Mac App Store
Mac App StoreBy MacRumors Staff on September 1, 2026Introduced in 2010, the Mac App Store is Apple's digital software distribution platform for OS X applications that run on Mac machines. The Mac App Store offers a wide
Table of Contents
- 1. Mac App Store Articles
- 2. Mac App Store Apps Can Now Drop Support for Intel Macs
- 3. Cats Lock for Mac Stops Your Cat From Causing Keyboard Havoc
- 4. Apple Removes Fake Crypto Wallet App That Stole $9.5 Million From Mac Users
- 5. Assassin's Creed Shadows Launches for Mac
- 6. Assassin's Creed Shadows Coming to Mac on March 20
- 7. Microsoft Launches Copilot App for Mac
- 8. Mac App Store Stops Working on Older macOS Versions
- 9. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Launches on Mac App Store
- 10. Mac App Store and Apple Books Experiencing Outage [Update: Fixed]
- 11. macOS 15 No Longer Needs Twice the Free Space for App Store Installs
- 12. Apple Launches Sale on Mac App Store Games
- 13. Steam Link Launches on macOS, Enabling Game Streaming to Mac
- 14. Today Marks the 10th Anniversary of the Mac App Store
- 15. Apple Backtracks After Popular Mac App 'Amphetamine' Threatened With Removal Over Branding
- 16. Apple Highlights Popular Apps Optimized for M1 Macs
- 17. Malware Injected Into Xcode Projects Could Infiltrate Mac App Store
- 18. Apple Explains BlueMail Reinstatement, Says BlueMail Finally Complied With Gatekeeper Security Requirements
- 19. BlueMail Returns to Mac App Store, Developers Still Suing Apple Over Anticompetitive Behavior [Updated]
- 20. Apple Asks Devs to Submit macOS Catalina Apps to Mac App Store, Reminds About Notarization Requirements
- 21. Adobe Lightroom Returns to the Mac App Store
- 22. Videos
- 23. Guides
- 24. Upcoming
- 25. Other Stories
Mac App Store
By MacRumors Staff
Introduced in 2010, the Mac App Store is Apple's digital software distribution platform for OS X applications that run on Mac machines.
The Mac App Store offers a wide range of games and apps from both Apple and third-party developers. It is also used to distribute new versions of OS X, security fixes, and firmware updates, along with updates to stock Apple apps like Safari. While developers have the option to offer apps through the Mac App Store, Mac apps can also be installed outside of the Mac App Store through traditional downloads.
Apps installed through the Mac App Store typically offer greater security as they have been vetted by Apple and are free from malicious code.
The Mac App Store offers a wide range of games and apps from both Apple and third-party developers. It is also used to distribute new versions of OS X, security fixes, and firmware updates, along with updates to stock Apple apps like Safari. While developers have the option to offer apps through the Mac App Store, Mac apps can also be installed outside of the Mac App Store through traditional downloads.
Apps installed through the Mac App Store typically offer greater security as they have been vetted by Apple and are free from malicious code.
Mac App Store Articles
Mac App Store Apps Can Now Drop Support for Intel Macs
Tuesday September 1, 2026 4:50 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today informed developers that universal Mac App Store apps that require macOS 13 or later can remove support for Intel-based Mac computers.
We're reaching out to let you know that universal macOS apps on the Mac App Store that require macOS 13 or later can now remove support for Intel-based Mac computers.
By removing support for Intel-based Mac computers, you can simplify your...
Cats Lock for Mac Stops Your Cat From Causing Keyboard Havoc
Friday May 15, 2026 1:29 pm PDT by Juli Clover
If you have a Mac and a cat, you've probably run into a situation where your cat sits on your computer keyboard. Whether it's because Macs are warm or because they want to distract you from the screen absorbing all of your attention, laptops tend to attract cats.
A new Mac app called Cats Lock adds cat-proofing that keeps your cat from doing damage to whatever you're working on when it gets...
Apple Removes Fake Crypto Wallet App That Stole $9.5 Million From Mac Users
Tuesday April 14, 2026 11:42 am PDT by Juli Clover
A fake Mac app designed to look like the real thing snuck past Apple's app review team, costing users $9.5 million in cryptocurrency.
According to CoinDesk, a fake macOS version of the Ledger Live crypto wallet app scammed people into handing over access to their cryptocurrency wallets. More than 50 people fell victim to the fake app between April 7 and April 13.
Ledger has an official...
