Even though we have QuickLook on macOS which lets you preview most file formats either natively or with add-ons, it is still not a replacement for a full-fledged photo viewer app. I made a comprehensive list of image viewer apps for Windows a while back that offered a wide variety of apps for every use case. If you use a Mac and want a decent photo viewer app, here are some of the best image viewer apps for Mac. Let’s check them out.
Free Download PhotoScape X - Fun and Easy Photo Editor. PhotoScape X is an all-in-one photo editing software which provides photo-related features such as Photo Viewer, Editor, Cut Out, Batch, Collage, Combine, Create GIF, Color Picker, Screen Capture, RAW images and More. Or select Free to make your custom layout. Mac OS image viewer. Mac OS image editor & media viewer. Get Phiewer for FREE on the AppStore. Get Phiewer PRO on the AppStore. 123 Photo Viewer is a very fast, very easy to use viewer that supports psd, dds, tga, webp and many other formats. Free+Offers in-app purchases.
- Resize Sense is a simple and straightforward photo resizer for Mac. It’s designed to help users simplify their work by adjusting images in bulk to the right size for social networks, email or various graphic design projects.
- Image Viewer For Mac free download - Dimin Image Viewer n5, WinZip Mac, PDF-XChange Viewer, and many more programs.
- Darktable is an open-source, free RAW photo editor available for Linux, Mac / macports, BSD, Windows, and Solaris 11 / GNOME. It’s designed to be a virtual darkroom and allows you to view negatives through a zoomable lighttable.
Before We Begin
Accessing QuickLook is extremely convenient and you can preview any image by selecting an image and pressing the space bar on the keyboard. You can then use the arrow keys to navigate to the folder and preview other images. Alternatively, you can also use the Preview app to browse the photos on the Mac by pressing CMD+SHIFT+P on any image.
1. Pixea
Pixea is a minimalistic image viewer for macOS that offers a clean UI and lets you focus on the photo instead of bezels and controls. It is designed to be efficient and implements keyboard shortcuts so you can quickly navigate through the images. The keyboard shortcuts let you scroll through images, zoom in/out, rotate, slideshow, etc. The app supports most major file formats and even the less conventional ones like PSD, RAW, HEIC, etc. You can even use Pixea to convert your existing images to modern web-optimized formats such as JPEG-2000, TIFF, etc.
The only limitation of using Pixea is that you have to manually drag and drop the image folders to the app. Other than that, the app works really well. You can find this app on the App Store for free.
Get Pixea for macOS (free, App Store)
2. PicArrange
The file management system on macOS is really not meant for power users who work with a large number of image files. The desktop becomes a mess after a while and finding the screenshot you captured three days ago becomes almost impossible. That’s where PicArrange comes in. It lets you organize and sort images based on date, name, or even the color of the image. The sorting by color is so helpful in situations where you want similar pictures in one place and the app lets you do that with just one click.
Another impressive feature of this image viewer app for Mac is that you can traverse multiple directories at once allowing you to find and remove duplicate images. You can get PicArrange from the App Store for free.
Get PicArrange for macOS (free, App Store)
3. Phiewer
Phiewer is a photo viewer app for macOS that can probably parse any image file format you can throw at it. It supports more than fifty different image formats and also supports audio and video files. The user interface is snappy and supports keyboard controls as well as multimedia slideshow options. On top of that, you get the quick info for every image on the side toolbar that you’re previewing. It is a tiny feature but comes in handy when you have to go through a ton of images.
Phiewer is free to download on the App Store but also offers a Pro version for $5 that gets you additional features such as filters, effects, and adjustments.
Get Phiewer for macOS (free, App Store)
4. Xee3
Xee is a well-designed Mac image viewer that blends seamlessly with the OS itself. The app window automatically adjusts itself to each image so that the window doesn’t take up unnecessary space and even if you rotate an image or browse to a different sized image, the window resizing is pretty smooth. It shows a detailed pane on the right which showcases every image parameter such as image properties, file path, size, composite properties, etc.
Xee makes sense if your workflow involves images or photos and require comprehensive details about each file. The app is paid and would cost you $3.99 but you can get a 30-day free trial to get started.
Get Xee3 for macOS (free trial, $3.99)
5. XnView
XnView is a photo organizer and editor as well which also works great for Windows. It supports 500+ image formats plus audio and video formats. The app lets you rename a batch of files which greatly improves your workflow. You can even use basic editing tools to crop, resize, rotate, and add a bunch of effects.
XnView also supports EXIF, IPTC, XMP metadata which can come in handy if you work with those files. XnView is a paid app but you can get a full license for free if you use it for private use.
