five app recommendations for the macOS operating system since mid-2021. And again this month I brought a handful of programs with me: Pixel Perfect, Ghost Buster, Adapter, CenterMouse and TouchRetouch. Everything from free to cheap is included.

1. Pixel perfect

Pixel Perfect, also called Pixelperfekt in the German localization, is an app for Macs with Apple silicon. It helps render iPhone and iPad apps by scaling them to the ideal resolution. The apps actually designed for iOS and iPadOS are displayed under macOS in an iPhone or iPad resolution on the Mac display. This has the advantage that graphics, text and other content are displayed in a more recognizable manner and are (in most cases) easier to use. Pixel Perfect doesn't have an overly complicated interface. As you can see from the screenshot, it is easy to enable or disable the customized resolution for the detected apps. 

• Name: Pixel Perfect / Pixelperfect
• Category: Utilities
• Price: Free
• Info and download: GitHub

2. Ghostbusters

Ghost Buster is a cheap little app that helps you clean up junk from uninstalled programs. Because if you drag apps from the Applications folder on your Mac hard drive to the Trash and then delete them there, they can still leave files behind. Depending on the type and scope of the app, it may have created folders and files outside of the programs folder - in other system folders, in the user folder, etc. And not all of these additions are deleted when uninstalling. Ghost Buster tracks them down for you, displays them clearly and lets you choose which of them should also be removed. A free alternative is the AppCleaner, which uninstalls apps and removes the add-ons at the same time.

• Name: Ghost Buster
• Category: Utilities
• Price: € 0,99
• Info: Website
• Download: Mac App Store

3.Adapter

Since personal computers can be used to play and edit videos, there has been a high demand for conversion tools. Converting videos, changing their resolution, inserting a different audio track, adding subtitles, making them usable for specific devices or programs, and many more are required by each program. And this is where adapters come into play. Because the adapter app combines the power of two VLC instances not only to enable editing of video, audio and image files, but also to offer a preview for certain settings. This means that the best setting does not have to be found by trial and error, but a live test can take place directly. And that for free!

• Name: adapter
• Category: Video, image and audio editing
• Price: Free
• Info and download: Website

4. CenterMouse

CenterMouse is a free tool for anyone working on widescreen monitors. Especially with a high resolution and an extra-wide display, the small mouse pointer of macOS can quickly get lost. With CenterMouse, you can set the mouse pointer to center the screen for various events (when locking and unlocking the Mac, after the screen saver, etc.) and for a custom key combination. What should actually be a standard function of macOS will be added later with this app by Isaac Halvorson. So if you sometimes have trouble finding your mouse cursor and aren't a fan of wiggling your mouse to make the cursor appear larger for a moment, get this free download.

• Name: CenterMouse
• Category: Utilities
• Price: Free
• Info and download: Mac App Store / GitHub

5.Touch&Retouch

With TouchRetouch, an image editing task that would otherwise require professional software becomes much easier. It's about touching up photos by removing distracting objects or flaws. No Photoshop or Affinity Photo is needed to retouch holiday photos and mobile phone snapshots, and no messing around with clone stamps or repair tools. If desired, TouchRetouch only displays the most necessary tools, but can be expanded for further processing of the photos (color correction, exposure, etc.). Objects, people, animals or errors are simply marked and exchanged for a suitable replacement with a few fine adjustments. You can download the app in the Setapp- Obtain a subscription with over 240 additional full app versions.

• Name: TouchRetouch
• Category: Photo editing
• Price: Setapp subscription for only 9,99 euros per month (incl. 240+ additional apps)
• Info and download: Setapp

Setapp offers over 240 full versions of the app at a low subscription price

MacPaw's Setapp offers more than our previous app recommendations combined. Because the software subscription brings you more than 9,99 apps as a full version with all updates and without advertising on the Mac from $240 per month. You only install Setapp for the time being and then look for exactly the apps from the overview that appeal to you. On the Website of the offer you will already find all titles from the categories Maintenance, Lifestyle, Productivity, Mac Hacks, Developer Tools, Task Management, Writing & Blogging, Education, Creativity and Personal Finance listed. CleanMyMac X is there as well as VPN, news, graphics, video, text, multimedia and other solutions. Check it out ;)

All previous app recommendations for 2023

All "App Recommendations" posts that I published between June 2021 and December 2022 can be found here: The best Mac apps for 2023 - app recommendations for all areas of application. But even in the year 2023 itself, I will again create an overview each month with five practical Mac apps. And that's why there are already listings of Mac app recommendations from January, February and March of this year: 

• 5 app recommendations in January 2023
• 5 app recommendations in February 2023
• 5 app recommendations in March 2023

Johannes Domke

After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.