Every version of Windows since Vista (2006) has included a volume mixer. Right-click the speaker icon, click "Volume Mixer," and you see every app with its own volume slider. You can mute Chrome without affecting Spotify. You can lower Discord without touching your game.
On macOS? One slider. That's all you get. Twenty years of Mac updates — Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia, Tahoe — and Apple has never added per-app volume control.
People ask this question constantly: why doesn't Mac have a volume mixer?
It's not a technical limitation
Let's get this out of the way: macOS can absolutely do per-app volume control. The underlying audio framework — Core Audio — supports per-process audio tapping, routing, and gain adjustment at the API level. Apple introduced the Audio Tap API in macOS 14 (Sonoma), making it even easier for developers to intercept and modify individual app audio streams.
Third-party developers have been building per-app volume mixers for years using these APIs. The technology exists. Apple just hasn't built a user-facing version of it.
So why hasn't Apple built it?
Apple has never publicly explained why. But looking at their design patterns, the answer is fairly clear: Apple prioritizes simplicity over power-user features.
One volume slider is simpler than twelve. It's easier to explain, easier to learn, and requires zero configuration. For a user who only does one thing at a time — listens to music OR takes a call OR watches a video — one slider works fine. Apple designs for this user first.
There's also a philosophical argument: Apple believes apps should manage their own audio. If Spotify is too loud, turn it down in Spotify. If Zoom is too quiet, turn it up in Zoom. The OS shouldn't need to mediate.
The problem is that this philosophy doesn't match reality. In 2026, everyone multitasks with audio:
- Music playing while working
- Video calls with notifications pinging
- Browser tabs auto-playing ads
- Gaming with Discord running
- Podcasts in one ear, Slack in the other
"Just adjust it in each app" means switching between six apps, finding six different volume controls (some of which don't exist), and doing this multiple times a day. It's the opposite of simple.
Will Apple ever add it?
There's no indication Apple plans to add a volume mixer in any upcoming macOS release. The feature hasn't appeared in any macOS beta, patent filing, or WWDC roadmap. Apple's Control Center in the menu bar still shows only the single system volume slider.
It's possible Apple adds it eventually — they've adopted features they initially rejected before (widgets, window tiling, multi-window iPad). But waiting for Apple means waiting indefinitely.
How to get a volume mixer on Mac right now
The answer is a third-party menu bar app. SoundDial is a native macOS volume mixer that does exactly what the Windows volume mixer does — plus more.
What you get:
- Per-app volume sliders — every running app gets its own slider, 0% to 200%
- Per-app mute — one click to silence any app, click again to unmute
- Volume profiles — save configurations for different situations (Work, Focus, Gaming) and switch with one click
- Auto-ducking — background audio automatically lowers when you join a call, and restores when you hang up
- Volume boost to 200% — amplify quiet apps beyond their normal maximum
- Keyboard shortcuts — toggle the mixer or mute all apps with a hotkey
- Output device switching — switch between speakers, headphones, and external devices from the same panel
- Volume memory — each app's volume is remembered between restarts
It's the feature Apple should have built twenty years ago. One-time purchase on the Mac App Store. No subscription. macOS 14.2+.
The volume mixer macOS should have built in.