Sapphire Dynamic Island for Mac: Is It Free and Safe? (2026)
You found Sapphire, a Dynamic Island app for the Mac, and you want to know what it costs and whether it’s safe to install.
Short answer: the app is free and open source (AGPL-3.0), and the free tier covers a lot: a music widget, a file shelf, window snapping, a Face ID login and more. The AI features cost $15.99, $25.99 or $30.99 a month. The installer we downloaded on 3 November 2026 (version 3.5) is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple. Get it from sapphire-app.tech or the GitHub releases page, and nowhere else.
The price: free, with AI plans on top
The app costs nothing. You only pay for the AI features. Here are the plans as Sapphire’s pricing page listed them on 3 November 2026:
| Plan | Price | Extra Mac | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1 Mac only | The notch, music, file shelf, Snap Zones, Face ID and more |
| Basic | $15.99 a month | $11.00 a month | Blip Live, a voice chat about what’s on your screen |
| Pro | $25.99 a month | $13.99 a month | Blip Agent and Circle to Search, plus live sports scores |
| Ultra | $30.99 a month | $15.99 a month | Finance and full sports widgets, plus direct support |
Over a year, that’s $191.88 for Basic, $311.88 for Pro and $371.88 for Ultra, for one Mac. There’s no yearly or one-time plan on that page. So the honest way to read it: Sapphire is a free notch app with an AI subscription on top, and you can ignore the top half if you don’t want the AI.
One catch on the free tier: it’s 1 Mac. A second Mac needs a paid plan plus the per-device fee.
Safety: we checked the installer
The website can say anything, so we checked the installer itself. On 3 November 2026 we downloaded Sapphire.pkg (version 3.5, released 15 October 2026) from the project’s GitHub and ran Apple’s own checks on it:
pkgutil --check-signaturesaid it’s signed with a Developer ID from Shariq Charolia, the developer named on the site, and notarized by Apple.spctl, the Gatekeeper check, accepted it as “Notarized Developer ID”.
Notarized means Apple scanned that build for known malware before it shipped. That’s a real check, and plenty of free notch apps skip it. Boring Notch isn’t signed, so macOS warns you on the first launch. Sapphire doesn’t need that workaround.
2 things to weigh anyway:
- It asks for a lot of access. Its FAQ says to grant Accessibility and Screen Recording. Face ID uses your camera. That’s normal for what it does, and it’s also why the code being public matters: you, or someone you trust, can read it.
- Face ID on a Mac isn’t Apple’s Face ID. Sapphire says its version runs on the regular FaceTime camera with its own anti-spoof model, stores data in the Keychain and matches Android’s “Class 2” biometric level. Apple’s own Face ID uses a depth sensor no Mac has. It’s handy. We wouldn’t trust it to guard a work laptop.
Only download it from those 2 places. Copies on other sites may not be the same build, and the signature check is the way to tell.
The Macs it runs on
Its FAQ says any Mac, Intel or Apple silicon, on macOS 14.6 Sonoma or later. It’s built around the notch, but it also supports Macs without one. That’s wider than most free options: Atoll, for example, asks for a 14 or 16 inch MacBook Pro.
One feature is narrower. The brightness boost is for the XDR screens on 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pros, which can go past the 500 nits macOS allows for normal content. A brighter backlight draws more power, so expect the battery to drop faster while it’s on.
Installing it
- Download
Sapphire.pkgfrom sapphire-app.tech or the GitHub releases. It’s about 115 MB. - Open it and follow the installer.
- Launch Sapphire from Applications.
- Grant Accessibility and Screen Recording when it asks.
- On a paid plan, enter your license key in its settings or sign in to its account portal.
It’s an installer package, so you’ll type your Mac password once.
The free tier
More than most paid notch apps. The free tier lists:
- A music widget with lyrics, a waveform and track scrubbing
- A file shelf: drag files into the notch, drag them out later
- Snap Zones, for tiling windows with a hotkey
- Per-app volume and a 10-band EQ, plus sending audio to several Bluetooth devices
- Android Nearby Share, for sending files to and from an Android phone
- A Face ID login, the brightness boost and Spotify controls in the volume HUD
- A battery charge limit, plus Caffeinate and lock screen widgets
- Clipboard history, notes, a calendar, weather, a camera mirror and 20-20-20 eye break reminders
That’s a whole utility drawer in the notch. If you’d rather have one app than five, it’s a strong pitch.
Put Your Notch To Work
That black bar already takes up space. Give it music, timers, and voice typing.
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The open bugs
Sapphire is moving fast. Version 3.0 shipped on 15 September 2026, 3.4 on 1 October and 3.5 on 15 October. The issue tracker shows what that speed costs. On 3 November 2026 it had 16 open issues, and the recent ones are telling:
- At least 3 about the calendar, including one where it shows a date 2 days behind
- “Laggy experience”, opened 2 November
- The notch sometimes not opening on hover
- Weather not loading, and a timer users want refined
None of that is unusual for a one-person project shipping every 2 weeks. It does mean you should try it before you pay for a plan, and check the tracker for your problem before you blame your Mac.
Sapphire vs Seam
Seam is our app, so read this table with that in mind.
| Sapphire | Seam | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, AI plans $15.99 to $30.99 a month | $19.90 once |
| Macs | 1 free, more on a paid plan | 2 per license |
| Trial | n/a, the core is free | 48 hours, no credit card |
| Open source | Yes, AGPL-3.0 | No |
| Signed and notarized | Yes (we checked version 3.5) | Yes |
| Requirements | macOS 14.6+, Intel or Apple silicon | macOS 14+, Apple silicon |
| Macs without a notch | Supported | Floating island |
| Dictation into any app | Not on its feature list | Yes, on-device |
| Focus timer with sessions | A timer and eye break reminders | Yes (Flow) |
| File shelf | Yes | Yes (drop zones) |
| Clipboard history | Yes | No |
| Window snapping | Yes | No |
| Face ID login | Yes | No |
Our pick
Pick Sapphire if you want the most features for $0 and you like the idea of one app doing window snapping, audio, Android sharing and the notch. Leave the AI plans alone until you know you’ll use them. A year of Basic costs more than most paid notch apps do for life.
Look elsewhere if you want fewer moving parts:
- If you want it free and simpler, try Boring Notch, open source, music and a file shelf. It’s unsigned, so read what the macOS warning means first.
- If you want voice typing and focus, paid once: Seam is ours. It’s $19.90 once for 2 Macs, with on-device dictation, a focus timer with sessions, calendar and drop zones. The trial is 48 hours with no credit card.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sapphire free?
Yes. The app is free and open source. Paid plans from $15.99 a month add AI features like Blip Live, Blip Agent and Circle to Search.
Is Sapphire safe to download?
The version 3.5 installer we checked on 3 November 2026 is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple. Download it only from sapphire-app.tech or its GitHub releases.
Does Sapphire work on a Mac without a notch?
Yes. Its FAQ says it supports Macs without a notch, on Intel or Apple silicon, with macOS 14.6 or later.
Is Sapphire on GitHub?
Yes, at github.com/cshariq/Sapphire, under the AGPL-3.0 license.
How many Macs does free Sapphire cover?
One. A second Mac needs a paid plan plus a per-device fee, from $11.00 a month.
Related reading
Put Your Notch To Work
That black bar already takes up space. Give it music, timers, and voice typing.
Download for free