There are tons of features in macOS that make it super useful in everyday life. From the iconic Spotlight search to the less known Hot Corners, today we’ll count down our top picks for the best macOS features available. Let’s get started!

9. Easy-Access Emojis

If you’re using a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, you may already be using it to insert emojis. However, you can easily pull out the emoji window, a little-known feature in macOS, on other Macs as well.

To do this, simply tap the Globe key on your keyboard in any text field. If you don’t have a Globe key, press Control + Command + Space instead. If that doesn’t work, then you can still launch the emoji window by going to Edit > Emoji & Symbols from the menu bar.

Emoji tray feature in macOS

The window doesn’t only offer emojis, you can also use it to insert other characters. To do this, simply click the arrow button in the bottom right corner of the tray, and you’ll see sections for letter-like symbols, pictographs, bullet points, signs, and technical symbols.

8. Look Up

Look Up is, again, another little-known but highly useful macOS feature. By Control-clicking on a selected word and then clicking Look Up “[word]”, you can search for its meaning in the macOS dictionary or online. This feature is available while using most apps and sites, though some might prevent it (Google Docs, for example).

Look Up feature in macOS

Another (easier) way of using this feature is by Force Clicking on a word, if your Mac has a Force Touch trackpad. To do this, just click firmly on a word and the Look Up window will appear. If that doesn’t work, you can activate by going to System Preferences > Trackpad > Point & Click and enable the Force Click & haptic feedback option.

7. Quick Look

Quick Look launches a popup window showing a preview of the file or folder that you’re looking at in Finder or on the Desktop. All you need to do is hit the Spacebar.

Quick Look feature in macOS

With Quick Look, you can easily see whether a certain file is the one that you’re looking for or not, without even opening it. It really comes in handy often, for example when you’re cleaning up the drive and finding useless documents to delete.

One of the more well-loved features in macOS is the Spotlight search. Two aspects of the Spotlight search make it a popular feature among the Mac users: its broad scope and its ease of use.

Spotlight’s concept is that with a simple shortcut, you can look up any files and apps on your Mac, perform calculations, and, when used with Siri, even catch news, sports, and stock prices. Spotlight easy to use as you can launch it anywhere in macOS by simply pressing Command + Spacebar.

This easy of use and broad scope makes Spotlight one of the best features an operating system could have—which is perhaps why Microsoft introduced something similar into the Windows 10 taskbar.

5. Focus Modes

The Focus feature on your Mac lets you minimize distractions by changing your notification settings based on different tasks. It also syncs those settings to all your other Apple devices.

Focus feature in macOS

Aside from toggling it manually in either the System Preferences or the Control Center, you can also schedule and automate different Focus modes. For instance, you can set them to come on at different times and locations. You can also let others know that you’re trying to focus when the feature is active.

4. Hot Corners

The Hot Corners feature turns the four corners of your Mac screen into trigger points, so that when you move your cursor into each corner, macOS takes a certain action for you. You can set up the feature from System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver > Screen Saver > Hot Corners.

Hot Corners feature in macOS

Based on how you set this feature up, it can save you lots of time and energy. A useful workflow for Hot Corners is with Mission Control, Launchpad, Lock Screen, and Show Desktop triggers.

3. Universal Control

Universal Control lets users control their Mac and iPad simultaneously with the same keyboard and mouse. This feature makes it clear just how impressive the Apple ecosystem can be.

Setting up Universal Control is incredibly simple. Once you’ve enabled the feature, all you need to do is place your iPad close to your Mac, then push the cursor off your Mac screen onto your iPad. That’s all there is to it.

2. Screenshots

You’ll only realize the power of Apple’s Screenshot feature when you have to use a computer running Windows or Linux again. If you haven’t used it before, Apple’s Screenshot feature lets you capture your full screen, an active window, or a selected area. You can even use it to create screen recordings.

Screenshot feature in macOS

One of the best parts of this feature is that the screenshots automatically save to your desktop, so you don’t have to worry about finding them later. And, you can annotate and edit them right after taking them by clicking the thumbnail that appears in the bottom right corner of your screen.

1. Handoff

Our number one pick for the best macOS feature is Handoff, which is another part of Apple’s Continuity features. It enhances Apple’s ecosystem experience by letting users hand off different tasks from one Apple device to another.

For example, you can start a draft in Mail on your Mac, then seamlessly finish it from Mail on your iPhone. Handoff works with several apps, like Pages, Safari, and Calendar.

What makes Handoff the best feature in macOS is it effortlessly makes all of your Apple devices easier to use. It allows technology to step aside so you can focus on the task at hand, without worrying about what device you started on.

And There’s More Coming!

macOS comes packed with features that you can’t get anywhere else. All these features are focused on improving your interaction with your Mac. So if you learn what they are, you can have the best possible experience with your machine.

What’s even better than that, is that Apple frequently releases new amazing features with major macOS updates every year.