A new Mac always seems to be lightning quick. But then it might slow down up to 17% when its disk is near full (confirmed by MacWorld in a test). And there we got a whole world of Mac optimization apps. Some of them are good enough that even Apple employees use them (Guy Kawasaki, for one). So here are some absolutely essential Mac optimizers to check in 2020.
These are top 3 optimizers that look most optimistic to us (sorry for the pun). We've chosen these among hundreds of others mentioned on Mac Forums.
OnyX is a utility of maintenance, of optimization and personalization for Mac OS X. It also makes it possible to configure certain hidden parameters of F. Mac › System Tools › OnyX (Leopard) Share. OnyX (Leopard) 3.4 Free. Optimize and personalize the appearance of your Mac. 3.4 Titanium Software. OnyX (Leopard) 2.0. OnyX is a utility of maintenance, optimization, and personalization for Mac OS X. It also makes it possible to configure certain hidden parameters of Finder and the.
All three are aimed at basic Mac housekeeping. And now, let's dive into these options and then we'll analyze a few more relevant alternatives.
Best Mac Optimizer software reviewed
Made by independent macOS developer, MacPaw, this app tops our chart.
1. CleanMyMac X
This app, which is notarized by Apple, is absolutely gorgeous visually. But it also sports 49 tools to optimize a Mac in one app. It has a free version you can download and play around with.
Inside, you’ll find a full range of tools that will declutter your Mac, make it run faster, and even scan it for malware and remove whatever it finds. One of the great things about CleanMyMac X is that you choose how much control you take over what it removes.
In terms of Mac optimization, you can:
It’s worth checking, anyway if you want to improve your Mac’s performance.
2. AVG Cleaner
AVG Cleaner has two functions — to find and remove “junk”’ files one you Mac and to identify duplicate files and make it easy to remove them. The files AVG Cleaner tracks down include cache files from web browsers, apps, photos, and videos; log files; download history; broken downloads; and Trash contents.
When you launch the app, you’ll see it has a clean, modern interface that gives you the option of scanning your Mac for files to clean, or scanning for duplicates. Once you’ve chosen the Disc Cleaner and the scan is complete, you can press a button to clean up the files it has found or view them in more detail and decide which to delete and which to keep. If you choose to scan for duplicates, AVG Cleaner will ask you which folders you want to scan and then show you what it found.
AVG Cleaner is free, l looks great, and works well. However, compared with CleanMyMac X, it lacks many features. These include a malware removal tool, secure file deletion, optimization tools and an app uninstaller.
3. Drive Genius
Drive Genius started out many years ago as a tool for monitoring the performance of your drive, warning you of any potential problems and allowing you to fix them. It has evolved into a tool for optimizing performance and cleaning up drives, as well as keeping it safe.
Some of its features, such as re-partition, rebuild, and de-fragment, don’t work on APFS drives, but the others do. Those other tools include a malware scanner and removal tool, a secure erase utility, and tools for finding and removing duplicate and large files. In addition to those, Drive Genius still has tools for identifying potential problems that could lead to drive failure and allows you to fix them.
It’s not as user-friendly as Sensei, and doesn’t include an application uninstaller and tools for removing login items and launch agents.
4. OnyX
Like most of the apps listed here, OnyX is more than just optimization software for your Mac. It also has a number of tools for cleaning your Mac. However, OnyX also does something that no other tool listed here does: it allows you to adjust settings on your Mac that are otherwise only available through the Terminal app. It’s more of a customizer for your macOS.
Whether you want to rebuild a database or index, or just changed the default location or file format for screenshots, you can do it in OnyX. In terms of optimization tools, OnyX can clean up system files and browser data, rebuild Spotlight and Launch Services databases, run maintenance scripts and clean up recent items lists.
It doesn’t have a secure file deletion tool or malware scanner, however. And it’s nowhere near as user friendly as tools we’ve described above. If you like playing around with settings and getting under the hood of your Mac, though, it’s a good choice.
5. macOS Manage StorageManage Storage is a feature that’s built into recent versions of macOS. To access it, click on the Apple menu, then About this Mac> Storage> Manage Storage.
When you do that you’ll see a list of categories on the left-hand side of the window that opens. At the top is Recommendations. This is where macOS helps you easily free up storage space by recommending what to get rid of. For example, it might recommend that you store files in iCloud and only keep recent ones on your Mac, or that you allow the OS to delete Apple TV downloads you’ve already watched.
The other categories cover things like Mail attachments, Garageband sound libraries, podcasts, and iOS backups. You just click on each section in turn and follow the advice in the window.
Manage Storage is a very useful tool and can certainly help free up storage space. However, it is not a replacement for a tool like CleanMyMac X because there is no app uninstaller and there are no tools to remove junk files or optimize performance.
6. CCleaner
CCleaner is one of the oldest cleaner tools around, having been available on the Mac for nearly a decade and on Windows before that. It offers tools to get rid of junk files cluttering up your Mac, remove cookies, history files, and other web browser data, and disable login items and launch agents. It also has an app uninstaller, and the professional version offers real-time protection against potentially harmful files you may download.
Like most tools here, you can choose to follow its recommendations and remove files with just a few clicks, or review the files it finds and choose which to remove yourself.
