Tech Desk 
Jul 22, 2024
MacBooks has received a new app known as NotchNook that transforms the notch on your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro into, basically, the iPhone’s Dynamic Island.
NotchNook extends out from the notch, unveiling a “Nook” with standard media controls (like Live Activities in iOS) and other customisable widgets.
There’s a “Tray” tab that you can drop files or apps into — similar to the macOS dock, except that the tray empties when you quit NotchNook.
You use this by tapping on a tab that blends in with the notch, or by swiping downward on your trackpad when your mouse cursor is over it. Whereas, you can set it to drop down automatically when you bring your mouse over it.
How NotchNook works
NotchNook works on MacBooks with and without notches; for those without, you can customise it so it either seems like a full notch or simply looks like a small black sliver at the top centre of your screen.
Read more: Apple Store app gets a major revamp with new design
The app lists other “coming soon” features, like the capability to zip or unzip files by dragging them into the app. However, the app could still use some ironing out.
Moreover, swiping left or right is suggested to be like pressing the next or previous song button, but that didn’t work for a few users. And it only appeared to support certain media apps, like Apple Music, as controls didn’t show up for other apps.
While keeping these issues aside, NotchNook feels like a natural extension of macOS.
