6 Best Photo Viewer for Mac in 2024

Best Photo Viewer for Mac – Also on macOS, there is a “standard” application called Photos and even in this case, it is a solution through which you can organize and view your photos as well as make various changes using the appropriate integrated tools. It was developed directly by Apple and is totally free.

Best Photo Viewer for Mac

Photo (macOS)

To be able to use it, access the Launchpad by clicking on its icon (the one with the colored squares or the space rocket ) found on the Dock bar and select the Photo icon (the one with the white background and the colored flower ) in the screen that you is proposed.

Now that you display the Photos window, by default you will be shown all the images in the program library and on the space of the iCloud account associated with the Mac (therefore also those acquired via iPhone, iPad, and other devices). However, you can import new images locally, by clicking on the File menu at the top left and then on the Import item in it.

The images are visible in the form of thumbnails in the central part of the program window, they are organized in chronological order and you can choose the period of your interest using the appropriate drop-down menu at the top.

To view a specific photo in a larger way, simply double-click on its thumbnail. Using the screen that is subsequently shown you can also access the editing tools offered by the program.

On the main screen of Photos, however, I inform you that at the top you will find the search field and the buttons to change the zoom, the aspect ratio of the thumbnails, and to perform various other useful operations.

While on the left there is the menu to access the albums, the projects, and to the various sections in which the application is structured, such as Memories which contains memories relating to the current period, that People which allows you to sort the images based on the subjects depicted, etc.

Anteprima (macOS)

Among the programs to view photos available for macOS it is also worth mentioning Preview. In case you don’t know, I inform you that this is the default image and PDF document viewer of the Apple operating system. 

It is very simple to use, but it also integrates functions to make basic changes to the files that are fed to it. It is distinguished from Photos by the fact that it does not have its own internal library in which to store the imported photos,

But works more simply with the files present in the various folders of the computer or of the devices connected to the latter.

To use it, select the image you want to view and double-click on its icon. Doing so will automatically open Preview. If this does not happen, it is because the application is not set as the default viewer.

Once the Preview window opens, you will be able to view your photos in full size. I also inform you that at the top of the application screen you will find the toolbar with buttons to manage the zoom level, rotate the image and make various changes.

qView ( Windows / macOS / Linux )

It is a great no-nonsense image viewer, through which you can fully focus on photos. It is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux and is free. It’s super easy to use and supports all popular image formats, but it doesn’t offer any options for editing and optimizing your photos.

JPEGView ( Mac )

It is the ideal solution for anyone looking for a minimalist, extremely fast, and efficient image viewer. It is only for Windows, completely free, open source, and can be used freely even for commercial purposes. 

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It supports JPEG, BMP, PNG, WEBP, TGA, GIF and TIFF files, allowing you not only to view them “on the fly”, but also to modify them by acting on colors, exposure and other parameters. It should be noted, then, that it is a portable software.

Pixea ( macOS )

It is a free image viewer specific to macOS, which is characterized by its modern and minimal user interface. Supports JPEG, HEIC, PSD, RAW, WEBP, PNG, GIF, and all other popular formats, includes functions for making simple photo edits, displays color histogram, EXIF ​​data and various other information. Note that it also allows you to take advantage of gestures and keyboard shortcuts.

Lyn ( macOS )

this is another application for macOS through which you can view and organize your photos. The user interface is well-finished and sufficiently intuitive, supports many different image formats, and allows you to take photos not only from your computer but also from Facebook, Dropbox, and other online services. 

It is paid (it costs US $ 29.99), but you can download it and try it for free for 15 days

None of the programs to view photos that I have already proposed to you in the previous lines has convinced you in a particular way and, therefore, would you like me to point out some valid alternative? No sooner said than done!