Focusmo went up 40$ from 39$ (30% off) to 79$ (50% off) for BF Sale?
https://redd.it/1p35u1d
@macappsbackup

Power Tool for Mac-based iPhone Management

A few years back, I had an iPhone that just stopped backing up to iCloud. I went through every troubleshooter I could find, and nothing worked. At the time, I had a MacBook with a small hard drive (256 GB), and using Finder to back it up resulted in a file of over 90 GB, taking up a significant chunk of space. Not only that, it took about 30 minutes to complete. I had to hack together a way, using symlinks, to move the backup to an external drive. It was a huge PIA.

That's when I started using DearMob iPhone Manager. Its backup capabilities beat Apple's by a mile. You can choose your backup location. You still get encryption, and you can use Wi-Fi (which is slow but acceptable). It works all the way back to Mac OS X 10.9 but doesn't require Rosetta on Apple silicon.

I also recently used it to recover 80 GB of music from my dad's old iPod Classic with just a few clicks.

## Useful Features

- Selective Control - Pull just the data off a phone that you want, in a usable format, without having to back up the whole phone. Very useful for specific groups of photos. You can transfer, backup, transcode, and restore photos easily.
- Wide File Type Support - Works with HEIC photos, RAW formats, 4K video, and more, and can do conversions on the fly.
- Speedy - Standard photo copies happen at the rate of 5,000 images a minute via a USB connection.
- Security - You can encrypt anything you export, including photo albums.
- Supports Cloning and Migration - Whether you're getting a new phone or doing a nuke and pave on your current model, DearMob has you covered with more flexibility than what Apple offers.
- Two Way Management - Supports messages, contacts, podcasts, files, apps, books, calendars, and more. You can add apps that are no longer in the App Store without jailbreaking your phone. You can also use your phone as a mountable drive for times when you need to Sneaker Net files around.

## Pain Point

The main drawback with an app like DearMob is that you are always at Apple's mercy, and future changes to iOS and macOS may affect functionality.

## The Good News

A lifetime license normally goes for $39.95, which lets you install it on one Mac and use it with unlimited phones. It's currently on sale for $3. At that price, it's hard to resist. Its main competitor is iMazing, which is subnoscription only ($49.95 a year) and limits the number of devices you can use.

The developer, 5K Player, has more info on DearMob.

https://redd.it/1p362g3
@macappsbackup

Spokenly: what’s the best speech-to-text API and model right now?

I’ve been using an app called Spokenly lately and it’s made me curious about what everyone thinks is the best speech-to-text API and model available right now.

There are so many options. For example, Cartesia has Ink Whisperer, Deepgram has Nova 3, Soniox has their own system, and then there are models like Parakeet, Whisper variants, etc. Some apps seem to mix different APIs together and I’m trying to figure out what gives the best combination of accuracy, speed, and low latency for real-time dictation.

If you’ve tested different providers, which one has worked best for you and why? I’m especially interested in:

• Accuracy with normal everyday speech

• Speed and responsiveness

• Latency during dictation

• How well it handles punctuation and capitalization

• Pricing or free tier experiences

• Any issues with reliability


Feel free to share your setup or any comparisons you’ve done. I want to see what people think is the best choice

https://redd.it/1p3ka0d
@macappsbackup

Let It Snow Desktop App - App Store
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/let-it-snow-desktop/id6755482420?mt=12

https://redd.it/1p3kk03
@macappsbackup

Photographers! What's the nearest thing you've found to Nik Collection?

I love Nik - Silver Efex, especially, but ColorEfex and HDR also. I have a new Mac and the old, free version of Nik won't run on the OS - I've tried every possible workaround after scouring the web for weeks.

I've tried the DX0 version of Nik, and it was tolerable but I'm really turned off by their customer service and complaints of price-gouging.

So, is there something similar out there? Thanks for all recs!

https://redd.it/1p3kuxt
@macappsbackup

Is AlDente still the best third party battery management app?

I just had my Macbook Air M3 battery replaced by Apple, because it had cycled 500 times. It was 18 months old. Even though the battery health was still technically reading as "normal" (85%), they still replaced it on the basis that I just do word processing and the battery might be faulty.

I think the more likely cause is that I always run my laptop on battery, as I was told to do by the Apple Store when I bought it. The number of battery cycles roughly matches the number of days I've owned the laptop, and tracks with a daily discharge and recharge.

My research indicates that I should be using the power cable as much as possible but not charging past 80%. I also read that AlDente is a reliable app for this purpose, and in fact I could set it lower to about 65%. Is this the best app around, or are there other ones? Is it worthwhile paying for the AlDente subnoscription, or is the free version sufficient? I notice sailing mode is only available for paid users.

