That gorgeous animation you get opening up your iPhone Duo has been recreated for your Mac for most modern MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs. Here's where to get it.

If you've seen the iPhone Duo demonstrated, you know how good the animation is. And if you don't happen to have seen it yet, you'll surely be able to watch it later as every other foldable smartphone copies it.

In the meantime, if you have the right MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, you can run Mac Duo and see the same effect as you open or close the lid. Mac Duo is still being developed and tested on different machines, but because of lid sensor limitations on some hardware, the developer says that it is expected to work on:

  • M2 MacBook Air or later
  • 14-inch or 16-inch M1 Pro/M1 Max or later

There is also what's called an Intel Preview version, which has yet to be tested. The M1 MacBook Air and 13-inch M1 or M2 MacBook Pro are definitely not supported, nor are Intel models without a lid sensor.

The official site has downloads for both Apple Silicon, and a preview for Intel.

On Apple Silicon, the Mac initially will not let the app launch because it is not Notarized. You have to launch it, click the Done button in the error message that appears, then go to Settings, Privacy & Security, Security, and click on Open Anyway.

Mac Duo in action

It does precisely what you expect. As you close the lid of your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, whatever is on the screen blurs with the same motion seen on the iPhone Duo.

Then as you open it again, you get the same effect in reverse. Or rather, you do if you haven't quite shut the lid.

If you have entirely shut the lid, then you have to open it up enough to get the password and Touch ID field, which just ruins the effect.

Mac Duo does more, it has multiple different animation styles, but you're just going to spend the next five minutes slowly opening and closing that lid. That fun might only last a little while, but you'll never bother uninstalling and it will remain a treat.

It's a cute and make-you-smile app that is very well done, and we don't get enough of those anymore. Which is a shame because it is exactly this joyous combination of software and hardware that Apple does best.