NotchNook is a new app that takes your useless old MacBook notch and transforms it into an expanding utility tab — a Dynamic Island, if you will. The notches on iPhone and MacBook screens always have and always will be controversial, but until Apple gives us a better option, we might as well make the most of it.
And that is clearly the aim of this app — after all, why should the iPhones be the only one with a Dynamic Island? You can even make use of this app if you don’t have a notch on your MacBook, in which case you can make the “notch” tab much smaller if you want to.
When you’re not using it, the NotchNook looks exactly like you’d expect it to — just the notch and nothing else. But when you hover over it, it reacts, and when you click it, it expands into the “nook,” a place where you can directly control compatible apps and click shortcuts to others.
It also has a file tray that lets you temporarily store a file so you can switch between apps and desktops before grabbing it again and dragging it to where you want it. It even has some great customization options that let you switch around and adjust the sizes of the different nook sections.
As mentioned by The Verge, the app does still have plenty of room for improvement. For me, the number of times it asked me for permissions was a little off-putting. “NotchNook wants permission to control Music,” it said, which means the NotchNook can literally perform actions within the Music app.
I can understand why it needs that ability to do the job it wants to do, but at the same time, I don’t enjoy giving third-party apps these kinds of permissions. The transition from nook back to notch is also a little less than smooth because the tab shrinks to a size that’s just a bit bigger than the MacBook notch and then disappears. So, it looks like your notch suddenly gets a bit smaller a few seconds after you close the nook.
For now, it seems like the nook is only compatible with a few different media apps, but there may be plans to expand. The website has upcoming features listed, such as zipping or unzipping files by dragging them into the nook. It also seems like the developers, Lo.cafe, know how to listen to feedback — they posted the app on Reddit a couple of months ago and the two major bits of feedback were that the price ($40) was too high and the trial (one hour) was too short.
When I downloaded the app, it cost $25 and offered a 48-hour trial, so that’s definitely an improvement.
It’s just a bit of fun overall for now, but if it continues to improve, it could be quite nice to use, especially for iPhone users who are already used to having a Dynamic Island.