Apple’s line of MacBooks are some of the most sought-after laptops on the market, with their beautiful looks and the M1 and M2 chips putting their performance and battery life well ahead of the best Windows has to offer. However, one place where Apple continues to short-change its users is on system storage, otherwise known as disk space.
The base model for the new MacBook Air retails in the UK for £1250, and this gets you a lot of power and performance, but only comes with just 256GB of storage. That is less than many smartphones!
For the prices they are charging, Apple should really be offering 512GB of storage on their base model if not 1TB. However, if you have got a MacBook with only 256GB of storage and you have found yourself running low on space and are starting to find your MacBook running slowly, then you need to start looking for a piece of software that will help you free up some space so you can get back to work.
Here’s how to pick the right storage cleaner for your Mac:
What features are you looking for?
Many utilities that will help you free up some space on your Mac also perform an array of other functions such optimising performance, removing duplicates, scanning for malware. You may want all of these features, in which case that’s great, but sometimes a single-use application may save you money and be a better option. Focus on the features you actually need and finding the best application for the task(s) should be much easier.
Pricing
Everyone loves getting something for free, and as a result a number of Mac utilities are sold as “freemium” products, where you get a limited version of the software for free but will need to upgrade to a paid version to get the full suite.
Depending on your specific needs, the free basic version of one of these tools may be all you need, but make sure you know the differences between the free and paid versions before you download and install the software so you know what you are getting.
Beyond the freemium model, other developers may offer their tools as a subscription plan rather than as a one-off fee. If you only need to use the software once, you may find that getting a simple one month subscription could save you money, but remember you will need to resubscribe in the future if you need to use the tool again. Meanwhile, if you pay a one-off fee for the software you will have it available to use whenever you like in the future if you run into the same issue.
Compare your options
As with any software, there are numerous options to choose from and it is always worth doing your research before parting with your money. Some questions that are useful to ask include:
- Does the software do everything you need?
- How is it priced?
- Was it recently updated?
- Does it work with your Mac?
- Does it work with the version of MacOS your Mac is running?
- Will you need to use it again in the future or just this once?
- Is it easy to understand and use?
- Does it bundle any other software (you almost never want the bundles)?
- Is it officially authorised by Apple?
When buying a Mac, upgrading the storage is always a good option, but if you are trying to clear some space then the tips above should point you in the right direction.