macOS Dynamic Island
Apple didn't build a Dynamic Island into macOS — so we did. Notchy is a free utility that transforms your static Mac notch into a fluid, interactive command center.
How to get a Dynamic Island on macOS?
You can get an iPhone-style Dynamic Island on macOS by installing a free third-party app called Notchy. Available for macOS 13+, Notchy anchors an interactive pill to your menu bar that expands to show Spotify/Apple Music controls, clipboard history, file drops, and timers — all without draining your Mac's battery.
Everything Notchy does, for free
- Fluid Dynamic Island animations on the Mac notch
- Command palette (⌃⌥K) — every action one keystroke away
- Knock — double-tap a modifier key to open the notch
- AI usage tracker (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot)
- Detach any tab into a menu-bar popover
- Now Playing music controls (Apple Music & Spotify)
- Time-synced karaoke lyrics under the notch
- Mac clipboard history shelf (password-manager safe)
- Searchable clipboard — filter by text, file name, or OCR'd words
- On-device OCR — copy a screenshot, get its text (Apple Vision)
- Window snapping — drag a window to the notch to tile it
- App Launcher — pin apps to the notch, open with one tap
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- Text snippets — TextExpander-style pastes from the ⌘K palette
- One-tap screen capture to clipboard + shelf
- Color eyedropper — sample any pixel, hex auto-copied
- System-wide mic mute for every meeting app at once
- Keystroke HUD for demos & screencasts (secure-input safe)
- Keyboard cleaning lock with countdown island (⌘⎋ unlocks)
- Menu-bar icon hiding — Bartender-style separator & chevron
- Live CPU / memory / network stats flyout
- Custom islands through the local developer API (off by default)
- iPhone-style call island — Answer/Decline FaceTime on the notch
- Notch Terminal — real VT100/xterm shell in a PTY, its own tab
- Camera Guard — alert (or block) when any app opens your camera
- Caps Lock HUD — brief island on every toggle
- Full Charge island with adjustable threshold + low-battery sound
- Alt HUD styles — edge-pinned bar or circular gauge off the notch
- Audio-reactive Now Playing visualizer (real FFT of system audio)
- Custom closed-notch idle animation — drop in your own Lottie JSON
- Drag-and-drop file drop shelf — persists across relaunches
- Zip & unzip files right from the shelf
- Image converter (HEIC, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, PDF) + video → GIF
- Run Apple Shortcuts with one tap
- Screenshots auto-staged on the shelf, ready to drag
- Download finished alerts with Reveal in Finder
- USB drive mount island with one-tap Eject
- Apple Reminders quick capture & due list
- macOS Pomodoro notch timer & stopwatch — streaks + 7-day chart
- Resizable expanded panel (width & height, live preview)
- System HUDs (volume, brightness, battery)
- Audio output switcher (speakers, AirPods, monitor)
- AirPods connection manager & battery
- Magic Mouse, Keyboard & Trackpad battery + low-battery alerts
- Quick notes & Calendar widgets
- Camera Mirror (check your appearance)
- Keep Awake (caffeine toggle)
- Teleprompter (Cuely) for Zoom calls
- Focus-aware alerts & native haptic feedback
- Lock screen widgets & hide-the-notch mode
- 134 languages, fully localized
- Native SwiftUI, tuned for Apple silicon
Built natively for macOS
Web wrappers and Electron apps drain your MacBook's battery. Notchy's macOS Dynamic Island is built natively in SwiftUI on Apple's own frameworks for smooth 120Hz ProMotion animations, ultra-low memory usage, and near-zero idle CPU.
How Notchy stacks up
Honest, feature-by-feature comparison of every major macOS notch app — no affiliates.
Swipe the table sideways to see every app.
macOS Dynamic Island FAQs
Does macOS have a built-in Dynamic Island?
No, macOS does not have a native Dynamic Island built-in. Apple introduced the MacBook notch to maximize screen space but left it static. Notchy fills this gap by bringing a fluid, iPhone-like Dynamic Island directly to macOS.
Which macOS versions support Notchy’s Dynamic Island?
Notchy’s macOS Dynamic Island requires macOS 13 Ventura or newer. It is fully optimized for macOS 14 Sonoma and the latest macOS 15 Sequoia, running smoothly on both Apple silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) and Intel Macs.
How does Notchy compare to other macOS Dynamic Island apps?
Notchy is the only fully featured, native SwiftUI macOS Dynamic Island that is 100% free. While apps like NotchNook charge $15 and consume up to 15% CPU, Notchy uses almost no battery (near-zero CPU at idle) and includes an AI usage tracker, clipboard history, Pomodoro timer, and window snapping for free.