Oriel

Oriel is a free macOS utility that turns the MacBook notch into an interactive, iPhone-style Dynamic Island. It expands on hover to show music, notifications and everyday tools, and appears as a floating pill on Macs without a notch.

Music from the notch

Oriel gives Apple Music and Spotify a larger player with playback controls, volume and audio output selection, synced lyrics and an interactive Up Next queue. It can show animated Apple Music artwork, a full-screen lyrics view and music controls on the Mac lock screen. Spotify integration adds Liked Songs, playlist management and Spotify Connect device switching. Music recognition can identify a song and open it in Apple Music, Spotify or YouTube.

Live activities and quick tools

• Follow Claude Code and Codex activity, see when an agent needs attention, and check usage limits for Claude, Codex, Cursor, Gemini and Copilot.
• Read and reply to messages, view incoming calls with Answer and Decline, and access meeting controls.
• Track downloads, screen recordings, charging and AirPods battery levels, or run a Pomodoro timer.
• View calendar events and reminders, create events by typing naturally, and join scheduled meetings.
• Keep files in a notch tray for later dragging or AirDrop, alongside clipboard history and quick notes.

Widgets, appearance and setup

Built-in widgets include weather, batteries, system information and world clocks. A browser-based, no-code builder lets people create widgets from HTTPS JSON data; community submissions are reviewed before appearing in the gallery. The island supports black, glass and music-tinted styles and moves out of the way when an app needs menu bar space.

Oriel runs on macOS 14 or later, on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. It is free without an account or subscription. The developer says personal messages, photos and calendar information are processed on the Mac; Full Disk Access is required for advanced Messages features, but other functions work without it. Oriel is not yet notarized by Apple, so the first launch requires manual approval in System Settings > Privacy & Security.