Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a sterner test, despite being released in 2019 on Mac (and 2018 on Windows). Minecraft, unsurprisingly, runs brilliantly, even when you add complex shaders. But it gets hot, due to the lack of a fan and games requiring sustained performance. It’s also a relatively power-efficient machine.

If you want anything newer, go and buy an actual console.įirst, the good news: The M2 MacBook Air’s speakers are great, the keys are responsive (if you’re a masochist who eschews external controllers), and the screen is bright with great color reproduction. ARM-specific PS2 emulator AetherSX2 was better, despite the odd visual wobble. Our Xbox emulation tests resulted in frame rates all over the shop. Should you head into more modern (and shakier legal) territory, things are more variable. Fortunately, there’s Redream for Dreamcast, and the superb and user-friendly OpenEmu supports a slew of older systems, especially in its “experimental” incarnation. The snag is that relatively few emulators exist for Mac. A Raspberry Pi 4 can play Sega Dreamcast titles without blinking, so you’d expect an M2 Mac to go much further. Despite the games being old, the service still requires a fast connection to avoid glitches.Įmulation is another option for playing old games. Added Kindle, Microsoft OneNote, TickTick, Friendly for Twitter, Tweetdeck, and PhotoFeed - for Instagram.Antstream Arcade Apple via Craig GrannellĮntertainingly, a streaming service exists for exploring the other end of gaming history: Antstream Arcade has hundreds of classic titles, along with leaderboards and bespoke challenges, like taking on Space Invaders with a single life. If you don't see your favorite free Mac app on this list, please add it in the comments section with your reason for why it stands out (Remember: It has to be truly free, or the free version of an otherwise premium app that is noteworthy.)Īugust 2019: Removed apps that are no longer free or available. There are just too many free apps available for the Mac to include everything. Though this list is long, it is by no means complete. WeatherBug Lite is the perfect little at-a-glance weather app because it's always on.ĭownload now (opens in new tab) Your favorites? If you really want to get into the nitty-gritty, click on a stat to open WeatherBug on the web, where you can find out about windshield, sunrise, rainfall, and more. If you want more information, you can click on the Menu bar widget to get an hourly forecast and a current weather radar. It is a Menu bar app that always shows the current temperature and weather condition. If you just want a quick glance at the current temperature, WeatherBug Lite is just what you need.

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