Notch and clipboard
What can the MacBook notch be used for?
Updated · Applies to MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with a notch; macOS 14 and later
On its own, macOS leaves the notch empty. It holds the camera and splits the menu bar. Notch apps turn the area into a small interactive panel: music controls, a temporary file shelf, clipboard history, timers, your next meeting, system stats, and alerts.
What the notch is
The notch holds the FaceTime camera and ambient light sensor, letting the display extend up around it. macOS treats it as dead space: app menus sit to its left, menu bar icons to its right, and nothing can be drawn behind it.
What macOS does with it
- Nothing is displayed in it, and the pointer passes behind it.
- Menu bar icons that don’t fit to its right disappear behind it or, on macOS 27, into a » overflow arrow. See organising a crowded menu bar.
- Full-screen apps and videos draw a black bar across the top, so the notch disappears into it.
What it’s good for
The notch sits at the top centre of the screen, which suits things you check at a glance rather than work in:
- Now playing: the track, artwork, and play/pause without switching apps.
- A file shelf: drop a file there on its way between Finder, Mail, and a browser upload.
- Clipboard: the last few things you copied.
- Timers: a Pomodoro or countdown that stays visible.
- Your next meeting: what it is and how long until it starts.
- System stats: CPU, memory, and battery at a glance.
- Alerts: a finished build, a finished download, headphones connecting, a new sale.
Notch apps
Apps like NotchNook, Notch Buddy, and Softset Notch draw a panel that expands from the notch when you hover and shrinks back when you move away, inspired by the iPhone’s Dynamic Island. They differ in which modules they offer, how they’re priced, and whether they work on Macs without a notch. See Softset Notch vs Notch Buddy and Softset Notch vs NotchNook.
Tips for living with the notch
- Keep your most important menu bar icons furthest right, so they’re the last to be pushed behind the notch.
- Hide icons you use occasionally with a menu bar manager.
- Choose a dark wallpaper at the top of the screen if the notch bothers you; it blends into the menu bar.