Turn your MacBook notch into a Dynamic Island for media, Apple Notes, on-device translation, calendar, files, clipboard and quick tools with Fide Island.
Hey Product Hunt 👋
I launched Fide Island here a few weeks ago, and since then I’ve been focused on making the MacBook notch feel less like another dashboard and more like a quiet, useful part of macOS.
The biggest change is a new Minimal layout. Instead of showing everything at once, you can keep one tool in a compact island and move between them with swipes or arrow keys. The original Expanded layout is still there, and you can switch between the two anytime.
I also added:
📝 Apple Notes - browse, search, create and edit your notes without leaving the island
🌍 On-device translation - powered by Apple’s Translation framework on macOS 15+
🎛️ Minimal + Expanded layouts - choose between a focused island and the full workspace
🔒 The same local-first approach - Notes stay in Apple Notes and translations are processed on device
Fide Island still includes media controls, calendar, a temporary file shelf, clipboard history, calculator, currency conversion and system feedback - but this update is about making all of that feel calmer and faster to use.
I’d especially love your feedback on Minimal vs Expanded: which one feels more natural for the MacBook notch, and what would you want to see in the island next?
Thanks for checking it out ❤️
@sergey_murzak Minimal over Expanded for the notch specifically - the whole appeal of living in that space is that it stays out of the way, and swiping between tools feels closer to that than a wider panel competing with the menu bar for attention. glad the on-device translation stayed local-first too, that's the kind of feature that quietly stops being trustworthy the moment it starts phoning home.
@galdayan Thanks Gal - that’s exactly what I was aiming for with Minimal: useful when you need it, invisible when you don’t. And totally agree on local-first - especially for things like notes and translation.
@sergey_murzak the tool-memory-per-context detail I saw in the thread with Oliver is a nice touch too - small thing but it's exactly the kind of state that makes a "invisible when you don't need it" tool feel like it's actually paying attention.
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@sergey_murzak Can the Minimal layout remember which tool you used last?
@oliver_graf1 Yep! The Minimal layout remembers the last tool you used. So if you were on Calculator, close the island and open it again, it’ll open back on Calculator.
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Notch utilities done well are addictive. On-device translation plus notes in that space is a smart combo. Looking forward to trying it.
If someone is choosing between Fide Island and NotchNook / DynamicLake / Alcove, what are the 2–3 design principles where you intentionally diverge (e.g., restraint vs feature breadth, local-first vs cloud), and what did you decide *not* to build because it would hurt the experience?
@curiouskitty The idea is simple: make the notch not just beautiful, but genuinely useful. Put everyday actions people spend time on in a more convenient place and make them much faster. And of course, local-first - personal data stays on your Mac, without unnecessary cloud syncing.
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Fide Island
Dial
@sergey_murzak Minimal over Expanded for the notch specifically - the whole appeal of living in that space is that it stays out of the way, and swiping between tools feels closer to that than a wider panel competing with the menu bar for attention. glad the on-device translation stayed local-first too, that's the kind of feature that quietly stops being trustworthy the moment it starts phoning home.
Fide Island
@galdayan Thanks Gal - that’s exactly what I was aiming for with Minimal: useful when you need it, invisible when you don’t.
And totally agree on local-first - especially for things like notes and translation.
Dial
@sergey_murzak the tool-memory-per-context detail I saw in the thread with Oliver is a nice touch too - small thing but it's exactly the kind of state that makes a "invisible when you don't need it" tool feel like it's actually paying attention.
@sergey_murzak Can the Minimal layout remember which tool you used last?
Fide Island
@oliver_graf1 Yep! The Minimal layout remembers the last tool you used. So if you were on Calculator, close the island and open it again, it’ll open back on Calculator.
Notch utilities done well are addictive. On-device translation plus notes in that space is a smart combo. Looking forward to trying it.
Fide Island
@orenr Thanks, Oren! Really glad the combo resonates. Would love your feedback once you give it a try 🙌
Product Hunt
Fide Island
@curiouskitty The idea is simple: make the notch not just beautiful, but genuinely useful. Put everyday actions people spend time on in a more convenient place and make them much faster. And of course, local-first - personal data stays on your Mac, without unnecessary cloud syncing.