Alcove

Bring Dynamic Island-style notifications, media controls, and live activities to your Mac's notch.

Paid

Alcove is a native macOS utility that brings an iPhone-style Dynamic Island to the Mac. It turns the area around the MacBook's camera notch into an interactive space for music playback, notifications, calendar events, and system activity. On Macs without a notch, Alcove can display a floating pill-shaped island instead.

A Dynamic Island for your Mac

Alcove keeps useful information near the top of the screen, expanding when something needs attention and returning to a compact appearance afterward.

Now Playing: View album artwork, control playback, scrub through tracks, and see audio format indicators such as Lossless and Dolby Atmos.
System notifications: Display animated alerts for battery status, device connections, Focus changes, volume, and screen brightness.
Calendar: View upcoming events and their details without opening a separate calendar app.
Duo Mode: Display music playback and calendar information together in a split layout.
Swipe gestures: Expand, dismiss, and switch between activities using trackpad gestures.
Lock Screen widgets: Show information such as music, weather, and calendar events while the Mac is locked.

Appearance and customization

Alcove offers options for its island shape, animations, notifications, and appearance. Users can choose a simulated notch or a pill-shaped interface, adjust how activities appear, and customize the Lock Screen with glass-style effects.

The application is built with Swift and requires macOS 15 Sequoia or later. It is distributed directly through the developer's website rather than the Mac App Store.

Licensing and limitations

Alcove offers a 72-hour free trial, followed by a $14.99 one-time purchase. A license covers up to three devices simultaneously and includes future updates. The developer also offers a 14-day refund period.

The app relies on private macOS APIs, meaning future system updates could affect its functionality. Its music waveform is simulated rather than generated from live audio, and Spotify's song-like action is currently unavailable. Alcove is primarily intended for users who want accessible media controls, system feedback, and calendar information in a compact interface.