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As a new MacBook Pro owner who uses their MacBook for intensive video and photo editing I want to keep it running at peak efficiency. Which means investing in tools, like CleanMyMac, to keep the MacBook free from issues and anything slowing it down; so is CleanMyMac X worth it?
You can get a free version of CleanMyMac X which will have some limited options, so if you are on the fence I suggest getting this first. The free version will give you a great idea of how the app can help clean up your MacBook and how it could improve performance.
Spoiler alert! CleanMyMac X is an easy to use tool that does exactly what it says on the tin. It cleans up my MacBook Pro which helps with performance and storage organisation.
Click here to start testing out the free version of CleanMyMac X for your Mac, and pay for it later if you’re convinced.
Table of Contents
The Free CleanMyMac X Review
So let’s quickly review the free version which offers a taste of what the full version is capable of.
Surprisingly the free version has quite a few tools unlocked. However the cleanup tool is limited, below is a comparison of the various tools:
| Free Version | Paid Version (1 Mac) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cleanup – System Junk – Trash Bins – Malware – Privacy (history and online traces) | Clean up to 500Mb | Full Cleanup |
| Speed Optimisation | ✔ | ✔ |
| Maintenance Scripts | ✔ | ✔ |
| App Uninstaller | ✔ | ✔ |
| Extensions (Removal and Disabler) | ✔ | ✔ |
CleanMyMac Performance Improvement
The first thing I noticed after the first full cleanup was the boot up performance. When I first got my MacBook Pro the startup bar was super quick, barely a hiccup.
As I installed more programs and used the MacBook Pro the startup began to lag a bit. It didn’t bother me but it was a noticeable extra second.
Now the startup is as fast as it was when the MacBook Pro was brand new. I am very happy to see that.
I’m also noticing little improvements elsewhere that are imperceptible but my brain can notice a slight difference. All these small improvements lead to an an overall boost in performance.
CleanMyMac X also does a stellar job removing unnecessary files and duplicates, leading to freeing up much needed space.
I specced out my 2021 M1 Max MacBook Pro almost fully, only holding back on the storage capacity; I went for 2GB, which in hindsight maybe should’ve been 4GB before I installed CleanMyMac X.
But with the the cleanup feature I am back to having more free capacity than used capacity. So this a great tool if every MB of space can’t be wasted.
You can quickly access CleanMyMac from the top menu to get a quick overview of how your MacBook is running. This way I get to keep an eye on how much free space I need, how much RAM I am using and the CPU load too. You can also quickly run scans and checks from here too.
CleanMyMac Useful Tools
There are a few tools that you can do already within MacOS but is much easier to access and find within CleanMyMac. This saves time and encourages good practice. The ease of access to these tools means I will be more likely to use them.
System Junk
This clears out computer junk, obviously, but you can go into the scan results and there are a few extras you can clear too if you know what you are looking for:
Universal binaries for example. Software companies like Adobe have to create one software for Rosetta and and one for the new M1 chipset. Obviously this is not always needed, however I still use PS in Rosetta, but you may not in which case you can select Adobe which for me is 2.4GB of junk.
Malware Removal
Apple has always been very good at keeping MacOS free from viruses and issues so being able to run a malware check is good to do regularly.
Privacy
This is one of those “it’s just easier to do in CleanMyMac X” tools. You can do most of this in Safari or Chrome, but you can clear all your history in the one hub. Instead of visiting both browsers and the extra redundant steps that would waste your time.
Of course not everyone uses two browsers. I use chrome for YouTube and some useful SEO chrome extensions. But I use Safari for everything else, it works better in the Apple ecosystem.
Links
Click this link to test out the free version of CleanMyMac X and when you’ve evaluated the software you can decide to purchase or not, there’s no obligation. But I do recommend it, I’ve found it immensely useful and gives me peace of mind.
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