The best notch apps for your Mac.

What macOS does with the notch

Apple calls the notch the camera housing. It’s on MacBook Air models with a Liquid Retina display and MacBook Pro models with a Liquid Retina XDR display. On these, macOS shows nothing in it: the menu bar runs on either side, and icons that don’t fit beside it are hidden.

Apple’s own Dynamic Island comes to the Mac with the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro with a PROLED XDR display, available from November 6, 2026, with macOS 27. Apple says it holds Spotlight, Live Activities and Siri AI, and that you can pick up a call or control music there. Apple hasn’t said whether other Macs will get it.

If an app’s menus or controls are hidden behind it, quit the app, select it in the Applications folder, choose File › Get Info, and select Scale to fit below built-in camera. The app then appears below the camera. While it’s open, the other apps in the same space do too.

What to look for

• The price, and how many Macs it covers. Some are paid once, some by the month, some are free.
• A trial long enough to use it for real. They run from a couple of days to a week.
• The version of macOS it needs. Check it against yours in Apple menu › About This Mac.
• Notarized by Apple. A notarized app opens like any other. One that isn’t needs an extra step the first time.
• What you want in the notch. Some do one thing, such as the volume and brightness. Others hold files, the clipboard and your calendar too.

The apps, from their own sites

What each app’s own site, store page or repository said on October 21, 2026.

• NotchNook, by lo.cafe: $15 once or $2 a month, for two Macs, with a 48-hour trial. Needs macOS 14.6. Its site lists what’s playing, a file tray, your calendar, and volume and brightness.
• Boring Notch, by TheBoredTeam: free and open source. Needs macOS 14. Its GitHub page lists music with a visualizer, lyrics, your calendar, a shelf for files, and volume and brightness. It isn’t notarized, so you allow it by hand the first time.
• Alcove, by Henrik Ruscon: $13.99 once, for three Macs, with a 72-hour trial. Needs macOS 15. Its site lists what’s playing, your calendar, weather, lock screen widgets, and a volume and brightness display you can customize.
• Droppy, by Jordy Spruit: $9.99 once, for two Macs, with a 3-day trial. Needs macOS 14. Its site lists a file shelf, converting files, 3-day share links, clipboard history, window snapping, screen capture, lyrics and the lock screen.
• MediaMate, by Wouter Hennen: €6.99 once, for five Macs, with a demo mode. Needs macOS 13. It replaces the volume, brightness and now playing displays, with themes.

Tilora

Tilora turns the notch into a Dynamic Island. It shows what’s playing with synced lyrics, your next meeting with Join, a file as it downloads, a call you’re on, timers, AirPods and batteries. Drop files on the notch to keep them on the Shelf, convert them or share them. Press ⇧⌘V for clipboard history, ⌥Space to search, and hold ⇧⌥Space for the action ring.

It’s $9.99 once, for three Macs, and free for 7 days with everything in it. It needs macOS 14 or later, and it’s notarized by Apple. On a Mac without a notch, or an external display, it draws a small notch of its own.

Side by side

All of them in one table: price, Macs, trial and features, row by row. Or one at a time: NotchNook, Boring Notch, Alcove, Droppy and MediaMate, and newer ones: DynamicLake, NotchNest, Atoll and Ledge.

Questions