Can BetterDisplay use the system brightness and volume OSD?

Choose an OSD style under Settings > Keyboard > OSD. Traditional OSD uses the original system brightness and volume feedback. System OSD is offered on macOS 26. On macOS 27 and later, that style is unavailable. If you previously selected it, BetterDisplay uses Under the app menu icon instead.

The system styles support brightness, volume and mute, but cannot show arbitrary custom icons. The macOS 26 System OSD can also show an incorrect device name or value. For BetterDisplay's own feedback, choose an app-drawn style such as Under the app menu icon, Top-center or Classic. Classic is app-drawn, despite its familiar square appearance.

BetterDisplay does not provide a standalone OSD replacement while leaving the brightness or volume key entirely to macOS. BetterDisplay shows keyboard feedback for adjustments it handles. If macOS handles the key instead, BetterDisplay does not draw a separate OSD for it.

If you want BetterDisplay to provide volume feedback even for an ordinary native audio output, enable its native volume-key handling, set its interception policy to Always, and keep Handle devices with native volume control enabled. The app still needs a suitable control target, and these preferences affect who handles the keys as well as which feedback appears. Review Native Keyboard Control before changing the policy.

Under the app menu icon can fall back to the top center when the menu bar item is hidden or cannot be used as a visible positioning anchor. If the OSD moves after appearing, investigate that separately.

See OSD settings for placement and value-display options. macOS may still draw its own OSD for adjustments it handles independently.