Caffeinated macOS App 2022 REVIEW

Caffeinated provides a useful function for a moderate price.

There are several reasons why someone might want to keep their computer from falling asleep. Maybe they are working on a project that requires them to have constant access to their computer, or maybe they are waiting for an important email to come through. Regardless of the reason, there are a few ways to keep your computer from falling asleep including the incorporation of a utility app such as Caffeinated for Mac.

About Caffeinated

Caffeinated is a utility app designed for macOS that prevents your Mac from going to sleep. It will also help prevent your screen from dimming or the screensaver starting. The app lives in your menu bar as a simple, one-click operation utility. It’s flexible and provides users with different options for use. For example, should you disconnect your laptop from a charger, the app will deactivate the awake function so that it doesn’t continue draining your battery with an active screen.

Caffeinated was originally released in early 2018 by developer Yugen, which is based in Germany. The app receives regular updates and improvements based on user feedback. It’s lightweight and has been optimized for macOS Big Sur and Apple Silicon.

Caffeinated has been natively designed for macOS using the following tech stack.

• Xcode as the integrated development environment
• Swift as the programming language
• Apple’s AppKit as the framework

Main Features

• One-Click-Activation (optional Left or Right-Click)
• Manageable via the icon in the Menu Bar
• Integrated timer with optional Notification
• Optimized for Retina Screen
• Compatible with Dark Mode
• Gentle on your RAM and Processor
• Option to allow Display to sleep while System stays awake
• Option to Auto-Activate when Connecting to Charger
• Option to Auto-Deactivate when Battery drops below 20%
• Option to Auto-Deactivate when Disconnecting from Charger
• Syncs with system accent colors
• Compatible with all modern macOS versions
• Optimized for macOS Big Sur
• Optimized for Apple Silicon
• Translated to 15+ languages

Pricing & Availability

Caffeinated is available in the Mac App Store for a one-time fee of $3.99. There is a link to download the app from the app’s website, but it redirects to the App Store. The app has also been featured on Product Hunt.

Privacy Policy

According to the Mac App Store, data is not collected from this app by the developer. The full privacy policy can be found here.

User Experience

I’ve been using apps similar to Caffeinated for many years. It’s just much more convenient to use manage certain tasks without having to worry about your computer going to sleep at the most inconvenient time. One of the things that sets Caffeinated apart from some other apps is its simplicity.

When you install it, you get a simple startup screen that just says “Welcome to Caffeinated“ and a notification pop-up. After that, the app lives in your menu bar with a coffee cup as the icon. All the settings can be found from its drop-down menu and you activate the anti-sleep function by clicking on the icon.

The Settings are separated into three categories Launch, General, and Power Options.

• Launch
  • Launch at Login
  • Activate at Launch
  • Activate with Left Click
• General
  • Allow Display to Sleep
  • Allow Desktop Notifications
  • Display Colored Icon
• Power Options
  • Activate when Connecting to Charger
  • Deactivate when Disconnecting From Charger
  • Deactivate when Battery Below 20%

In addition to selecting your settings, you also choose a duration from the following options:

• Infinitely
• 5 minutes
• 10 minutes
• 15 minutes
• 30 minutes
• 45 minutes
• 1 hour
• 2 hours
• 4 hours
• 8 hours
• 12 hours

After your selections are made, you just click the coffee cup from the menu bar to activate it. It’s super easy and honestly, it’s made my daily life a lot less complicated. My workstation is run off of a laptop and even though I have the MacBook set to work in clamshell mode, I find things much more efficient if I use Caffeinated to keep the computer awake while I’m actively working. I don’t have to worry about how the laptop is communicating with the external devices if it falls asleep.

Conclusion

Caffeinated is a great utility to add to your App Library. I’ve not had any issues with the app working as it should. It’s been very reliable and because it’s so simple to use, I don’t get caught in a tangled web of preferences. Even though there is a fee for the app, it’s a moderate one-time charge and since it’s a clean, well-developed application, I feel that it’s a worthy investment.

For more information, visit caffeinated.app.