Get XnView for macOS(free, $29.99)
6. ApolloOne
ApolloOne is a well-optimized photo viewer that efficiently uses Core Image Graphics to improve the app fluidity. It makes the app feel smoother and loads files faster. The app also lets you open RAW files without a hitch. You can not just view the metadata but modify it as well which makes it super useful. You can even add location, Spotlight data, and EXIF keywords to make searching for images faster.
ApolloOne is a free app on the App Store that offers in-app purchases.
Get ApolloOne for macOS(free, in-app purchases)
7. Lyn
Lyn is a lightweight image viewer app for Mac designed for graphic and web designers. It offers a number of exclusive features such as non-destructive editing that lets you make changes to an image without altering the original. The app offers metadata editing, geotagging, color correction, and compatibility with your Lightroom libraries. The editor has a dedicated inspector for color editing, histogram, exposure, B&W, sepia, vignette, HDR, curves, levels, and film grain.
Lyn is a paid app that costs around $19.99 and you can get a 15-day free trial.
Get Lyn for macOS (free trial, $19.99)
What’s Your Favorite Image Viewer for macOS?
These were some of the best image viewer apps for macOS that you can get. Ranging from the most basic to advanced, you can find an app that suits your needs. Pixea is a great substitute for the native app, PicArrange is best for sorting images by color and finding duplicates, and Lyn lets you edit without altering the original. Let me know if you have a better suggestion not mentioned on the list.
Also Read:Extend your MacBook’s Life with These Battery Saver Apps
- January 02, 2020
- 18 min to read
Most free photo editors available on the App Store are quite basic, offering just a limited number of filters and allowing you to easily and quickly liven up your photos before posting them on social media.
But if you’re an aspiring or professional photographer, you probably need a more powerful app with a broader set of tools to use your creativity to the fullest. Besides, you probably use your Mac for photo editing because working on a large screen makes it possible to adjust the slightest details.
Free Photo Viewer And Editor For Mac Windows 10
1. Apple’s Photos (Built-in app)
Apple’s Photos app is included for free on all recently released Macs. It does a good job at organizing your photos, but its collection of photo enhancement tools leaves much to be desired. Hopefully, our selection of the best free programs for photo editing on Mac will help you choose the right app to suit all your creative needs.
2. Luminar (7 days trial)
Luminar is another full-featured photo editor that’s popular with both Mac and Windows users. It can work as a standalone app as well as a plugin for such popular programs as Apple Photos.
Luminar uses Artificial Intelligence to enable sophisticated yet quick photo enhancements. Among these AI features are Sky Enhancer, which adds more depth and detail to the sky in your photos while leaving other areas untouched; Accent AI, which analyzes a photo and automatically applies the best combination of different effects to enhance your image; and Sun Rays, which allows you to place an artificial sun and adjust the lighting to your liking or make the sun rays already in your photo look even more incredible.
Luminar has over 60 filters you can apply to your photos to enhance them in a moment. Luminar also provides a set of powerful tools for cropping, transforming, cloning, erasing, and stamping, along with layers, brushes, and many more incredible features. Luminar supports the Touch Bar on the latest MacBook Pro, making photo editing even more effortless and pleasing.
3. Photolemur 3 (Free Version with watermark)
Photolemur is a relative newcomer on the photo editing market but it has all the chances to win the favor of beginner photographers and hobbyists. Running on Artificial Intelligence, Photolemur is a completely automatic photo enhancer, meaning that it does all the editing for you in no time. It has the simplest interface, with only a few buttons and sliders to adjust the enhancement to your liking and view the before and after results.
All you need to do is choose a photo (or a few) that you want to improve, drag and drop or import them using the Import button, and let the program make enhancements. After it’s done, you can compare the edited version with the original image by using the before–after slider and, if you want, adjust the skin tone or even enlarge the eyes using additional sliders. Pretty easy, huh?
Photolemur also offers a number of impressive styles to touch up your photos and give them a sophisticated and professional look. With this app, you don’t need to stuff your head with photo editing nuances and terms. Just run Photolemur and watch the magic happen!
4. Aurora HDR (14 days trial)
As you probably can tell from the name, Aurora HDR is designed to help photographers enhance their HDR photos, making them even more detailed and beautiful. It’s an ideal tool for editing your photos, with an extensive collection of more than 20 tools including details, tone, mapping, color, glow, and vignette. Each tool has its unique selection of controls to adjust its effects.
Aurora HDR enables you to work with brushes, layers, and masks, and provides a number of automatic AI tools for recognizing and removing noise, enhancing colors, lighting, and details, improving clarity, and adding contrast to dull areas while leaving other areas untouched.