CCleaner has many of the tools available in CleanMyMac X. However, it’s not as easy to use, in our opinion, thanks to its less friendly user interface. It also doesn’t have a tool to allow you to quickly see what files are occupying space on your Mac, like CleanMyMac X’s Space Lens, or a way of securely shredding sensitive files.
7. Disk Clean ProOnyx 3 4 1 – Maintenance And Optimization Tool Reviews Consumer Reports
Disk Clean Pro offers many of the same tools as the other cleaners here. You can use its automated utilities to quickly get rid of junk files, logs, crash reports and partial downloads. And you can also use it to identify and remove duplicate files, old files, large files and old downloads. There are also tools to remove browser files, aloud backups and mail downloads.
Like CCleaner, however, its interface isn’t the friendliest. Also, there are no tools for scanning for malware, securely deleting files, or uninstalling apps.
Does Mac optimization involve cleaning? Many of the tools above belong to the category of cleaners, so why place them here? To answer that, we should define “optimization” more clearly. If optimization means improving the performance, it does entail a bit of cleaning that is improving something by elimination. To optimize any computer, one should start with removing blockages, massive unwanted objects, and apps that eat up a lot of memory.
There are lots of applications that can optimize your Mac’s performance and make it run more smoothly. Most of these apps are paid, but you can get away with a free version in some cases.
We would rather pick CleanMyMac X for the sheer number of features and its looks but the choice is yours.
Onyx 3 4 1 – Maintenance And Optimization Tool Reviews RatingsBy: Cristina | Last updated August 29, 2017
8.6 / 10
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PROS:
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SUMMARY:
Onyx is a useful tool not just for cleaning and maintenance, but also for troubleshooting and customization. It is a utility suite that optimizes and fine-tunes your Mac, it is easy to use, and, most importantly, it is free. That’s why we think that any Mac user should give it a try.
COMPLETE REVIEW
Because computers get to run slower for so many reasons, one of the 'must have' Mac utilities we consider worthy of your attention is Onyx, from Titanium Software. Onyx is a really useful maintenance solution for your Mac and, best of all, it is completely free.
Onyx was developed in 2003 by a French developer and since its creation, it has been regularly updated to fit each of the released Mac OS versions. It is important to know that Onyx will only perform properly if it is used accordingly: each Onyx version goes only with a certain Mac OS and can’t be used on a different Mac OS version. For example: Onyx version 3.1.9 it is designed for OS X 10.11 El Capitan. Onyx 3.2.7 goes with OS 10.12 Sierra and so on.
Onyx can be used free of charge for an unlimited period of time. The software packs in multiple functions: it allows you to verify the startup disk or the structure of the system files, do simple maintenance tasks, clean your system and more.
Here are some of Onyx's features:
One other cool thing about Onyx is the fact that it is translated into several languages by volunteer translators.
If you are just getting started with Onyx, you should be pleased to know that this software doesn’t require you to register and it is a certified solution. You simply download the wanted version from their website and take it from there. When you first run the software, it will ask to verify your startup disk, but you are not forced to go through this annoying process each and every time; you can just hit the “Cancel” button and be done with it. The verifying process takes just a couple of minutes.
You can then choose between different functions offered by this program: Cleaning, Automation, Utilities, Maintenance, Parameters, Info, Logs. A lot of the features included by Onyx can be found in other apps or are integrated in your Mac OS. However, the utility of Onyx consists in gathering them all together in this all-in-one suite. Moreover, some of the tasks that can be performed by Onyx are easier to execute than if you choose to do them in Terminal, because in the latter, you have to remember command lines that may sometimes give you real headaches and that you can’t afford to screw up without consequences.
After you choose your preferred function, you simply hit the dedicated button, wait for Onyx to do its job and then restart your Mac. If there were any issues to be solved, you will notice an improvement in your system’s speed and functionality, right after restart.
The Automation feature can be pretty useful because it can save you the trouble of manually executing several tasks one by one. With this option you can add a single task that contains all of them together. The only drawback would be the fact that it can’t allow you to create multiple such tasks, just one.
Onyx also allows you to access apps and features that are normally hidden on your Mac: Wireless Diagnostics, Screen Sharing and others.
The Info section lets you see useful data about your system, such as your hard drive and RAM, free up inactive memory or check for possible malware. Info gives you access to data related to Hardware, Memory, Disk, Software, Profile, Protection and Misc.
What we noticed to be missing from Onyx is the ability to perform mail, iTunes or photo cleanup, which is something a lot of apps are capable to do (for example CleanMyMac). But then again, considering that Onyx is completely free, we think it offers plenty of other useful tools.
One of the aspects that make Onyx such a popular choice in terms of Mac optimization software is the fact that it’s a freeware. That means you can get it for free, it won’t cost you a dime. If you do want to give something back, you can always donate something on the “Donate” section of the official website.
Given that Onyx was initially developed just for addressing its creator’s personal needs and remained free of charge since it was first released, you shouldn’t have high expectations when it comes to direct customer support. The official website doesn’t provide any phone number that you can call to. However, there are some useful self-help resources such as the Help menu of the application, the FAQ section on their website, a “Known Issues” section and a “Useful Links” one.
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