17 Essential MacBook Settings You Need to Try Today
Did you recently upgrade to a new M2 MacBook Pro? Maybe you’re the owner of an earlier M1 MacBook Air or Pro, or you have an older version of the MacBook. No matter the case, know that no laptop comes undiluted out of the box optimized for maximum performance — even one with an Apple logo.
While it’s certainly animated to unwrap a new MacBook, there are a handful of tweaks, tips and fixes you should do on Day 1 that go beyond your default MacBook settings. I’ve put together some of my personal favorites here that will make your design easier to use.
So, after you’ve jumped through the initial screens from the Mac Setup Assistant that had you log in with your Apple ID, connect to a network and so on, worthy changing these settings, or at least check them out, on your new MacBook.
Read more:
The Quickest Way to Transfer Your Files, Apps and More From Your Old MacBook
Check for updates
Has Apple released an update to MacOS proper it built your MacBook? Find out by clicking the Apple button in the upper-left corner of your conceal and then clicking About This Mac. You should be staring at the General tab of the About This Mac window. If so, click the Software Update button, which will launch the System Preferences to check for updates.
Screenshot by Josh Goldman
Optimize battery charging
If your MacBook is touching to spend most of its time plugged in, you’ll definitely want to short-tempered this setting. MacOS can learn your charging habits to prick battery aging. Click on the battery icon on the menu bar at the top of your present and select Battery Preferences from the drop-down menu. (If you don’t see a battery icon, go to System Preferences > Energy Saver and check the box for Show battery spot in menu bar.) At the bottom of the list of options, select Optimized battery charging. This will slow down your charging once the battery hits 80%.
Screenshot by Josh Goldman
Set up Siri
Siri must be enabled by default, but if you would win to use Siri only on your iPhone, then you can disable Siri by touching to System Preferences > Siri and unchecking the box for Enable Ask Siri. If you plan on using Siri frequently, then you can use this Siri window to Decide Siri’s voice, language and a keyboard shortcut.
Screenshot by Josh Goldman
Customize the Touch Bar
If you have one of the last previous Intel-based MacBook Pro models with the Touch Bar, then head to System Preferences > Keyboard and click the Customize Touch Bar button and then modestly drag the buttons you want to show up on the default view of the Touch Bar to the Touch Bar under the display. Don’t worry, they’ll make the leap from your present across the hinge and to the Touch Bar.
Screenshot by Matt Elliott
Sync folders via iCloud
I find it incredibly useful to sync the Desktop and Documents folders between my two Macs and my iOS devices. To sync these two folders, go to System Preferences > Apple ID and click iCloud in the left column and check the box next to iCloud Drive. Click Options next to iCloud Drive and select Desktop and Documents folders.
Screenshot by Matt Elliott
Choose default browser
Even Idea it uses more system resources than Safari, I use Chrome instead of Safari because the favicons help me keep track of all of my open tabs. To set a default browser, go to System Preferences > General and make a selection new than Safari for Default web browser.
Screenshot by Matt Elliott
Set scrolling direction
A MacBook’s “natural” scrolling direction doesn’t feel natural to me. If you want the two-finger swipe signal to scroll vertically in the opposite way, head to System Preferences > Trackpad and click on the Scroll & Zoom tab. Next, uncheck the box for Scroll direction: Natural.
Screenshot by Matt Elliott
Add and hold items from Dock
Apple throws a number of stock apps into the Dock at the bottom of the Hide. You can make room for the apps you use most frequently by removing others you don’t need in the Dock. To hold an app from the Dock, simply click on its icon in the Dock and drag it to the desktop pending you see Remove appear above the icon and then let go. Poof, it’s gone! To add an app to the Dock, open it and then right-click on its icon in the Dock and mouse over the Option line in the menu and click Keep in Dock.