I am not the most techy person so please excuse if I'm using the wrong lingo here. I just want to look after my MacBook! It's a huge investment and I want to take care of my things.

Thank you!

https://redd.it/1p3ntyg
@macappsbackup

Code signing added for AltSendme - Looking for feedback
https://redd.it/1p3orvg
@macappsbackup

Best Screen Recording App?

Hey guys,

I've been using Screen Studio for the past year, but it's too costly, and I'm looking for an alternative.

I like how Screen Studio videos look, but I see there are now more alternatives, such as Flowy, ScreenSage, Borumi, etc...

I'm primarily looking for a screen recording app to use for educational videos.

It's a big bonus if:

It can make videos look nice and smooth
I can hide myself (Macbook camera) during recording, and then have myself in the final output on the video

If you're in a similar situation to mine, which app are you using or recommend?

Thank you,
Kroko

https://redd.it/1p3plev
@macappsbackup

Roundup of Reviews of Apps on Sale for Black Friday

Scooping up apps at a discount during Black Friday season is an annual tradition for me. It takes a little planning and research, but I've picked up a number of useful noscripts over the years. If you are looking at what's available for 2025, here is a list of my reviews for apps currently being offered.

Thoughts - Quotes Manager 50% OFF Lifetime with code BLACK25 By Henri Bredt to manage quotes, authors and tags. It creates a personalized feed from your collection that you can view from a widget.

ExtraDock 50% off with code BLACKXXFRIDAY50 Nov 26th - Dec 1st ExtraDock lets you create a variety of dock-like launchers for different workflows and activate one or more of them when needed. You can assign docks to specific spaces and monitors.

Almighty - Tweaking and Utility Collection 50% OFF on App Store. For standalone versions, use code INDIEGOODIESBF25 for 50% discount There are 50 different settings and utilities in the app, and you can enable and disable at will. They can be launched from the menu bar or user configurable keyboard shortcuts.

Koofr - European Based Cloud Storage Provider with a Generous Free Tier Use code BF2025 for 55% OFF on yearly plans 100 GB or larger. Koofr is a secure, reliable, and user-friendly European cloud storage service. Backup, sync and share files while maintaining complete privacy - Koofr doesn't use trackers, cookies nor ads.

TextSniper 75% OFF with code BFCM2025 An OCR app for YouTube videos, PDFs, images, online courses, screencasts, presentations, webpages, video tutorials, photos, etc.

Lingon Pro 20% Off - Run whatever you want, whenever you want with Lingon Pro and evaluate what's loading in the background on your Mac.

Wins Has Window Management and More 40% OFF with code BLACKFRIDAY25 I'm impressed with the way it can be customized and how well it works with keyboard shortcuts and mouse gestures.

Presentify 30% OFF (Nov 21 - Dec 2) No code Needed A menu bar interface that offers various shapes, colors and gradients, as well as text entry for anything on your display, useful for Zoom, Teams, etc.

40 Discounted Apps - Get them all on one site. Includes Mountain Duck, Yoink, Mosaic Pro and many others.



https://redd.it/1p3qbke
@macappsbackup

setapp users: what are some apps you still use that have been removed from the library?



https://redd.it/1p3t6q2
@macappsbackup

Updatest is Nice

I have used a lot of mac app updater solutions during my relatively brief (1.5 year) time so far as a MacBook user. I have used Latest, CleanMyMac, and others.

Recently I began using Updatest ( https://updatest.app/ ) and I really like it. Here are some of it's virtues, in no particular order:


The UI is clear and easy to understand

It can load at login and quietly run in the background

It can track updates for homebrew AND AppStore apps

The developer is very responsive

The price is affordable

For context: My setup:

M3 Max MacBook Pro with macOS 26.1, 48GB RAM, 1 TB SSD

https://preview.redd.it/kta1ii3bit2g1.png?width=2992&format=png&auto=webp&s=4e165f406f19f283a33f579a90d32521cdbb2444



https://redd.it/1p3ufet
@macappsbackup

Free App that brings cmdX + cmdV functionality to MacOS

It always bothered me that macOS doesn’t let you cut files in Finder with ⌘ + X like you can on other systems. After getting frustrated enough times, I decided to make a small app that adds Cmd X and Cmd V functionality for moving files.

It’s free, open source, and really simple. Just something I built for myself, but I thought others might find it useful too.

