Needle

Needle for Mac

Your music in the notch, on the lock screen and on the desktop. For Spotify and Apple Music.

Every song, as a record.

Golden Hour cover
Golden HourNova Lane
1:123:34
14°Rain at 20:00
↑15° ↓8° · Berlin
1815°1915°2013°2112°2212°2311°

The notch, put to use.

Needle turns the notch into a compact player for whatever is playing.

Hover to preview. Click to open. Swipe for the weather.

The lock screen, too.

While music plays, the lock screen shows the record, the cover and the lyrics.

Get Needle

Free to try. One purchase, no subscription.

Download for Mac
Needle
Download

Needle puts your music

where you already look.

In the notch.

On the lock screen.

On the desktop.

For Spotify and Apple Music.

Notch Island

The notch becomes a compact player. Hover to preview, click to open, swipe for the weather, or expand it to the full view. Switch between black and glass below.

Golden Hour cover
Golden HourNova Lane
1:123:34
14°Rain at 20:00
↑15° ↓8° · Berlin
1815°1915°2013°2112°2212°2311°
Golden HourNova Lane
1:123:34

Hover to preview. Click to open. Swipe for the weather.

Island look

Lock Screen

  1. Record. It turns under the clock while music plays.
  2. Cover. Click the record to show the album cover full size.
  3. Lyrics. Click again for lyrics that follow the song.

Play, pause and skip without unlocking your Mac.

A turntable on the desktop, the record turning, the sleeve beside it The sleeve on the desktop with its record sliding out The cover on the desktop in a soft glow of its own colours

Desktop

Drag the cover out of the island onto the desktop. Choose a turntable, a record sleeve or a glow in the album's colours.

TurntableSleeveAura

Beat Glow

The edges of the screen light up to the beat, in the colours of the album cover. This one follows the music on this page.

More in Needle

Volume and brightness

A slider for each at the edge of the screen. Grab one and drag.

Michael, the typing buddy

A keycap that counts your words per minute, with keyboard sounds. Try typing below.

0words a minute

Face Unlock Beta

Look at your Mac to unlock it. Your face data stays in your keychain.

Weather

22°
1622°1721°1819°1918°2017°

Headphones

Left 82% Right 86% Case 64%

AirPods show in the island as they connect, with their battery.

Listening diary

14h 32mthis week

A private record of what you played. It stays on your Mac.

Questions

Which music apps does it work with?

Spotify and Apple Music. Videos playing in Safari, such as YouTube, show in the island too.

Will it slow down my Mac or drain the battery?

No. Needle is a native app made for Apple silicon. It wakes up when something changes and rests the rest of the time.

Does it need my data?

Almost nothing. No account, no analytics, no tracking. Lyrics send the song's title and artist to look up the words, the weather uses your approximate location, and that's all. Privacy

What if my Mac has no notch?

The island sits at the top centre of the screen, where the notch would be.

Is it a subscription?

No. You buy Needle once. Try it free first.

Get Needle

Free to try. One purchase, no subscription. For Spotify and Apple Music.

Download for Mac

Requires a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later.