Our favorite M1 compatible apps

Apple’s new M1 chips are shocking the app world. The new speed and performance that these processors offer is allowing developers to to stretch the boundaries of what their apps can do, and this is just the beginning.

Vectornator recently had the honor of being featured next to a number of great apps that take full advantage of the M1 chip’s capabilities. Here are our top picks for our favorite Apple M1 compatible apps.

djay PRO AI

By algoriddim GmbH

Image Source: App Store

The first app we’d like to showcase is djay Pro AI. It uses the M1 chip to power cutting-edge AI technology which allows you to isolate the different instrumental and voice tracks from your favorite songs. This lets you mix and match your favorite tracks together like never before. Plus, the app’s clean design has won multiple Apple Design Awards!

Highland 2

By Quote-Unquote Apps

Image Source: App Store

Next is Highland 2, a writing app originally developed for screenwriting, though it’s great for all types of writing. It uses the M1 chip to offer lightning-fast scrolling, previews, and document management. With built-in tools like integrated notes, word analysis, character highlighting, and much more, it’s designed to make writing seamless and distraction-free. This is my personal choice of writing app, and I haven’t found a better one!

Darkroom

By Bergen Co.

Image Source: Darkroom.co

Darkroom is an amazing photo and video editing universal app that is super easy to use, but still powerful enough for the professionals. Offering batch processing, color grading, filters, and so much more, it truly deserves the Apple Design Award that it won this year.

Fretello

By Fretello GmbH

Image Source: App Store

Have you ever wanted to learn how to play guitar? Then you should try out Fretello. It’s an amazing M1 compatible app that teaches you all the skills you need to play guitar with less than 30 minutes of practice a day. With video courses, daily practice plans, and AI-powered practice feedback, you’ll be on your way to shredding in no time!

Pastel

By Steven Troughton-Smith

Image Source: App Store

Here's one for the designers, artists, and web developers! Pastel is a simple, easy-to-use universal app that lets you manage color palettes easily. With drag & drop controls, you can capture color palettes from one app and then drop them into other apps. Managing your colors has never been easier!

MindNode

By IdeasOnCanvas GmbH

Image Source: Appgefahren.de

Ever needed to just brainstorm without feeling restricted by a text editor? MindNode is the ideal app for you. It lets you organize your thoughts in a freeform map that facilitates new ideas. You can use words, images, tasks, and pretty much anything you can think of to create a picture of your thought process. And because it’s a universal app, you have access to your files on all your iOS devices. I use this app myself anytime I need to brainstorm and organize my thoughts! The base app is free and works like a charm, but the paid version has some choice upgrades that you won’t want to miss!

Night Sky

By iCandi Apps Ltd.

Image Source: App Store

Have you ever wondered whether that bright spot in the sky was a planet, a star, the ISS, or just an airplane? Well with Night Sky, you can whip out your iOS device and check on the spot! It’s your own personal planetarium! It uses GPS data to create an AR version of the sky above you, showing the position of constellations, planets, the ISS, and more. It’s the perfect tool for learning more about astronomy.

GoodLinks

By Ngoc Luu

Image Source: App Store

If you’re like me, you’ve always got a million browser tabs open filled with articles that you are Definitely Going To Go Back And Read At Some Point. That’s why you need GoodLinks! It lets you effortlessly save those links in a central location without taking up space in your browser. You can view them whenever you have time later, from any of your devices. And its M1 compatibility makes it lightning-fast. You don’t even need to create an account!

Vectornator

By Linearity GmbH

Image Source: App Store

We couldn’t end an article about M1-compatible apps without talking a little bit about our very own Vectornator! We’ve taken the release of the new M1-powered Macs as the perfect opportunity to make Vectornator a Universal App, which means that we can support and update the app on both Intel and M1-based Macs simultaneously.

Even better, the new M1-based Macs offer an unprecedented level of speed and usability to our users. Here are just some of the speed boosts you can expect while running our app on an M1-compatible Mac:

◆ 8x faster Auto-Trace results
◆ 2x faster path selection
◆ 3x faster document loading
◆ 4x faster Time-Lapse exporting
◆ No lag when using the brush tool

We can’t wait to hear what you think of Vectornator on M1-powered Macs! Tell us about your experience with Vectornator and these other featured apps by following us on social media or leaving a comment below!