1. ONotch
Built for people who live in their Mac all day. Beyond music controls, calendar, files and a timer, it puts 2FA codes and Claude Code and Codex prompts in the notch, and lets you run a different layout on every display, including an island on screens without a notch.
Downsides: 2FA codes, the agent prompts and a second display need the ONotch Pro subscription, it needs macOS 15 or later, and there’s no AirDrop from the notch.
2. Boring Notch
A free, open-source notch app with a Now Playing view and a file shelf. A good fit if music is what you want in the notch and you like being able to read the code that runs on your Mac.
Downsides: fewer widgets, and it’s installed from outside the App Store.
How we compared
We checked each feature against the app’s own website or README in November 2026. Where we couldn’t find a feature listed, the table says so rather than guessing. Apps change quickly, so check their sites for the latest.