Monocle 3.5 is a crucial follow-up to 3.0, and the one most asked for. With those long-awaited features finally in, the app just clicks. It feels complete.
I'm Dominik, creator of Monocle, and I'm excited to share a new 3.5 update with you!
For those who don't know Monocle:
Think noise-cancelling, but for your screen. Designed to actually feel like it came with your Mac.
You know that feeling when you sit down to work and your screen is a wall of tabs, open apps, and windows you'll come back to later? Monocle softly dims all of it except the window you're using with a simple cursor shake.*
Nothing closes, nothing changes. The noise goes quiet enough to work, write, browse, or think again.
…just wiggle your mouse.
(*or a shortcut, menu bar click, whatever's easiest for you)
Some context:
3.0 was Monocle rebuilt from the ground up. It was the new foundation. 3.5 is what makes it actually click. Most of the features here have been on the community's wishlist since 1.0 launched, and getting them all in finally feels like the version I always imagined.
What's new in 3.5:
• App Groups: Group two or more apps so they share focus. The whole group stays clear when any of them is active.
• Stage Manager Support: Monocle now detects Stage Manager automatically and keeps your window strip visible alongside the focused app. No toggle, no setup.
• Multi-monitor Blur, Finally Fixed: The long-standing bug where only one display would blur is gone. Multi-display setups are now fully supported, even with "Displays have Separate Spaces" disabled.
• Corner Peek: Flick your cursor to any screen corner for a quick peek under the overlay.
• Cursor Reveal Effect: A new way the overlay appears and disappears, fanning out from your cursor's position. Especially cool across multiple displays.
• Blur-Free Mode: Turn blur off completely and keep just tint, grain, and monochrome. For those who prefer the classic dimmer look.
• Plus a loooong list of polish: smoother auto-hide for the Dock and menu bar, license activation across user profiles on the same Mac, new scripting commands, settings UI/UX improvements, and lots of bug fixes throughout.
50% OFF discount:
As always, to celebrate the new release, I've hidden a generous discount as a new easter egg on the Monocle website. The sale is running until May 31, 2026. Good luck!
@fberrez1 Hey, thanks so much - really glad you've been following since the early days!
Monocle 3.5 is the most optimized version so far, but I still have one or two more rounds of performance work planned for the coming weeks.
That said, to set expectations: compared to traditional black overlay dimmers, the CPU impact is of course higher - especially during window switching, since Monocle is doing actual blur rendering.
When blur is ON and idle, I'm seeing around 1.8% CPU on my M3. When Monocle is running in the background while not active, it sits at 0%.
I hate when too many windows are visible :) I keep every window maximized fullscreen so the others aren’t visible at all - they distract me. Though I have a MacBook Air, so the screen is small. With large monitors, that’s probably not as convenient.
@natalia_iankovych Makes sense on a smaller screen - fullscreen is probably the way to go there. On a larger display fullscreen just doesn't work for me. And honestly the blur is so freaking calming and satisfying, I just prefer this 😄
the app groups feature is the one that makes this actually usable for multi-window workflows - single window focus tools always broke down the moment you needed a browser and a doc open side by side. solving that is what takes it from a neat demo to a daily driver
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Using this for ages now. Love the concept and the implementation. Looks so beautiful that i am tempted to not keep app windows in full size 😅
the 'designed to feel like it came with your Mac' line is either accurate or it isn't and you find out in the first five minutes. that's the bar they've set for themselves which is either confident or reckless depending on the execution
Replies
Monocle for macOS
Hey!
I'm Dominik, creator of Monocle, and I'm excited to share a new 3.5 update with you!
For those who don't know Monocle:
Think noise-cancelling, but for your screen.
Designed to actually feel like it came with your Mac.
You know that feeling when you sit down to work and your screen is a wall of tabs, open apps, and windows you'll come back to later? Monocle softly dims all of it except the window you're using with a simple cursor shake.*
Nothing closes, nothing changes. The noise goes quiet enough to work, write, browse, or think again.
…just wiggle your mouse.
