5 app recommendations in March 2023

As every month, in March 2023 I am again offering you a collective contribution with five App-Recommendations for the Apple Mac. The recommendations for macOS programs today include these task areas: detailed creation of color palettes, monitoring of the hardware utilization on the Mac, transcription with AI support, inserting markers on any display content as well as checking the webcam quickly and easily. Isn't that right for you yet? Then at the end of this article you will find an overview of the app recommendations that I published between June 2021 and last month - a huge selection of practical helpers!

1. RickRack

With the RickRack app you get a smart and extensively usable tool for creating color palettes free of charge. Not only can you use a color wheel to determine one to five matching colors, you can also directly copy the RGB and HSL codes of those colors. Color palettes can also be created from images and customized. All created palettes can be saved for later use. You can detach the individual tools and overviews from the main window in order to distribute them more clearly across multiple monitors. I find RickRack to be a very well thought out and practical app. In addition to macOS, it is also available for Windows and Linux.

  • Name: RickRack
  • Category: Color Picker / Design Aid
  • Price: Free
  • Info and download: GitHub / SourceForge

2. System watchers

System Watcher is another recommendation for anyone who wants to keep an eye on the utilization of the CPU, memory, graphics chip, network, hard drive and the like on the Mac. We've already featured several such apps here on the blog, but System Watcher is definitely worth recommending again. The software developed by Sascha Simon shows processor load, memory usage, network load, battery parameters, graphics card and drives. In addition to a program window in which all information can be called up, there is also an overview for the menu bar. In the free version of the app, this shows CPU load, memory usage and network activities. With the Pro version for €2,49, additional values ​​can be stored in the menu bar.

  • Name: System Watcher
  • Category: System monitor
  • Price: Free or 2,49 euros for the Pro version
  • Info: Website
  • Download: App Store

3. Aiko

Aiko is an app by Sindre Sorhus, a programmer who is always releasing new useful apps for Apple devices. These are mostly free and intended specifically for one or two tasks. Here in the blog we have already presented several of his apps: sindre sorhus. Aiko is not a completely new idea, but rather a graphical user interface for using the Whisper AI. This can convert speech into text in 100 languages. Since Aiko is also intended for offline use, the app comes with the Whisper model, which makes the download around 3 GB in size. Last month I presented you with an alternative: Whisper Transcription.

  • Name: Aiko
  • Category: Speech-to-Text AI
  • Price: Free
  • Info: Website (there is an extensive FAQ for using the app!)
  • Download: App Store

4. Screen Note

I have the ScreenNote app for you already presented in 2018 und sie compared to Presentify in 2021. However, the free app is still being worked on in the background, so it is now worth taking a look at the current version 4. You can use ScreenNote on Mac to draw on the display, insert shapes and text, and use other features. You can draw on any background, circle something to highlight, and more. The app sits unobtrusively in the menu bar and can also be activated quickly and easily by holding down the control (^) key. It can be downloaded for free from the Mac App Store.

  • Name: ScreenNote
  • Category: Productivity / Presentation
  • Price: Free
  • Info and download: App Store

5.HandMirror

The name of the Hand Mirror app can be directly translated to "hand mirror". And that already gives an indication of the function of the app: thanks to this software, you can call up the webcam using individually defined triggers. This is a quick and easy way to check how you look and whether something needs to be cleared from the background before a video call, Twitch streaming or FaceTime call. For MacBook models with a notch, there is even the option of using a click behind the notch as a trigger for the webcam display. In addition, the webcam view can be cropped and placed on the display, allowing for easy PiP streaming. Hand Mirror is available in the Setapp-Package.

  • Name: Hand Mirror
  • Category: Utility / Tool
  • 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 and February of this year: 

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In the Sir Apfelot Blog you will find advice, instructions and reviews on Apple products such as the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, iMac, Mac Pro, Mac Mini and Mac Studio.