What Software Comes With MacBook Air and MacBook Pro?

TL;DR

A Mac includes macOS and built-in apps; check separately whether extra apps or features are free or paid.

• Availability can depend on model, macOS, region, or account.
• An app icon does not mean every service or feature is included.
• Use the article’s categories to distinguish built-in tools, downloads, and optional extras.

Both models come with macOS and everyday tools such as Safari, Mail, Notes, and Preview. Apple also provides creative and productivity apps that you may need to download separately.

Apple’s app list explains which apps to look for and which can be installed if they’re missing.

Quick Overview: What Software Comes With a MacBook?

Software	Examples	What’s Included
Operating system	macOS	Installed on the Mac. The version depends on the model and when it shipped.
Built-in everyday apps	Safari, Mail, Messages, Notes, Calendar, Photos, Preview	Part of macOS. Available apps vary with your macOS version.
Free Apple downloads	Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, GarageBand	May already be installed. If absent, get them from the App Store. The base productivity apps, iMovie, and GarageBand are free.
Optional paid creative apps	Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, MainStage	Separate downloads, available individually or through Apple Creator Studio. They aren’t standard macOS apps.
Optional premium features	Creator Studio extras in Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and Freeform	A Creator Studio subscription unlocks premium content and intelligent features. The free base apps remain available.
Media services	Music, TV, Books, Podcasts	The apps are included. Subscriptions, rentals, purchases, and some content can cost extra. Check the offer inside each app.

App availability and optional features were checked against Apple’s Mac and Creator Studio documentation on October 17, 2026. Your installed apps and download requirements can differ with your macOS version.

How to Find the Apps on Your MacBook

Start by checking what’s on your own Mac. An older or refurbished MacBook can have a different set of apps from a new one, and a previous owner may have removed optional downloads.

1. Open Apple menu > About This Mac and note the macOS version and chip or processor. You’ll need these details when checking an app’s requirements.
2. Press Command-Space, type an app’s name, and open the matching result. Spotlight can find installed apps even when their icons aren’t in the Dock.
3. If Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, or GarageBand is missing, search the App Store for the Apple app and check its compatibility. These apps may need downloading rather than being present on every Mac.

The app icons illustrate the apps discussed below. Their appearance can differ by macOS version; the System Information screenshot shows where to find your installed release.

A Closer Look at macOS and Its Included Apps

1. macOS

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For this detailed view, hold Option while opening the Apple menu, choose System Information, then select Software. Apple’s system information guide explains how to open the report.

macOS is the operating system that runs your MacBook, manages files, and provides the apps below. Both MacBook Air and MacBook Pro use it, but you shouldn’t assume every Mac ships with the newest release.

Check About This Mac for the installed version and use the matching version of Apple’s Mac User Guide.

Your Mac’s age also matters when adding software. A current App Store download can require a newer macOS version than your Mac supports, even if an older edition of that app once ran on it.

2. Siri

Siri is Apple’s voice assistant on the Mac. You can ask for a weather forecast or help with a reminder. Available features depend on your Mac, language, and settings.

3. Safari

Safari is the Mac’s web browser. It handles everyday browsing, bookmarks, and tabs, while Reader gives supported articles a simpler reading view. You can start browsing without installing another browser.

4. Mail

Mail lets you read and send email from accounts you add to the Mac. Bringing accounts into one app can save you from switching between several webmail pages.

You’ll still need your email provider’s account details to set them up.

5. FaceTime

FaceTime handles video and audio calls. It’s useful when you want to call from the MacBook’s larger screen, with its camera and microphone.

Ordinary phone calling through other Apple devices has separate setup requirements, so don’t assume FaceTime alone supplies a mobile phone service.

6. Messages

Messages lets you exchange messages, photos, and other attachments. It supports iMessage conversations on your Mac.

Text messages associated with an iPhone need the relevant iPhone connection and setup, so installing the Mac app alone doesn’t replace a phone plan.

7. Books

Books keeps your ebooks, audiobooks, and PDFs together. You can read documents you already have or browse for more titles. The app being included doesn’t make every book or audiobook in its store free.

8. Weather

Weather shows forecasts for your location and other places you add. It’s handy for checking conditions before a trip without opening a browser. The details available can differ by location.

9. Maps

Maps helps you look up places and plan directions. Use it to compare a destination’s location with your hotel or meeting address before you leave.

Map details and transport information depend on the area you’re viewing.

10. Stocks

Stocks lets you follow companies and view market information in a watchlist. You can also read market news in the app, keeping company updates near the stocks you’re following.

11. Home

Home controls compatible smart-home accessories you’ve set up. It gives you a place to manage supported lights and other devices from the Mac.

The accessories and any required home hardware are separate from the included app.

12. Voice Memos

Voice Memos records audio through your Mac’s microphone. You can use it for spoken notes or an interview, then find the recordings in the app. You can play and edit them.

You can also share recordings from the same app.

13. Passwords

Passwords stores passwords and account information on macOS versions that include the standalone app. It gives you a place to look up saved logins instead of keeping them in a document.

If you can’t find it on an older Mac, check your macOS version before assuming it has been deleted.

14. Find My

Find My helps you locate supported Apple devices and manage location sharing. Set it up before you need to find a missing device.

What you can see depends on the device and the relevant account and sharing settings.

15. Shortcuts

Shortcuts combines supported app actions into an automation you can run again. Start with a task you repeat often, then check which actions the relevant apps provide.

16. Tips

Tips introduces features and offers help with using your Mac. It’s a useful first stop when an unfamiliar icon or feature appears after an update. Its guidance can help you discover tools you already have.

