 Cover of the July 2024 issue | |
| Editor | Nick Odantzis[1] |
|---|---|
| Categories | Mac andiOS computing |
| Frequency | monthly |
| First issue | September 1996 (asMacAddict) February 2007 (asMacLife) |
| Company | Future US |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | South San Francisco, CA |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 1935-4010 |
MacLife (stylized asMac|Life) is an American monthly magazine published byFuture US. It focuses on products produced byApple, including theMacintosh personal computer,iPad, andiPhone. It was sold as a print product on newsstands, but is now a digital-only product distributed through Magazines Direct and the Mac|Life app, the latter of which can be obtained via theApp Store. From September 1996 until February 2007, the magazine was known asMacAddict.
MacLife is one of two successor magazines to the defunctCD-ROM Today. First published in 1993 by Imagine Publishing (nowFuture US),CD-ROM Today was targeted at bothWindows andMacintosh users, and each issue shipped with aCD-ROM ofshareware anddemo programs. In August 1996,CD-ROM Today ceased publication, with two magazines taking its place:MacAddict for Macintosh users, andboot (nowMaximum PC) for Windows users.[2]
As was the case withCD-ROM Today,MacAddict's discs included shareware and demo programs, but also came with other added features, such as staff videos and previews of content inside the magazine's hard copy. TheMacAddict website was updated daily with news relevant toApple products.MacAddict also had a mascot, a stick-figure named Max. By 1998,MacAddict had surpassedMacworld as the Macintosh magazine with the highest consumer newsstand spending due to its $7.99 cover price.[3]
In February 2007,MacAddict was relaunched asMacLife.[4][5] The new magazine had physically larger print editions than the old magazine, was focused on the creativity of Mac users, and no longer came with a CD-ROM.
In April 2023,MacLife issued its last print edition and switched to a digital-only format.[6]
In Germany, an unrelated magazine of the same name is published byFalkemedia fromKiel (ISSN 1860-9988).
From 1996 to mid-2002, there were four rating icons, which depicted Max. There was "Blech" (the lowest), "Yeah, Whatever" (a mediocre product), "Spiffy" (a solid yet imperfect product), and "Freakin' Awesome" (the highest). From 2002 to 2009, it was replaced with a more conventional five-point system. In 2010,MacLife adopted a 10-point system that included half stars.
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