When I got a new Mac earlier this year, one of the first things I installed on it was AirBuddy.

AirBuddy is a great Mac app for monitoring AirPods and other Bluetooth devices.

If you want to check the battery status of your AirPods, just open them up near your Mac, and you get a battery popup — just like on iPhone.

It’s also helpful for monitoring other Bluetooth devices — like your Mac’s keyboard, trackpad, or mouse. You can check battery life, switch them back and forth between different machines, and best of all — you get the same great AirPods animations that you see on your iPhone.

AirBuddy offers the granular Bluetooth controls that Apple should build right into macOS.

The app is normally $12.99, but we have it on sale for just $8.99. That includes five licenses for use on five separate Macs.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

Get better Bluetooth controls with AirBuddy

AirBuddy: Faster Bluetooth and AirPods switching

AirBuddy was originally created with a simple mission: Give your Mac the same beautiful animations and interface when you connect your AirPods (or Beats) that you’re used to seeing on your iPhone. And they do look fantastic!

But it has since grown to be an all-encompassing app that lets you keep a close eye on all your Bluetooth devices.

Manage and share devices across all your Macs

If you juggle between a Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Apple Watch, your devices will try to coordinate which device has dibs on your AirPods at any moment. It’s easy to get frustrated when they get it wrong. AirBuddy gives you more control.

If you sit down at your Mac and your headphones are still playing from your phone, just hit the AirBuddy icon in the menu bar and click on the device to pair it with your Mac.

If you have Magic Handoff enabled, you can see all the Bluetooth devices paired to all your Macs. If you have two Macs on your desk, you can switch headphones, keyboards, mice, trackpads or other devices between them.

Even more advanced features to dig into

AirBuddy can notify you when your devices are running low on battery — you can customize the threshold for each one.

AirBuddy also supports Shortcuts, with actions like “Connect Headset,” “Disconnect Headset,” “Get Device Battery Information,” and more.

Another feature may be appreciated by AirPods owners who want the latest firmware. Apple’s insistence on making sure “it just works” means that it’s hard to tell if your AirPods have updated or not. If you’re waiting on a new feature, you can use AirBuddy to see which firmware they’re running.

If you are one of the many people covered in our setups posts with two (or more!) Macs at your desk, AirBuddy will be an indispensable tool. Or, even if you only have an iPhone and a MacBook, you’re frustrated by Apple’s own “automatic” switching.

AirBuddy normally costs $12.99 — but you get 5 licenses for 5 separate machines — but we have it on sale for just $8.99.

Download from: Cult of Mac deals.