I ’m still chugging along on an iPhone 12 Pro , which mean I do n’t get much hand - on clip with theDynamic Islandon a solar day - to - Clarence Shepard Day Jr. basis . Or at least I did n’t , that is , until I attain a little app calledNotchNook . But instead of bringing Apple ’s pill - influence notch public-service corporation to my iPhone , it alternatively endure on my Mac . And it has the potential to vary how I use my Apple computers for well .
I ’m not the only one at Digital Trends who is intrigued by NotchNook — my colleagueappreciated the conception when annoucned , too — and the idea for the app is jolly unproblematic . Hover your mouse cursor over yourMacBook ’s notchand you ’ll see it expand slightly . Click the notch or do a two - finger swipe down and the notch expands further , bring out a black box ( the “ nook ” ) hold back controls for various apps and undertaking .
I wanted to prove it out for myself , though , and see if it really could pay off that annoying little nick and become amust - have Mac app .
Widgets and workflows
By nonpayment , NotchNook go with a few basic restraint in berth . On the left of the nook is a space for a “ now play ” thingumajig , which connects to eitherSpotify or Apple Music . In the center there are workflows loaded from Apple’sShortcuts app . And on the right is a button to toggle your MacBook ’s front - face webcam ( NotchNook calls this the “ mirror ” control ) .
you could also add Live activity to the snick . These show data on apps you have presently run , and it all happens while the nick is in its normal shrunken position . The Spotify Live Activity , for case , show a miniature record album cover and a moving graphic of your music ’s levels . Click this and you could play or break without needing to expatiate the notch at all .
That ’s a pretty good place to start , but the app offer an awful lot of customization options too . turn over into its mount , and you could swap out the existing widgets for a calendar , with bank note , to - dos and “ quick apps ” come soon . Each gismo can be moved to a new spot in NotchNook and have its dimension switch so that you’re able to gibe more or less into the app ’s container . It feels a piddling gauche right now — it would be helpful to be capable to drag and drop down a widget into place rather than repeatedly come home arrows to move it — but it ’s a good start .
It ’s not only the doodad that can be changed but also NotchNook itself . you may add up or remove dividers between widgets and adjust their sizing and cushioning , change NotchNook ’s transparentness , alter its tiptop , and more . There ’s a surprising amount of ascendancy over how the app looks and feels .
The Files Tray
All of these lineament sick in compare to my favorite part of NotchNook : the tray . It ’s one of the most useful parts of the app , and , like many expression of NotchNook , it ’s full of promise .
When you hang back a Indian file from the Finder over the nook , it opens up to introduce two options : Files Tray andAirDrop . Release your drag in item into the Files Tray and it ’ll stay there for prosperous access , letting you pull it out and into another app or Finder windowpane whenever you switch apps ordesktop spaces . To delete the file from the tray , just vibrate over it and select the small X in its top - veracious box . Or alternatively sink it into the AirDrop area and the deal window appears , making it prompt and easy to institutionalise files to other people .
The Files Tray works very well , although only having two options means it ’s a short limited for now . But NotchNook ’s developer says there ’s a luck more on the way . For representative , you ’ll soon be able-bodied to zip and unzip files and compress images , all by dropping them into the tray .
NotchNook calls these workflows “ word of mouth , ” and they ’re evocative of a feature I ’ve seen inBetterTouchTool . One of thebest Mac appsaround , BetterTouchTool is an all - in - one app for souping - up yourtrackpad motion , window management , user port control , and more . One of its abilities is to create mini - apps and widgets that form with the notch , and among them is adrop zone toolthat can change over files that are moved into it . If NotchNook is able to compete with the variety of capabilities exhibited by BetterTouchTool , it ’ll be well deserving your time .
Looking and feeling great
Part of the beauty of NotchNook lies in its spiritedness . Mouse over the notch and it gently pulsate outward , with a drop tail giving it a sense of front on your display . Open it up and its dimensions expand before gently bouncing back into place . When you move your mouse out , the notch quickly bring back to its former shape , getting out of your fashion when you no longer need it . This skulduggery poke out to other parts of the app , such as Live Activities — start playing a song and the notch ’s sharpness move smoothly outwards , for instance . It ’s a small touch , but one that I really apprize .
These vivification suggest that a lot of aid has been put into not only how NotchNook work but how it feel too . It ’s not too dissimilar from the experience you get on an iPhone with the Dynamic Island , and while I would n’t quite go so far as to say it feel like Apple could have designed NotchNook , it ’s not too far off .
You might be wondering what happens if your Mac does n’t have a notch . On my Mac mini tie to an external presentation , NotchNook does n’t have a build - in mountain pass to work with , after all . or else , it creates a “ handler ” that looks like a mountain pass and subprogram in much the same manner as the nook does on a MacBook . It ’s a little smaller and less intrusive than a stock nick , but otherwise has all the same role as NotchNook on a notch - toting MacBook .
All these feature mean that right now , NotchNook is off to a good start , but what really interests me is what ’s planned for afterwards . It seems clear that the developer wants to keep adding functionality to NotchNook , and that could help take it from a useful public-service corporation into a real Mac substantive .
If you ’re interested in NotchNook , it costs $ 3 a calendar month for an ongoing subscription , or $ 25 to buy it outright . The subscription enable it to work on two devices , while the full purchase grants you get at on up to five devices . There ’s also a 48 - 60 minutes free test , which I commend trying out to see if the app suits you .