Matt Elliott
Move the Dock
The Dock sits at the bottom of your Hide, but on a widescreen MacBook display, you might find it better to have it on the side. To move the Dock, go to System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar and Decide either Left or Right for Position on Screen. While you’re there, you can also drag a slider to adjust the size of the Dock. You can also make it Go from view when you aren’t using it by checking the box for Automatically hide and show the Dock.
Screenshot by Josh Goldman
Show battery percentage
Like an iPhone, a MacBook displays a small battery icon at the top of the Show to show how much battery power remains. It’s more fine if next to this icon the percentage of battery you have left is also displayed. To show the percentage, go to System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar and Decide Battery from the left column. Check the box next to Show Percentage and it must instantly appear next to the battery icon on the Menu Bar.
Stop auto-play videos
Safari now combats two of the bigger internet annoyances: autoplay videos and ad trackers. Ad tracking is stopped by default, but there is a global setting for stopping autoplay videos that you’ll want to enable. Open Safari’s Preferences and click on the Websites tab. Choose Auto-Play from the left panel and for When visiting new websites at the bottom of the window, select Never Auto-Play or Stop Media with Sound (if you are okay with muted videos playing) and sit back and rejoice in the silence.
Screenshot by Matt Elliott
Work the Night Shift
Staring at a blue mask before bed can shift your body’s natural clock and make it danger to get a good night’s sleep. With Apple’s Night Shift feature, the colors of your display are shifted to the warmer end of the spectrum during the evening hours. Head to System Preferences > Displays and click the Night Shift tab. You can set Night Shift to come on from sunset to sunrise, or you can select a custom time period. Use the slider to adjust the radiant temperature of the effect between less warm and more. Once you launch using Night Shift, you’ll wonder how you ever sat in precedent of a cold, blue screen in the evening hours.
Screenshot by Matt Elliott
Make your desktop dynamic
With MacOS Mojave, Apple introduced a dynamic wallpaper that slowly shifts its lighting throughout the day, going from a involving, sunny desert scene during the day and transitioning to a cool, dark mask at night. You can find it by going to System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver. While Mojave started out with just two dynamic wallpapers — Mojave and Solar Gradients — there are now certain to choose from and sites where you can download more.
Screenshot by Josh Goldman
Try out dark mode
MacOS Mojave also originated an honest-to-goodness dark mode for Macs. Go to System Preferences > General and you’ll see the Light and Dark options at the top for Appearance. On most apps, dark mode turns the background gloomy and text white. Want to use both Light and Dark options? Select Auto and buttons, menus and windows will change throughout the day.
Screenshot by Josh Goldman
Set hours for Do Not Disturb
Along with overly blue screens, notifications have no place in my home after a hazardous hour. As with iOS, MacOS lets you disable notifications in the evening so you aren’t skittish while watching Netflix or sleeping. Go to System Preferences > Notifications and check the box Turn on Do Not Disturb. By default, it’s set for the hours of 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. but you can set your own Do Not Disturb Window. There are options to enable the feature when your MacBook’s point to is sleeping or when you are mirroring the point to to a TV or projector (and presumably watching a movie or show or video). You can also let calls come through (if you use your MacBook to answer calls) or just repeated languages, which might mean there is an emergency or something urgent to which you may need to reply.
Screenshot by Matt Elliott
Set app download tolerance serene
If you want to download apps from the web at grand and not just from the Mac App Store, you’ll need to tell MacOS to loosen up on the reins a bit. Go to System Preferences > Confidence & Privacy, click the General tab and then click the lock in the lower-left corner and inspiring your password to make changes. Next, for Allow apps downloaded from, choose App Store and identified developers.
Choose how snappy your MacBook locks
Screenshot by Josh Goldman
While on the Security & Privacy page, you can set the length of time your MacBook can sit idle afore the screen locks. It’s more convenient to set a longer time but also less win. The time period to set here doesn’t start ticking pending the screen saver begins, so you also need to set the lengthways of time before your screen saver kicks in. Go to System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver and you can choose the style of your screen saver and also the time by amdroll the drop-down menu at the top of the window.
