There are all kinds of actions included out of the box. You can add calendar appointments and reminders and set timers. You can send text messages or start FaceTime calls. You can even set dedicated keyboard shortcuts for any of these actions.
It's also the exact kind of thing that, until now, Raycast did that Spotlight could not. The difference is one of implementation. Apple's approach currently only works with Mac applications that implement the Spotlight feature. Right now, it’s basically limited to just Apple's own tools, but that is going to change; according to Apple’s presentation for developers, third-party applications will also be able to add actions that are executable from within Spotlight. I couldn't find any non-Apple applications that currently implement this, but I'm sure that will change as we get closer to the fall.
Justin Pot
Raycast, meanwhile, can be enhanced by user-built extensions that you can easily install from the built-in store. This has a downside, mostly that if you want to connect an application, you're going to have to install and configure the extension yourself. That's not hard, though—the built-in store offers hundreds of these extensions, and you can install them with a few keystrokes. These extensions also can connect with any service, not just those that have Mac apps, meaning web-only services like Google Docs are supported. Many of these extensions offer features that Spotlight never will, such as custom menu bar icons for things like calendar appointments or the currently playing song in Spotify. I could go on; Raycast's approach is simply more flexible.
Right now, for power users, I think Raycast is the better choice. That might change as more applications add support for Spotlight, though, especially given the fact that users don’t need to install anything or set anything up to get new capabilities in Spotlight.
An Actual Clipboard Manager
Windows has had a clipboard manager for years—just press Windows-V and you'll see a list of everything you've copied lately. There have always been many third-party applications that give you a more powerful clipboard on the Mac, including Raycast.
The new macOS update adds this feature to Spotlight, making it easy to go back and find that thing you copied earlier today. It's the kind of feature you don't realize you need until you start relying on it, and I'm glad macOS finally offers it.
What Raycast Has That Spotlight Doesn’t
Justin Pot
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