Everything in the box
Nothing here is a roadmap item. This is what's in the build you can download right now.
The Desk
Click the notch and the Desk drops down. Choose which of these appear, how wide each one sits, and in what order. Anything you don't want is simply not there.
Artwork, title, a live waveform and a scrubber you can drag. Works with anything that reports to macOS — Music, Spotify, a video in a tab.
What's next, from the calendars you pick. Video links are pulled out of the invite so joining is one click, not a hunt through the notes field.
A list that lives at the top of the screen. Star what matters, and it syncs to your other Macs through your own iCloud.
Spin the dial to set one. It counts down in the notch while you work, and takes over the whole thing when it finishes.
Focus blocks with breaks between them, a ring for the minutes left and a pip for each block done. It stores when the phase ends rather than counting down, so a shut lid wakes up on the right side of the break.
A scratch pad that's always the same distance away. Syncs over iCloud alongside the to-dos.
Run anything from the Shortcuts app without leaving what you're doing. OreoNotch seeds a few useful ones on first launch.
A launcher for the handful of apps you actually open all day, with icons big enough to hit without aiming.
A webcam preview right under the camera, for checking your hair before the call rather than after it.
Now and the next few hours, from Apple's WeatherKit. Location is asked for once and never leaves the Mac.
Text, links, images and colours you've copied. Concealed clips — the ones password managers flag — are never recorded at all.
Switch between speakers, AirPods and an interface without opening Sound settings or option-clicking anything.
Every widget has a width, a position and a switch. The Desk is only as big as what you've asked it to hold.
Live activities
Each one appears in the notch, sizes itself to what it has to say, and leaves. Any of them can be switched off individually.
| Sound | Volume, with the system HUD suppressed so you don't get both |
|---|---|
| Display | Brightness, the same way |
| Keyboard backlight | The one HUD nobody remembers exists until it's in the way |
| Now Playing | Track changes, with artwork and a waveform while it plays |
| Battery | Plugged in, unplugged, and the low-battery warning |
| Connectivity | AirPods and other Bluetooth devices, with battery per side and case |
| Focus | Which Focus just turned on or off |
| Calendar | A nudge a few minutes before you're due somewhere |
| File Tray | What you just parked on the shelf, and what came off it |
| Timer ended | Takes over the notch rather than a notification you'll miss |
| New update | A new version is ready, waiting for you to say yes |
| Download | Progress for what's coming down, without watching the Dock |
| Screenshot | The shot you just took, ready to drag straight into something |
| Weather | When it's about to matter |
| Idle & lock | What you missed while you were away, and a keep-awake switch |
Drop lanes
Don't let go straight away and the notch splits into lanes. Drop into one and the work happens there — the result lands on the shelf, ready to drag wherever it was going.
The fine print
Nothing is asked for at launch. Each permission is requested the first time you turn on the feature that needs it, and refusing one only turns that feature off.
| macOS | 15 Sequoia or later |
|---|---|
| Mac | Apple Silicon. There is no Intel build. |
| A notch | Not required. Without one, OreoNotch draws its own handle at the top of the screen. |
| Accessibility | To suppress the system volume and brightness HUDs |
| Bluetooth | To read AirPods battery levels |
| Calendar | For the calendar widget and the meeting nudge |
| Location | For weather. Used on-device, never sent anywhere by us. |
| Camera | For the Mirror widget only |
| iCloud | Optional. Only to sync your own to-dos and notes between your Macs. |
Two builds
The App Store version runs in a sandbox, and the sandbox doesn't allow a few of the things that make the direct build what it is. Rather than pretend otherwise, those features are switched off there and the app says so in place, where the feature would have been.
| Suppressing the system HUD | Direct build only |
|---|---|
| Launching other apps (Quick Apps) | Direct build only |
| Live waveform from system audio | Direct build only |
| Everything else | Both |
The direct build is the one on this site. It's signed with a Developer ID and notarised by Apple, and it updates itself through a signed feed.