Some people look at the notch at the top of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with disgust and see it as a distraction to an overall elegant design. Others don’t even notice it. And some, like developer Ian Keen, are inspired by it.
Keen recently tweeted about his latest project: a macOS “airdrop helper” that activates the Mac-to-Apple device file transfer feature by dragging files to the notch, which lights up, and then the AirDrop window appears. Keen has a quick demo of it on Twitter:
Keen is also working on a notch-less variant of the helper app for people buying an M2 MacBook Pro or have an older Mac. It works similarly, but the highlighted area isn’t as obvious.
As someone who uses AirDrop a lot, I can’t wait for Keen to release this utility for the Mac. It’s also a great demonstration of original thinking, using the hardware and its design elements to create helpful software UI elements. I already know that Keen’s utility will be one I’ll use all the time.
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor
Roman has covered technology since the early 1990s. His career started at MacUser, and he's worked for MacAddict, Mac|Life, and TechTV.