Aurora HDR does a great job dealing with difficult lighting situations and creating full-of-life images while being easy to use.
5. Pixelmator (Trial 30 Days)
Pixelmator is a photo enhancer beloved by many Mac users, as it offers a good combination of a modern and simple interface, the ability to work on multiple layers, and powerful features that take photo editing to a whole new level. With so many editing tools, brushes, and effects, you can enhance your photos to your liking. You can choose between two versions of Pixelmator – standard and pro – depending on your needs. The standard version is great for basic photo editing with its selection of essential tools and filters, while the pro version is packed with extra brushes, tools, and effects that let you push your creativity to new boundaries. You can decide which version is suitable for you according to what features you’re looking for in a photo editing app.
6. Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020 (Trial link)
Photoshop Elements isn’t as affordable as other photo enhancers for beginner photographers. But luckily there’s a trial version available, so you can check it out before deciding whether this app is worthy of your money. Photoshop Elements acquired many powerful features from Photoshop, only Elements is simplified for amateur photographers and enthusiasts. It includes a good number of effects and filters, plus automated editing options for improving lighting, color balance, and exposure, and even opening closed eyes and reducing the effects of camera shake.
In addition to all of these awesome features, Photoshop also offers editing modes for beginners, intermediate users, and experts. Beginners will probably prefer Quick mode, as it focuses on essential tools to quickly enhance your photos by improving color, lighting, and other basic settings. Guided mode provides intermediate users with step-by-step guidance with more professional features like artistic effects, skin tone correction, and background replacement. Expert mode gives you full access to the app’s really powerful editing features and is ideal for creating stunning images.
Free Photo Viewer And Editor For Mac Shortcut
7. Affinity Photo (Free Trial)
Affinity Photo’s interface may seem overwhelming at first, especially for novices, but when you come to grips with it you’ll find that the app is just what you’ve been looking for. Its numerous professional tools, effects, and filters encourage you to get creative with your photos. Among the coolest features Affinity Photo has to offer is a before and after view to compare the original photo with its edited version.
Affinity Photo works with 15 file types, including common ones like PDF, PSD, JPG, and GIF as well as some less popular ones. The app amazes with its abundance of basic and top-notch editing tools, allowing you to tweak your photos using all possible kinds of instruments. Affinity Photo allows you to edit HDR photos, apply artistic filters and effects, play with masks and layers, and create breathtaking compositions by combining several images in one. If you find its interface a bit much and are afraid of getting lost in all those advanced tools, you should probably look for something more suitable for your level. But Affinity Photo is worth mastering.
8. Google Photos
Google Photos is a popular cloud storage service for photos and videos. It can’t boast countless masterly tools like other photo enhancers that we review in this article, but it includes some fundamental features like filters, color adjustment sliders, and transformation tools.
Although Google Photos may not be that helpful when it comes to editing photos, it does a pretty good job at storing high-resolution images and videos with 15GB of free online storage, compared to iCloud’s mere 5GB (which you can upgrade to 50GB for a monthly fee). If you’re planning to go on a trip and take plenty of photos, then it might be smart to sign up for Google Photos to use that extra storage space when you come back.
9. PhotoScape X (Free)
A relatively new photo editing app, PhotoScape X has been gaining popularity with many Mac and PC users since its release in 2008. Its interface is simple but unconventional, with a number of tabs running along the top of the window. Each is responsible for a specific stage of editing. The Viewer tab allows you to browse and organize your photos. After you pick a photo, you can switch to the Editor tab, which includes a broad set of instruments, filters, and effects and a useful feature that enables you to compare the adjusted photo with the original.
The next tabs, including the Batch tab, mainly concentrate on editing and renaming multiple photos at once. The GIF tab allows you to easily create an animated GIF from a group of selected photos.
The downside of PhotoScape X is a lack of selection tools, so all changes are applied to the whole image rather than to a selected part.
10. Gimp (Free)
Gimp is a free open-source photo editing app that has been on the market for over 22 years and is available for Windows, Mac, and even Linux. Unlike many free apps, Gimp doesn’t have any ads or in-app purchases. Its grey interface might seem a little old-fashioned and it may be a bit sluggish when it comes to complex effects, though.
Gimp offers a vast collection of advanced tools that hardly any free photo editor can boast. It has numerous enhancement options such as clone and heal brushes, layers and channels, accurate selection tools, a number of transformation instruments, and, of course, color adjustment controls. Gimp is one of the most powerful tools for enhancing photos and is beloved by so many users for its price (free) and versatility. But if you can’t come to grips with Gimp’s interface, it may be worth paying some cash for a more user-friendly program.