(*or a shortcut, menu bar click, whatever's easiest for you)
Some context:
3.0 was Monocle rebuilt from the ground up. It was the new foundation. 3.5 is what makes it actually click. Most of the features here have been on the community's wishlist since 1.0 launched, and getting them all in finally feels like the version I always imagined.
What's new in 3.5:
• App Groups: Group two or more apps so they share focus. The whole group stays clear when any of them is active.
• Stage Manager Support: Monocle now detects Stage Manager automatically and keeps your window strip visible alongside the focused app. No toggle, no setup.
• Multi-monitor Blur, Finally Fixed: The long-standing bug where only one display would blur is gone. Multi-display setups are now fully supported, even with "Displays have Separate Spaces" disabled.
• Corner Peek: Flick your cursor to any screen corner for a quick peek under the overlay.
• Cursor Reveal Effect: A new way the overlay appears and disappears, fanning out from your cursor's position. Especially cool across multiple displays.
• Blur-Free Mode: Turn blur off completely and keep just tint, grain, and monochrome. For those who prefer the classic dimmer look.
• Plus a loooong list of polish: smoother auto-hide for the Dock and menu bar, license activation across user profiles on the same Mac, new scripting commands, settings UI/UX improvements, and lots of bug fixes throughout.
50% OFF discount:
As always, to celebrate the new release, I've hidden a generous discount as a new easter egg on the Monocle website. The sale is running until May 31, 2026. Good luck!
Latest mentions:
I tried the Monocle app for Mac and it completely changed how I handle digital distractions by blurring out everything except the window I am currently using by Tom's Guide (5/4/26)
Your Mac Is Missing All of These by Snazzy Labs (4/11/26)
10 Mac Apps That Will Change How You Use macOS in 2026 by MacRumors (12/24/25)
Oh, and make sure you read Monocle's Wall of Love, it's beautiful!
https://heyiam.dk/monocle/testimonials
Let me know your though :)
Dominik
I've seen your project at 1st launch I think. I find it very cool, congrats for the idea! I'm going to give it a try for sure
Question: I want something lightweight, do you have any stats on how much resources it takes when it is running? Or in the background?
cheers
Monocle for macOS
@fberrez1 Hey, thanks so much - really glad you've been following since the early days!
Monocle 3.5 is the most optimized version so far, but I still have one or two more rounds of performance work planned for the coming weeks.
That said, to set expectations: compared to traditional black overlay dimmers, the CPU impact is of course higher - especially during window switching, since Monocle is doing actual blur rendering.
When blur is ON and idle, I'm seeing around 1.8% CPU on my M3. When Monocle is running in the background while not active, it sits at 0%.
Hope that helps.
Dom
@heyiamdk Alright, thanks for the insights!
I hate when too many windows are visible :) I keep every window maximized fullscreen so the others aren’t visible at all - they distract me. Though I have a MacBook Air, so the screen is small. With large monitors, that’s probably not as convenient.
Monocle for macOS
@natalia_iankovych Makes sense on a smaller screen - fullscreen is probably the way to go there. On a larger display fullscreen just doesn't work for me. And honestly the blur is so freaking calming and satisfying, I just prefer this 😄
@heyiamdk Yes, the design is cool)
the app groups feature is the one that makes this actually usable for multi-window workflows - single window focus tools always broke down the moment you needed a browser and a doc open side by side. solving that is what takes it from a neat demo to a daily driver
Using this for ages now. Love the concept and the implementation. Looks so beautiful that i am tempted to not keep app windows in full size 😅
Monocle for macOS
@srinivasan_tatachari1 Thanks again for sticking around since day one, Srinivasan! ❤️
the 'designed to feel like it came with your Mac' line is either accurate or it isn't and you find out in the first five minutes. that's the bar they've set for themselves which is either confident or reckless depending on the execution
Monocle for macOS
@ansari_adin 7-day trial, no card required - let me know :)
@heyiamdk fair enough, putting my money where my mouth is. trying it today
Monocle for macOS
@ansari_adin let me know your thoughts!
Why didn’t macOS have something like this from the start? :)
Monocle for macOS
@idahansen Right? Hopefully someday they take the hint :) ...or rather not? :D