For Macs with a notch · free while in beta
The notch,
put to work.
What is playing, the volume, a timer and your next meeting, in the notch of your Mac.
Hover the notch at the top. It is real.
Now playing
Anything that plays.
Whatever the system knows is playing, from any app or tab: cover, title, a bar you can drag, transport. Pick a source and watch the card above.
Lyrics
Turn the cover.
Read along.
Click the cover and it turns over to the words, timed to the track. They come from an open library, matched by title, artist and length.
Readouts
Volume, where you are already looking.
The keys for volume and brightness show their level in the notch, not as a panel in the middle of your work.
At a glance
It notices.
The closed notch tells you what your Mac is up to, then gets out of the way.
- Camera
Camera in use
A green dot whenever a camera is on.
- Mic
Microphone in use
An orange dot while anything listens.
- Headphones
Headphones
Plug in and the notch says so.
- 82%
Charging
A ring fills to the battery level.
- 0:10
A timer
Start one from the menu bar. It chimes.
- Stand-up · 12m
Your next meeting
A countdown in the half hour before.
Shelf
A shelf in the notch.
Drop files on the notch to keep them close, and drag them out where they need to go.
Cards
One swipe, the next card.
Two fingers sideways on the trackpad move the open notch from the music to the timer, your next meeting and the shelf, one card a swipe.
Midnight Drive
Coastal Lights
24:59
Focus · started 10:31
Stand-up
11:00 – 11:15 · in 12 minutes
Shelf
Brief.pdf, Moodboard.png and one more
Craft
Made to feel like the hardware.
At rest, it is the cutout.
Height, width and corners are taken from the display itself, so when nothing plays there is nothing to see.
Interrupt it.
Move in and out of the box quickly. The shape turns around mid-flight on a spring that keeps its speed, instead of starting over.
Privacy
Private by design.
Nothing leaves your Mac.
Playback, levels and your calendar are read on the device. Lyrics are looked up by title, artist and length, nothing else.
No account, no key.
Download it, drag it to Applications, done.
Every permission is optional.
Accessibility for the media keys, Screen Recording for the live sound bars, Calendar for the meeting card. Without one, only that feature steps aside.
Questions
Does it work on a Mac without a notch?
No. SkyNotch is made for the cutout at the top of the built-in display, and does nothing on a screen without one.
Will it slow my Mac down?
At rest it has nothing to draw. It reads system audio only while something plays, and the sound bars are four numbers per frame.
Which players does it work with?
Anything the system reports as playing: music apps, streaming apps, a tab in your browser, a podcast.
Is it free?
Yes, while it is in beta.
How does it update?
It checks once a day and asks before it does anything. A download replaces the app only if it carries the same developer signature.
Your notch is waiting.
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