The NotchNook feature gives MacBooks their own dynamic island

Like Dynamic Island, Nook extends from the notch to reveal a “nook” with basic media controls (like Live Activity on iOS) and other customizable tools. Then there’s a “tray” tab where you can put files or apps. It’s like the macOS Ribbon, except the tray is empty when you close NotchNook.

You can access this feature by clicking on a tab that integrates into the notch, or by swiping down on the trackpad while your mouse cursor is over it. Or you can set it to download automatically when you hover over it.

NotchNook works on Macs with or without the notch; For Macs without a notch, you can customize the app to look like a full notch or appear as a small black bar in the top center of the screen. The app lists other features as “coming soon,” such as the ability to zip or unzip files by dragging them into the app (which sounds fun and unnecessary, but this app gives me that anyway).

The app still needs some tweaking – I haven’t figured out how to move files from the Files tab, which becomes the default tab when you put something in it. Also, swiping left or right is supposed to be the same as pressing the next or previous song button, but it didn’t work for me. It only seems to support certain media apps like Apple Music, as the controls for other apps I tried didn’t appear. I also couldn’t find Lo.cafe’s privacy policy, and the developer didn’t respond to my questions at press time.

But those issues aside, NotchNook feels like a natural extension of macOS. I don’t think it does anything I couldn’t already do without it, which is good because it’s fun to use.