Monocle 2.0 for macOS - Noise-cancelling for your screen
A sleek, minimalist menu-bar app that elegantly blurs everything
but your active window, giving you the focus you need. The 2.0 update introduces a smooth window-to-window transition, along with other improvements and new features.
Replies
Monocle for macOS
Hi everyone! 👋
I'm Dominik, creator of Monocle, and I'm thrilled to share a major 2.0 update with you today.
TLDR: Honestly? Just visit monocle.heyiam.dk and see it in action. It sells itself way better than I can. (Oh, and I hid a little easter egg there. I'm sure it'll make your day. Can you find it?)
If you're still reading…
I started building Monocle almost a year ago as a personal project because traditional window dimmers always felt...well, ugly and boring to me.
Turns out I wasn't alone. Since launching the first version in March 2025, the response has shown me there's a whole community of people who believe beautiful design and powerful functionality aren't mutually exclusive.
So what makes Monocle different?
💭 Well, it's not just about productivity. It's about presence—feeling calm while you work, write, browse, think... It quiets everything down, so only what truly matters remains in focus.
It's also stunning—smooth gradients, buttery transitions, and a design so elegant that strangers at coffee shops stop to ask what you're using :)
And it's effortless—Monocle lives quietly in your menu bar. One click to focus. Shift-click to switch between gradient and fullscreen styles. That's it.
What's new in 2.0:
Major update with silky-smooth transitions, expanded customization options, a completely redesigned Settings UI for macOS 26 Tahoe, easier license management, and countless polish touches that make everything feel more refined and intuitive.
I offer a 7-day free trial, no strings attached. Then one-time payment—$9 (single-seat license) or $20 (three seats). No subscriptions.
Whether you're a minimalist, living with ADHD, or just seeking a calmer workspace... I think you'll love Monocle. Let me know what you think! :)
@heyiamdk Monocle 2.0’s focus-driven window blurring is an elegant solution for distractionfree work. The one-time pricing is refreshing, no subscriptions! Love the design orientation for neurodiverse users and minimalists. Curious: does it play well with virtual desktops/Mission Control on latest macOS?
Monocle for macOS
@khushal_bapna Thanks so much! Yes, it works great with multiple desktops and monitors! Monocle is smart about Mission Control too—it detects when you enter Mission Control/Exposé and gets out of your way, then seamlessly returns and blurs everything the moment you exit.
Hacking with Swift
I'm upvoting, commenting, and buying this, partly because it's cool (great job!), but partly also because it's not another AI grift on the front page of Product Hunt. (I think it's too cheap, FWIW. Cheap is good, but below a certain point it's easy to think "this is so cheap it can't be good", and that's definitely not what you have here!)
Monocle for macOS
@twostraws Thanks so much for your support , Paul! 🙏
Regarding the price - I didn’t want to overshoot it, since it’s a menu bar app, and, honestly, my goal with Monocle was never to get rich from it. For me, being able to build and maintain it without any coding background already feels like a huge win and an eye-opener.
That said, I totally get what you mean about pricing perception. I’ll try to find the right sweet spot. Do you have a specific price range in mind that would feel “just right” to you?
Hacking with Swift
@heyiamdk A tip I learned from RevenueCat was to ask a range of people four questions: "what price is so cheap you think the quality must be bad", "what price feels cheap enough that's it a bargain", "what price is expensive enough that you'll probably buy it but need to give it some thought," and "what price is so expensive you won't consider it". Plot those four across a bunch of folks and you should get a nice price diamond 🙂
You can read more here.
For me, I'd say "too cheap" is under $10, "bargain but easy purchase" is $10-$20, "need to think about it" is $20-$40, and "too expensive" is $40+.
Monocle for macOS
@twostraws This is really helpful, thanks so much for sharing, Paul!
minimalist phone: creating folders
Hey, Dominik, love the website – one suggestion – would personally create this interactive tab again, clickable and movable. I could move it only once and then it ended up like this. 😅
Monocle for macOS
@busmark_w_nika Oops! Thanks for pointing that out, Nika. Should be fixed now! 😅
minimalist phone: creating folders
@heyiamdk Works like a charm now! :D
Monocle for macOS
@busmark_w_nika Phew!
minimalist phone: creating folders
@heyiamdk 😂
Product Hunt
I just downloaded to test this out and holy smokes. Amazing job @heyiamdk! I honestly didn't expect it to be a) so responsive and b) so... pretty? I immediately thought of three use cases I would use this for. 1. Sharing screens on calls, 2. screenshots and 3. Recording product demos or looms.
Congrats on the launch and excited to see what else you build!
Monocle for macOS
Ahh thank you! @gabe Means a lot 🙌 And yep, those are definitely very strong use cases - Especially the product demos bit. That’s something I’m diving deeper into (just started with a rough “Before/After” GIF generator in this 2.0 version, but the goal is to make it a super handy tool for product builders soon)!
Subscription Day²
I love this app, use it all the time, and really liked the update with the smooth transition.
Monocle for macOS
Hey! @dmitriychuta Really appreciate you being here and supporting Monocle from the beginning - means the world! I'm glad you're loving the smooth transitions in 2.0. (It was one of those features that took way more work than expected)
Lovely premise and well-executed!
I'd be curious what it'd be like within an application. For example, in Cursor/VSCode it might be nice to blur everything but the code that I'm writing. Even in Fullscreen/zen mode there are still extra buttons producing visual nosie.
Theysaid
Love the clean and minimal vibe of Monocle, feels like the kind of setup every maker needs to stay sane. I’m preparing for my own launch soon and trying to learn from great products like this. Would love to connect and exchange notes with the team here.
kuku
Amazing. Love monocle and just did purchase for myself. Love this app and also love the landing page @heyiamdk
Monocle for macOS
Really glad you like both the app and its website! @bigmacfive
Monocle for macOS is a beautifully designed tool—elegantly blurring distractions to help maintain focus is such a simple but powerful idea. Do you plan to add customization for blur intensity or focus modes?
Sellkit
Beautiful concept. Will def try! Does the new version support customizable blur intensity?
Monocle for macOS
Thank you!@roozbehfirouz The blur intensity isn’t part of 2.0 yet because the native SwiftUI materials (blurs) don’t support it, and experimenting with custom blurs in the past made the app very CPU-intensive. BUT I won’t give up on this functionality, because it’s something I’ve been considering since the very beginning of Monocle’s development :)