If you’re interested, you can check it out here:

https://cmdx.yonn.online/

https://github.com/YONN2222/cmdX

https://redd.it/1p4124a
@macappsbackup

I created a free, native macOS app to properly spread wallpapers across multiple monitors.

I’ve always been frustrated that macOS treats every monitor as a separate island. If you have a dual or triple monitor setup and want to span a wide panoramic wallpaper across them, it usually involves a lot of manual work or paid apps.

So, I created **SpreadPaper**.

It’s a native macOS utility (written in SwiftUI) that lets you take one high-resolution image and spread it seamlessly across all your displays. It detects your monitor arrangement from System Settings, so the image flows perfectly from one screen to the next.

[Image spreads perfectly across a three-monitor setup](https://preview.redd.it/59ecup4hgv2g1.png?width=2486&format=png&auto=webp&s=7b8883b04130ad58971c3cf7707bf4d2a95608c4)

**Features:**

* **Visual Editor:** Drag, zoom, and position your wallpaper across a live preview of your monitors.
* **Retina Ready:** Uses a custom Core Graphics engine to render pixels at the exact native resolution of your screens (if the original image resolution allows for it; no blurry upscaling).
* **Presets:** Save your favorite setups to switch themes or locations instantly.
* **Auto-Sync:** UI instantly updates if you plug in a new monitor or rearrange them in Settings.
* **Native & Lightweight:** Built with SwiftUI, so it's tiny and uses barely any RAM.

**Price:**
Free and Open Source (MIT License). No ads, no tracking, no subnoscriptions.

**Links:**

* **GitHub:** [https://github.com/spreadpaper/SpreadPaper](https://www.google.com/url?sa=E&q=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fspreadpaper%2FSpreadPaper)
* **Download**: [https://github.com/spreadpaper/SpreadPaper/releases/latest](https://github.com/spreadpaper/SpreadPaper/releases/latest)

**⚠️ Note on Installation:**
Since this is a free open-source project and I don’t have a paid Apple Developer account, the app isn't "Notarized." You will likely get a popup saying it’s from an "Unidentified Developer." You just need to **Right-Click > Open** the first time you run it.

I’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions.



https://redd.it/1p43zi5
@macappsbackup

Zone Bar from Sindre Sorhus is out
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/zone-bar/id6755328989?mt=12

https://redd.it/1p48lqn
@macappsbackup

File counting app

I have a few hundred directories with 3-25 files in each. Is there an app or terminal command that would walk the tree and report file counts per directory? Thanks!

https://redd.it/1p471v0
@macappsbackup

Safari vs zen vs Orion for mac

Which is the better browser? I use a pretty old imac with open core legacy patcher

https://redd.it/1p4hf3b
@macappsbackup

Kupaa combines focus intervals and breath-work. Promo codes available

Kupaa combines focus intervals with guided breath-work

Hey, I launched Kupaa, a little macOS app I’ve been building. It mixes Pomodoro-style focus intervals with simple guided breathing to help you stay calm and focused in during work sessions.

Link to app store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kupaa/id6743203140.

DM me if you’d like a promo code to test it! (No subnoscription and no tracking)

https://redd.it/1p4gz29
@macappsbackup

I built a free-forever alternative to Wispr Flow
https://vowen.ai/

https://redd.it/1p4jag4
@macappsbackup

Clipboard Manager and Quick Notes app

Hello! I’ve had my MacBook for four years using only Vscodium, iTerm and AppCleaner. I want to speed up my workflow with a clipboard manager and a quick-launch notes app. Got overwhelmed by the options and want your opinion. I was thinking maccy + plain text editor / apple's notes app / antinote + slidepad / hot corner. Also unclutter seem to tick some boxes but seen mixed reviews here.


Ideally free or one-time purchase only (no subnoscriptions) and open source with good privacy.


Lastly in my search I found some interesting app and specifically wailbrew and launcho. Are these worth looking into?


Thank you!!

https://redd.it/1p4ilxb
@macappsbackup

Looking for ideas on what mac apps can I build

Hey Everyone,

A developer here and I have been a mac user for 4+ years now and want to do something for the community so i want to see what issues the community has been facing with their os and see if i can get something ready to fix them

Or if you guys have any ideas you wanted built and wont mind it being used by other people as well cuz ill put it out for free a comment would be appreciated

https://redd.it/1p4l14z
@macappsbackup

Looking for a Calendar that allows you to block time

I’m looking for a calendar app that helps blocking time, I’m doing that with Google Calendar but I feel there is better solutions out there.

Let me know also your experience
Thanks a lot!

https://redd.it/1p4j43n
@macappsbackup