Stop Ignoring Your MacBook’s Notch: These 5 Apps Make It Useful

If the MacBook notch seems even more left behind by Apple than the company’s Touch Bar, it also represents a bigger change to the MacBook and the Mac ecosystem, since at the end of 2021, Apple redesigned the MacBook Pro with a completely new industrial design. Besides the notch, it added several new ports, including an SD card slot, an HDMI port, and MagSafe support, while doing the same with the MacBook Air in mid-2022.

However, beyond just improving the looks of these computers, the biggest change was the addition of Apple’s own silicon, which makes the company’s processors much more powerful while remaining incredibly energy-efficient. Having owned a MacBook Pro M1 Pro for almost five years now, I’ve found some of the coolest apps that you might like too.

Bartender is one of the most famous Mac utility applications because it helps users manage the menu bar easily. It’s highly customizable, from the style to the presets to how users can group multiple menu bar items. That’s why, in May, the developers behind the app decided to expand their product offering with Bartender Pro, which also takes over the MacBook’s notch, turning it into a very useful Dynamic Island.

With Bartender Pro, users have access to Top Shelf, a new way to interact with the Notch that lets them store files, manage the clipboard, use AirDrop, and see widgets and other live activities, just like on iPhone. Bartender Pro also includes audio controls, upcoming calendar appointments, and much more. If you’re running Claude Code or Codex sessions, or want to take a look at the timer or other activities, you can expand the bar one notch to get a full overview of what’s happening.

For Bartender Pro, the company has decided to offer it for an annual subscription of $15, in addition to access to Bartender 6 and all future upgrades. Customers can also choose to make a one-time purchase under its Mega Supporter offer.

NotchBox is another productivity tool to help you get the most out of the MacBook notch. Among its main features are music playback controls, quick tools, and file management. What makes this app so cool is that every time you play a song, Notchbox presents the album art with synchronized animations, so you can know exactly what’s playing. It also supports multiple streaming platforms, such as Apple Music and Spotify, as well as other services through Safari.

Users can also drag files into the notch while they’re working on something else, then come back to it later to organize them into a document, presentation, or email. Some of the quick tools available with NotchBox include the ability to search for information without switching windows, a smart timer so you can focus on your work but also take short breaks to become even more productive, a camera mirror to check your appearance, network speeds with your Wi-Fi signal and speed graphs, a clipboard manager, one-click app shortcuts and even other reminders like drink water now and then, quick notes and even links recorded.

What makes NotchBox unique is its cool user interface, which integrates into your life by helping you track your habits, workouts, and even count down to important dates. The app is free to download but requires an in-app purchase to unlock all features.

MediaMate is a simpler but very stylish option for turning your MacBook’s notch into a useful tool. With this software, you can get visual information about the songs currently playing and your Mac’s volume, as well as the brightness of the screen and keyboard. Users can choose from four themes (iOS, circular, notch, and classic) to get the most out of their favorite version. The app blends into your desktop so you can get important information at a glance.

According to the developer, users can add shortcuts to control the keyboard and access additional settings, thereby customizing the app to their needs. The app also detects when Focus mode is active and hides its user interface so you are not disturbed while working, studying, or performing another important task.

MediaMate also has hundreds of positive reviews, and unlike other software, the developer has decided to make it available at whatever price you think is right. There is a demo mode that lets users try the app before deciding to purchase it. Additionally, while Apple is set to phase out Intel Macs, MediaMate only requires macOS 13, meaning both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs are supported.

Remember the early days of the iPhone App Store, where we drank a fake glass of beer, lit a fake lighter, and people even paid a ton of money for an app to show they had enough money to spend? It was a time when apps didn’t necessarily have to be useful but could just be fun. NotchMeister, developed by The Iconfactory, brings that playfulness to the MacBook notch. Basically, users can choose from eight different interactions, so whenever you’re bored or want to take a break from a boring task, you can interact with your notch.

Effects available for your MacBook’s notch include Glow (a glowing slider), Cylon, Plasma Leak, Festive (which lets your Mac celebrate the holidays in binary), Nano Radar (to help you see where your mouse has gone), Expando, Fusion Dice, and AutoToot. Each of these interactions promises to bring a little joy to your day while using only a few system and visual resources.

NotchMeister is also available for MacBook models without the notch, and the developer says those Mac users should be warned that “the side effects of this feature include making you want a new Mac even more than you already do.”

Finally, DynamicLake is another great app for your MacBook Pro. As the name suggests, it transforms Apple’s boring notch into a real dynamic island. The developer released the app a few years ago and continues to provide regular updates to this productivity software. DynamicLake’s goal is to offer HUD controls on the notch, strong integration between the software and the calendar, music app control support, interactive notifications, and a few other cool features, such as file conversion and a shareable link generator.

In February, the app received a major update that completely reshaped the way users receive iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, and email notifications. So instead of using WhatsApp, users can manage their chats within Dynamic Island. Among the advantages, the developer claims that this means you will have fewer applications running at the same time while keeping everything available in the same interface.

The app has also improved its drag-and-drop feature to support converting multiple files at once. Users can convert videos, images, and PDFs to different formats. The developer also announces that a major update is coming to “push the boundaries of what a Dynamic Island for Mac can really become.” The app is available as a one-time purchase, and users can choose how much to pay, as long as they pay at least $13.99. The purchase gives users three licenses to use simultaneously on different Macs.