A Non-Holiday Guide to My Favorite Mac and iOS apps of 2014

December is that time of year where nearly every website has its “best of” or “roundup” lists to close out the year. It seems like a logical time to reflect, and so I’ve tossed my hat into the ring with a list of my favorite Mac and iOS apps that debuted this year.

Airmail 2.0: With its minimalistic, clean interface, its ability to handle multiple e-mail accounts with aplomb, and its much improved search capabilities, Airmail 2.0 is, hands down, my favorite e-mail client for OS X. Airmail 2.0’s not perfect (I’d love a Smart Mailbox option), but it’s fast and stable, unlike my experiences with Apple’s own Mail.app. Version 2.0 is a HUGE improvement over Airmail 1.0 in nearly every area, making the upgrade a no-brainer for me.

Boom 2.0: I wrote about Boom 2.0 a few weeks back, and I continue to be impressed with the significantly improved sound that Boom delivers from my Macs.

OmniFocus 2.0: I admit I was late to the GTD bandwagon, but now that I have OmniFocus 2 firmly integrated into my workflow, I can’t imagine going back to my old, clunky way of managing projects and tasks. I found the Mac version so incredibly useful, I purchased the iOS version shortly after. You can pry OmniFocus 2 out of my cold, dead hands – but not anytime before that. Bonus points: OF2 the ONLY third-party iOS productivity app that my wife regularly uses now, and she loves it, too!

Command-C: Imagine being able to copy and paste text (and images) between your Mac and iOS devices. Command-C makes it possible.

Sketchbook Pro 7: Autodesk’s sketching app is not only fun to draw with on my Mac, the Pro version also comes with one of the most intuitive perspective tool implementations I’ve ever used in an illustration program. Windows versions are also available.

Dropshelf: this little app is like having an extra set of hands to “hold” files for easy retrieval. Dropshelf gets a ton of use from me each and every day. Used in conjunction with Noodlesoft’s Hazel, my productivity is amplified. At $5.00, it’s a good deal – but you can pick it up on sale for $1.99 until the end of the year.

Those were my favorites this year. How about you?

-Krishna