Assassin's Creed Shadows Launches for Mac
Thursday March 20, 2025 12:06 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Assassin's Creed Shadows is available for download on the Mac as of today, and it is the first Assassin's Creed title that is launching for Mac at the same time that it is launching on PlayStation 5, Windows machines, and the Xbox.
Set in 16th century Japan, Assassin's Creed Shadows is part of the main Assassin's Creed gaming lineup, and it is the successor to Assassin's Creed Mirage. The...
Assassin's Creed Shadows Coming to Mac on March 20
Tuesday March 4, 2025 12:57 pm PST by Juli Clover
Assassins's Creed Shadows is set to be released for the Mac on Thursday, March 20, Apple announced today. The game will launch on Mac at the same time as it is released for PlayStation 5, Windows machines, and the Xbox.
Ubisoft first announced plans to bring the game to the Mac in May 2024, and at that time, it was supposed to be released in November. The game has been delayed multiple times ...
Microsoft Launches Copilot App for Mac
Thursday February 27, 2025 11:08 am PST by Juli Clover
Microsoft today introduced a new Copilot app designed for Macs, letting Copilot users access the AI companion with a native macOS app.
Copilot is Microsoft's generative AI product, built on OpenAI technology. Copilot is similar to ChatGPT, and users can have questions answered, get coding help, upload images for context, generate images and text, summarize content, conduct research, launch...
Mac App Store Stops Working on Older macOS Versions
Friday February 7, 2025 5:02 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Mac users running macOS Mojave (10.14) and earlier versions are reporting widespread issues accessing the Mac App Store, with many unable to sign in or download previously purchased apps.
Based on reports compiled by Michael Tsai, the problems appear to have emerged around January 24, 2025, coinciding with Apple making changes to Mac App Store receipts. Users attempting to access the store...
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Launches on Mac App Store
Tuesday December 3, 2024 2:24 pm PST by Juli Clover
Popular Ubisoft game Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is available for download from the Mac App Store as of today, allowing Mac users to play the title for the first time since its January 2024 launch.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is an action adventure game that joins a long list of other Prince of Persia titles that are based on Persian mythology. Players take on the role of Sargon, a ...
Mac App Store and Apple Books Experiencing Outage [Update: Fixed]
Tuesday August 27, 2024 10:27 am PDT by Juli Clover
The Mac App Store and the Apple Books are both having issues at this time, according to Apple's System Status page. There are no specific details on what the outage entails, as Apple only says that some users are experiencing a problem with the services.
Apple says that the outages started at 12:15 p.m. Eastern Time. Only some users are affected, so not all users will see problems with the M...
macOS 15 No Longer Needs Twice the Free Space for App Store Installs
Tuesday June 25, 2024 1:24 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Starting with macOS Sequoia, app downloads and installations from the Mac App Store will no longer require double the amount of local storage space available. Instead, the free space requirement now matches the final install size of the app, plus a small buffer, according to Apple.
The new space requirement in macOS 15 should significantly benefit users who download large games. Currently in ...
Apple Launches Sale on Mac App Store Games
Thursday June 20, 2024 5:09 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Several popular Mac App Store games are on sale for the next week, with discounts of up to 75 percent off available. Valheim, Death Stranding Director's Cut, and Inscryption are all half price, with several other titles also on sale at even lower prices.
Valheim - $9.99, down from $19.99
Death Stranding Director's Cut - $19.99, down from $39.99
Inscryption - $9.99, down from $19.99
...
Steam Link Launches on macOS, Enabling Game Streaming to Mac
Tuesday March 23, 2021 4:07 am PDT by Sami Fathi
Steam Link, which allows users to stream Steam games from a computer to another device, has officially launched on the Mac App Store.
Steam users have been able to stream games from within the Steam Mac app for sometime. However, with the availability of Steam Link on macOS, users now have the option of choosing a lightweight download (29.8MB) to stream games to their Mac, rather than having ...
Today Marks the 10th Anniversary of the Mac App Store
Wednesday January 6, 2021 12:00 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the App Store launched on the iPhone in July 2008, the Mac App Store did not become available until January 6, 2011, when Apple released Mac OS X Snow Leopard version 10.6.6. Accordingly, today marks the 10th anniversary of the Mac App Store.
Apple announced that the Mac App Store was "open for business" in a press release timed with the launch. "With more than 1,000 apps, the Mac App...
Apple Backtracks After Popular Mac App 'Amphetamine' Threatened With Removal Over Branding
Saturday January 2, 2021 10:25 am PST by Hartley Charlton
Popular Mac app "Amphetamine" will remain on the Mac App Store after reportedly being threatened with removal over its name and branding, which Apple had said breached App Store guidelines.