17. Notes

Notes keeps text, checklists, and attachments in one place. It suits a shopping list, meeting notes, or a folder of ideas.

Sharing and syncing require the appropriate account setup, so check that before expecting a note to appear on another device.

18. Calendar

Calendar displays events and appointments from calendars you add. It helps you see a day or week together, including meetings from supported accounts.

Add the calendars you actually use before relying on it for your schedule.

19. Contacts

Contacts organizes names, phone numbers, email addresses, and other contact details. Other Mac apps can use these saved entries when you address a message or call someone.

Contacts from another device appear only when the relevant account is configured to sync them.

20. Reminders

Reminders manages tasks in lists, with options such as due dates and alerts. Calendar is useful for an appointment at a fixed time.

Reminders is a better place for something you need to finish, such as returning a library book.

21. Photo Booth

Photo Booth takes photos and short video clips with a connected camera, including the MacBook’s built-in camera. Its effects are useful for a quick picture. For organizing a whole photo library, open Photos instead.

22. Preview

Preview opens PDFs and images, with tools for tasks such as annotating a PDF or cropping a picture. Try it before downloading a separate viewer. More specialized document-editing needs may call for another app.

23. Time Machine

Time Machine is the Mac’s built-in backup tool. Having it on the Mac doesn’t mean a backup already exists. You need to set up a suitable backup destination and let backups run.

Follow our Time Machine setup guide before relying on it to recover files.

24. Music

Music plays and organizes your music library. The app and the Apple Music streaming subscription are separate things.

If you see a subscription offer, check its terms before accepting it rather than assuming streaming is part of your MacBook purchase.

25. TV

The TV app brings supported video purchases, rentals, and subscription content together. You can open the app without that meaning every show is included.

Check the label on the particular film, channel, or subscription before choosing it.

26. Podcasts

Podcasts helps you find shows, follow them, and play episodes. Many shows offer free episodes, while some offer paid subscriptions or extra content. Look at the specific show’s offer if you’re asked to subscribe.

27. App Store

The App Store lets you browse, download, and update apps. Some are free, while others charge for a download, subscription, or in-app purchase. Check the developer and system requirements.

Check purchase details too, so a familiar-looking name doesn’t lead you to the wrong app.

More Built-In Apps Worth Knowing

These additional built-in apps cover file management, media, writing, and other everyday tasks:

• Photos organizes your photo library and provides editing tools. Use it for a collection of pictures, while Photo Booth is for capturing them with a camera.
• Finder helps you browse and organize files and folders. It’s the starting point for finding documents on the Mac.
• TextEdit creates simple text documents. It’s useful when you just need to write something without a full page layout.
• QuickTime Player plays supported media and provides recording tools. It’s worth checking before adding another basic media player.
• Calculator handles calculations, so you don’t need to open a spreadsheet for every sum.
• Activity Monitor shows running processes and resource use. It can help you investigate a busy Mac, but high usage alone isn’t proof of malware.
• Disk Utility manages disks and volumes. Avoid erase or partition actions unless you understand which disk is selected and have a backup.
• Freeform gives you a flexible board for ideas and collaboration. Its base app is available without a Creator Studio subscription, while premium features are optional.

Free Apple Apps That May Need an App Store Download

Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, and GarageBand are Apple apps, but they may need installing if they aren’t on your Mac. That distinction matters on an older, refurbished, or freshly set-up MacBook.

A missing icon doesn’t mean you need to buy a replacement.

28. iMovie and GarageBand

iMovie is a free video editor for arranging clips into a movie. It gives you a starting point for trimming footage and adding titles without buying a professional editor.

Check its current App Store requirements before downloading it on an older Mac.

GarageBand is a free music-creation app for recording and building songs. It’s a separate download from the paid Logic Pro app.

The GarageBand icon above is an illustration from the earlier article, rather than a screenshot of its current interface.

29. Pages, Numbers, and Keynote

Pages, Numbers, and Keynote cover documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Their free base versions remain available, even though some premium content and intelligent features are part of Creator Studio.

• Pages creates written documents and page layouts, such as a report or newsletter.
• Numbers organizes information in spreadsheets, tables, and charts, such as a household budget.
• Keynote creates slide presentations with text, images, and other media. The older Keynote icon above represents this group of productivity apps.

If an app is absent, find it through Apple’s included-app guide. Older advice may call these apps iWork or iLife, but you can download the individual apps instead of looking for a separate bundle installer.

What Costs Extra: Creator Studio and Pro Apps

Apple Creator Studio is an optional subscription for creative software and premium features. It includes access to Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage.

These are separate downloads, so don’t count them as software installed with standard macOS.

The Mac versions of those pro apps also have individual purchase options. Check the current offer in your local App Store if you need one.

You don’t need a paid creative subscription simply to start writing a document in Pages or building a basic presentation in Keynote.

Creator Studio also unlocks premium content and intelligent features in Keynote, Pages, Numbers, and Freeform. That can explain why a free app shows a paid offer.

Check the feature you want before assuming the whole app requires a subscription.

Compatibility is specific to the app and feature. For example, Logic Pro and MainStage require Apple silicon, Apple’s own family of Mac chips. Other apps have different requirements.

Compare the current App Store listing with About This Mac before downloading or paying, especially if your MacBook has an Intel processor.

What to Open First

Start with the task you already need to finish. Preview can open a PDF, Notes can hold a quick list, and Pages can handle a written document once installed.

Before adding more software, check these existing tools and set up a backup you can use if a file is lost.

Frequently Asked Questions

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