Most mainstream apps available for Macs are also available for Windows PCs. However, you won’t see all macOS apps on Windows and vice versa. But if you’re on Windows, here are a bunch of Mac-exclusive apps you’re missing out on.
1 Safari
Safari is one of the most recognizable Mac apps, and it’s exclusive to Apple devices. Sure, it used to be available for Windows PCs over a decade ago, but today, you won’t find Safari on Windows or any third-party platform like Linux or Android.
Apple’s native browser sports a sleek, streamlined interface with features tailored to macOS, making it one of the best browsers for my Mac. Safari is known for its efficiency and optimized to work seamlessly with Apple’s ecosystem, providing smooth integration with other Apple apps and services.
In addition to its features, I tweak several Safari settings to improve my browsing experience on my Mac.
Download:Safari (Free)
2 Preview
Apple’s Preview app is another invaluable app you won’t find on Windows. Preview is a built-in macOS app for viewing and editing PDFs and images. With Preview, you can annotate PDFs, combine PDFs, and bookmark pages.
You can even use Preview to add signatures to PDFs, edit screenshots, and more. Preview is has enough features that Mac users don’t need a third-party app like Adobe Reader to view PDF files.
3 Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro stands out as a powerful, professional-grade video editing app exclusive to macOS. It packs an intuitive interface and robust editing features, so it’s no surprise that filmmakers, video editors, and content creators use it to edit videos on macOS.
Although Final Cut Pro has been exclusive to macOS since its inception, Apple launched an iPadOS version of the app in 2023. Microsoft doesn’t offer anything similar, so Windows users have to rely on third-party apps like Adobe Premiere Pro for video editing.
Download:Final Cut Pro ($299.99, free trial available)
4 Logic Pro
If you’re into music production, you’ve probably seen Logic Pro recommended as one of the best recording software for musicians. As one of the best digital audio workstations, Logic Pro offers various powerful tools for music production, including recording, editing, and mixing music, making it a powerhouse for anyone in music production.
Logic Pro’s strengths lie in its deep library of built-in sounds, loops, and instruments, which allow users to create high-quality music without needing extensive third-party plugins. In fact, you can create an entire track using only free Logic Pro samples.
Download:Logic Pro ($199.99, free trial available)
5 Sketch
Sketch is a native macOS app for designing and prototyping. Sketch’s key strengths come from its focused design and features tailored for user interface, user experience, and digital product design. Another core strength is the pure focus on design, which makes it perfect for designers.
Download:Sketch ($14 per month, free trial available)
6 Keynote
Keynote is Apple’s presentation software, which is part of its iWork app suite. As a Microsoft PowerPoint alternative, Keynote allows you to create beautiful presentations easily using available tools and over 40 Apple-designed themes.
You can add text, tables, charts, videos, shapes, etc. Keynote also allows you to add animations and transitions for sleek presentations. Besides Keynote, other iWork apps like Numbers and Pages are also free and exclusive to macOS.
Download:Keynote (Free)
7 Xcode
Xcode is Apple’s official integrated development environment (IDE) for developers. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools that are seamlessly optimized for building apps within Apple’s ecosystem.
Xcode is exclusive to Macs, making macOS the perfect platform for developing iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS apps.
Download:Xcode (Free)
8 Pixelmator Pro
Last on the list is Pixelmator Pro, which is an exclusive app for editing images and creating paintings and illustrations. It features powerful features for editing images, including fine-grained color adjustments. For vector graphics, it has a full set of vector tools and supports different formats, including Adobe Illustrator and Illustrator EPS.
Download:Pixelmator Pro ($49.99, free trial available)
If you’re considering ditching your Mac for a Windows PC, you should know what you’ll miss out on. One of the key downsides is you’ll no longer be able to use these Mac-exclusive apps. But this list isn’t exhaustive; there are other Mac-exclusive apps out there.