Amphetamine is a free Mac app that helps users to keep their machine awake for a set amount of time. Launched in 2014, the app has been downloaded over 432,000 times and is highly rated on the Mac App...
Apple Highlights Popular Apps Optimized for M1 Macs
Monday December 14, 2020 7:56 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple recently shared a list of popular apps optimized for Macs with the M1 chip that are available in the Mac App Store, such as Pixelmator Pro, Adobe Lightroom, Affinity Designer, Darkroom, Fantastical, BBEdit, Instapaper, and Twitter.
"Macs with the new Apple M1 chip offer unprecedented performance, and developers can optimize their apps for the M1 to deliver game-changing speed and...
Malware Injected Into Xcode Projects Could Infiltrate Mac App Store
Monday August 24, 2020 8:17 am PDT by Hartley Charlton
Last week, we reported on a severe new kind of Mac malware that has been found to infect via Xcode, discovered by security researchers at Trend Micro.
In an exclusive interview with MacRumors, the security researchers behind the discovery, Oleksandr Shatkivskyi and Vlad Felenuik, have provided more information about their research.
The malware, which is part of the XCSSET family, is "an ...
Apple Explains BlueMail Reinstatement, Says BlueMail Finally Complied With Gatekeeper Security Requirements
Tuesday February 11, 2020 11:36 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Last week, BlueMail co-founders Ben Volach and Dan Volach penned an open letter that encouraged any developers who feel that Apple kicked them out of the App Store or has treated them unfairly to share their stories.
BlueMail itself was removed from the Mac App Store in June 2019 after Apple found the app to be in violation of several App Store Review Guidelines, but the Volach brothers...
BlueMail Returns to Mac App Store, Developers Still Suing Apple Over Anticompetitive Behavior [Updated]
Tuesday February 11, 2020 8:58 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Back in October, the developers behind email app BlueMail sued Apple, alleging that the "Hide My Email" feature of "Sign in with Apple" infringes on its patented technology. The complaint also accuses Apple of anticompetitive behavior, including removing BlueMail from the Mac App Store.
Last week, after months of making little to no progress with Apple towards having its Mac app reinstated,...
Apple Asks Devs to Submit macOS Catalina Apps to Mac App Store, Reminds About Notarization Requirements
Thursday October 3, 2019 1:13 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Ahead of the launch of macOS Catalina, which Apple says will "soon be available," Apple is asking developers to submit Mac apps compatible with Catalina to the Mac App Store.
Apple encourages developers to take advantage of macOS Catalina technologies like Sign in with Apple, Sidecar, Core ML 3, and Metal. Apple also highlights Mac Catalyst, designed to bring iPad apps to the Mac.
macOS...
Adobe Lightroom Returns to the Mac App Store
Thursday June 20, 2019 6:55 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
At WWDC 2018, Apple introduced a redesigned Mac App Store alongside changes to sandboxing parameters on macOS Mojave. Since then, several well-known apps have launched on or returned to the Mac App Store, including the Microsoft Office suite, Microsoft To-Do, BBEdit, Transmit, and others.
Next up is Adobe Lightroom CC, which is available on the Mac App Store as of today. The professional...
Videos
Guides
Our comprehensive guide highlighting every major new addition in iOS 27, plus how-tos that walk you through using the new features.
New features and lesser-known changes to check out if you're upgrading.
Time to upgrade? Here's all of the improvements you'll get if you're moving up from an iPhone 16 Pro.
Whether you're upgrading from an older iPhone or completely new to Apple, this guide will help you get the most out your new device.
See more guides
Upcoming
iPad mini
Pre-order Oct 28, Launches Nov 6
8.5-inch OLED display, A20 Pro chip, IP67 water and dust resistance, and a thinner and lighter design.
M6 MacBook Pro
Pre-order Oct 28, Launches Nov 6
Spec bump to the M6 chip for the low-end 14-inch model.
M6 iMac
Pre-order Oct 28, Launches Nov 6
Spec bump to the M6 chip.
HomePod mini 2
Pre-Order Now, Launches Oct 30
S10 chip, Sound Glow top, Siri AI, and more.
• Apple HomeView
• Apple TV
• iPhone 18
Other Stories
1 hour ago by Tim Hardwick
2 hours ago by Tim Hardwick
5 hours ago by Tim Hardwick
6 hours ago by Tim Hardwick
7 hours ago by Tim Hardwick