[p_ing]

Been using macOS for years, even main it for both personal and work. It has a LOT of UX issues and requires many 3rd party tools to "fix" it.

macOS has plenty of it's own OS adverts.

[chongli]

What 3rd party tools would those be? I've been using Macs since ~1994 and my 3rd party tool use has fluctuated wildly over that time. I have a lot of 3rd party software installed but I can't think of anything that I'd call a "requirement" to "fix" the OS.

[oaweoifjwpo]

The most obvious one is that there's no native way to handle having too many icons in the top bar. If you have too many, they just start disappearing, instead of being hidden in an expansion like on Windows. This _literally_ makes them unusable without a third party program.

And if you have the notch this is very far from a theoretical problem.

[chongli]

The native solution to this is to hold the command key and drag unneeded icons out of the bar to remove them. If the programs you’re using refuse to let you remove those icons (or they keep re-adding them against your wishes) then those programs are bad citizens and you should probably stop using them!

[gundewa]

That's not really a solution. I don't want the icons permanently gone, I want them accessible because they are there to provide essential functionality.

If I delete my Dropbox icon out of the menu bar how am I supposed to know that it's running, click on it to see its status, quit the program, etc.

[chongli]

I just uninstalled the Dropbox app to get rid of that icon because it was annoying me. I guess we have different priorities!

[gundewa]

Same issue for my password manager, my VPN, etc.

Sure, I could also uninstall all the programs I use but that does seem to defeat the purpose of having the computer.

[kstrauser]

MacOS Tahoe lets you hide ones you don’t want to see. I uninstalled ICE after I upgraded because I don’t need it anymore.

[p_ing]

Rectangle (Apple's implementation is not as good), Balance Lock, Mos, Ice, Monitor Control.

[pdimitar]

Different sound device output for different apps. Apple still hasn't fixed this. In 2026. Still requires 3rd party apps. It's embarrassing.

[wpm]

Yeah but all OSes have UX problems that require third party tools to fix. Hell, you could argue that FDO/GNOMEs "no use an extension" attitude is exactly the same thing.

It's a useless metric.

[timothyduong]

'Plenty' vs an atrocious amount that constantly nags.

MacOS's ads whilst I still detest, is a one-off prompt. Window's ads can sometimes only be removed with registry key configs OR deployment of management policies...

[p_ing]

I don't see any ads on my retail Pro install.

[timothyduong]

Nagging for OneDrive? Nagging for sign in? Nagging for edge-as-default? Nagging for copilot with edge? Nagging for sync your bookmarks and let copilot handle it?

I’m a local account user. I don’t use any of the above.