One Switch
The design of One Switch is very clean and its function is intuitive. I would tell others that it is easy to use and customize. The only difficult part of this app is getting a response from the support team. The price seems to be reasonable as it is a one-time cost.
- DESIGN
- EASE OF USE
- PRICE
One Switch makes it easy to automate routine tasks.
Ever since Apple released Shortcuts in 2018, I’ve really enjoyed playing around with different automations that make my life easier. Just the other day, I set one up to turn off our bedroom lights, dim the bathroom lights, and turn on the Apple TV in our bedroom in preparation for bedtime. I love the ability to make parts of my life easier. This is what One Switch does. It’s a great app that provides users the option to turn different features on and off with a single digital switch in the menu bar.
Overview: One Switch for Mac
One Switch is a lightweight menubar app. It was originally released in 2019 by Fireball Studio. With it, users can accomplish a number of different actions that are typically controlled by individual apps. Some of those actions include:
- Hide Desktop Icons
- Toggle Dark Mode
- Keep Awake
- Activate your Screen Saver
- Connect to your AirPods
- Customize quick actions
Privacy Policy
The Privacy Policy for Fireball Studio includes the terms for One Switch. It was last updated in 2019. It states that personal information is only collected when the developer needs to provide a service back to the user. The entire policy can be read here.
Pricing and Availability
One Switch is not available in the Mac App Store due to sandboxing restrictions. It can be purchased directly from fireball.studio or downloaded through Setapp. There is a 7-day free trial available for One Switch. There are three options for licensing.
- Single Device License → $4.99
- Dual Device License → $7.99 (10% savings)
- Multiple Device License (up to 5 devices) → $16.99 (32% savings)
According to the app notes in Setapp, the last update to the app (version 1.28) was released on 11/3/22 — more than 5 months ago.
User Experience
Setting up One Switch is very easy. The app provides a handful of welcome screens that depict the different features you can enable with the app. After the app is intalled, users can go through the preferences and determine if you want One Switch to open at login, what language you want to use, what menu bar icon you want to use, if an update needs to be made, send feedback to support, or quit the app.
The preferences menu also gives users the ability to customize their app experience by reordering the actions, or adding new ones. In the shortcuts menu section, users can record new shortcuts so that the on/off toggles can be used with keyboard shortcuts.
I have enjoyed using One Switch and found that is makes my daily computer usage much easier and more efficient. One of the actions I used consistently is Keep Awake. I have my MacBook Air connected to an external monitor and I like to keep it awake while I work. I usually have to open a separate app in order accomplish that but it’s really nice to be able to just select it from the toggle list.
Another feature I really like is the Empty Trash function. This is something that I usually take a few steps or keystrokes to complete. Now I can just select the Empty Trash toggle and the bucket is emptied. It’s really a much more efficient option for me.
One of the biggest criticisms about this app is actually about the developers. They do not provide an email for technical support and instead, they refer people to send direct messages through Twitter or Reddit. This isn’t completely unheard of when it comes to app support, but there are countless comments from users voicing their frustrations about not receiving any responses to their queries. I would agree that this is not only frustrating but bad for the future of the app as it creates bad PR for the developer.
The other issue I saw was the ongoing development of the app. As I noted above, the last update the app received was in November 2022. Users have been leaving comments and posts on the Reddit page for the app and while this particular type of app doesn’t lend itself to needing constant security updates, I would still think that updates that occur alongside system updates would be needed on a regular basis.
Conclusion
One Switch Mac App is an innovative solution to a common problem that many computer users face. This app has created a simple way to control multiple applications with just one switch, allowing users to be more productive. Furthermore, the app is also intuitive and user-friendly so anyone can easily use it without prior experience. With its reliable performance and user-friendly features, One Switch Mac App is an excellent tool for any Mac user looking for an easier way to manage their apps. I hope that the development team finds a way to be more responsive to users though.
For more information, visit fireball.studio or Twitter.