SmackBook
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN cites it as a fun example of novel uses of the MacBook motion sensor whenever laptop accelerometers come up.
What it is
A very short demo of SmackBook, a hack that used the MacBook Pro's sudden motion sensor so that smacking the sides of the laptop switches desktop spaces.
Recommended by 0 HN commenters across 0 different months, 2013 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Cites UVB-76 · 2013-08 · on “iCloud Beta Incorporates iOS 7 Look and Feel”
I know it's not quite the same, but MacBooks do have sudden motion sensors. See the "smackbook": [this video]
Cites ratww · 2021-05 · on “Previews of software updates designed for people with disabilities”
Reminds me of the old hack someone did using the accelerometer in a Macbook hard drive to switch between Spaces: [this video]
Cites jerlam · 2025-09 · on “The MacBook has a sensor that knows the exact angle of the screen hinge”
Probably not as bad as the Smackbook, which used the HDD impact sensors to change apps: [this video] "I was just hitting the side of my laptop in order to go to Safari" No longer supported because we don't use HDDs anymore.
Cites future10se · 2026-02 · on “Reading the undocumented MEMS accelerometer on Apple Silicon MacBooks via iokit”
Aaackshually, the Sudden Motion Sensor was introduced on 2005 in the PowerBook G4, and continued through the intel MacBooks with hard drives. While officially undocumented, people figured out how to access it back then, with novel uses like smacking your MacBook to change spaces (virtual desktops) or swinging the Mac around to make lightsaber noises. - [this video] - [LINK] (I should know, I was in university back then and swung my Mac around like an idiot, lol.) On the first Retina MacBook Pro 15" in 2012, and moving forward with all MacBooks that were SSD-only, they removed the SMS as it was not needed. To my knowledge, this is the first time we're hearing that Apple Silicon machines have an ac