Artwork that follows your pointer
In the full-screen player, the cover leans toward your cursor and catches the light as it turns.
Now for macOS
Every song you play.
Right where you're working.
Album art, song titles and lyrics that move with the music. Always on your desktop, never in your way.
Lyrics
Every word,
right on time.
The line you're hearing is the line you're reading. Words arrive as the song starts and stay in step when you skip, scrub or pause, whether the music is coming from an app or a browser tab.
- Long lines stay big enough to read
- Shows the title and artist when a song has no lyrics
- Nothing you listen to is ever recorded or uploaded
The desktop widget
Small enough to forget.
Present enough to glance.
It sits at the edge of your desktop, beside the Dock, and never covers what you're working on. No window to move, no icon in the Dock. Just a glance when you want one.
Features
Built like part of the system.
Swipe to change song
Drag across the cover to move through your music. On Apple Music and YouTube Music, the next cover slides in behind your finger before you let go.
Four looks to start from
Pick Elegant, Compact, Stacked or Bold, then move things around until it fits your desktop. A preview shows every change as you make it.
Knows when you're on a call
Music playing in a browser pauses the moment your microphone comes on, and picks up again when you're done talking.
Updates itself
Install once. From then on Now keeps itself current, or waits for you to check from the menu bar.
Stays on your Mac
No account to make and nothing tracked. Now never asks to record your screen or read your files. To find lyrics it sends a song name and artist, and nothing else.
Supported services
Works with what
you already play.
Play in an app or play in a tab. Now follows along either way, and switches between them on its own as you go.
Apple MusicApp
SpotifyApp & Web
YouTube MusicSafari / Chrome
TIDALApp
Amazon MusicSafari / Chrome
Apple PodcastsApp
iPhone or iPadAirPlay
Amazon Music works in the browser rather than a desktop app. iPhone or iPad covers anything you send to this Mac over AirPlay, whichever app it came from. Films and TV are always ignored, so a movie never turns up as a now playing.
Make it yours
Adjust everything.
Break nothing.
Try a different look whenever you like. Presets change how the widget looks, not which services it follows, so nothing you've already set up gets undone.
- Four presets to start from
- Artwork beside the title or above it
- Any corner, any display, two sizes
Getting started
A few minutes, once.
Now doesn't come from the App Store, so the first launch takes one extra click. After that it opens like anything else on your Mac.
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1
Install the app
Open the downloaded disk image, drag Now onto Applications, then eject the image.
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2
Open it the first time
Your Mac will say the app can't be opened. That's expected, and you only do this once:
Control-click Now → Open → Open
or, if you don't see that option:
System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway
-
3
Say yes to the setup questions
Now asks permission to follow Spotify and Apple Music. It never asks to record your screen or read your files.
-
4
If you play music in a browser
Skip this if you only use apps. For YouTube Music, Spotify Web or Amazon Music, one setting lets Now see what's playing in the tab:
Safari → Develop → Allow JavaScript from Apple Events
Chrome → View → Developer → Allow JavaScript from Apple Events
In Safari the Develop menu is hidden at first. Turn it on in Settings → Advanced → “Show features for web developers”.
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5
Optional, for YouTube Music
A small add-on shows the real next and previous covers when you swipe. Everything else already works without it.
chrome://extensions → Developer mode → Load unpacked → pick
Now.app/Contents/Resources/ChromeExtensionReload any open YouTube Music tab afterwards. The add-on only ever talks to Now on your own Mac.
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6
Play something
The widget appears beside the Dock. ⇧⌘M shows or hides it, and the menu bar icon opens settings.
Questions
Before you install.
-
Is it really free?
Yes, and there is no account to make. Nothing is locked behind a purchase and nothing expires.
-
What does it need permission for?
Automation, so it can ask Spotify and Apple Music what is playing, and for browser players, the JavaScript from Apple Events setting in Safari or Chrome. It never asks to record your screen or read your files.
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Do I need the Chrome add-on?
Only for YouTube Music, and only if you want it. Without the add-on Now still follows the tab, just through a slower route. It ships inside the app, talks only to Now on your own Mac, and never to the network.
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macOS says the app cannot be opened.
Now is signed locally rather than notarised, so the first launch needs a right-click on the app and then Open. macOS remembers the choice afterwards.
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Can it follow music from my iPhone?
Yes. Send the audio to this Mac over AirPlay and Now shows it like any other source, cover art and progress included, whichever app it came from.
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How does it update?
It checks once a day and installs updates itself, each one signed so it cannot be tampered with in transit. You can turn that off, or check by hand from the menu bar.
Put it on your Mac.
One download. No account. It keeps itself up to date.