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Apple Says Notch is a 'Smart Way' to Give Users More Space for Content on New MacBook Pros
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Is that true though? Apple had to kill butterfly keyboard, despite them being super stubborn, because of outrages. That is opposite of understanding.
Here's a few:
John Gruber
Marco Armant
The Future
This understanding?
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No, you are wrong
That the screen area below the notch is standard 16:10 has been confirmed. The notch + 74 pixel height LCD area at the top are clearly in addition to a standard screen size.
Exactly right. Move the menu bar down, fill the void with black. Bezel restored, notch gone forever.
This is the real issue, we may have gained screen real estate but we've lost menu bar real estate, which personally I find much more valuable.
You enter "fullscreen mode" by removing all pixels left and right from the notch and replace them with unused black pixels which are inactive, and moving everything down what you prevoiusly had to reveal the content which was hidden behind the notch, and in the process compressing or losing information from below or across the screen which.
Reduction of pixels is by definition a reduction.
The point is that it's a reduction of something which was newly added and you didn't have before, making a comparison somewhat unfair. Without the notch you would not have those additional pixels which get turned black while in full-screen mode.
I don't see the issue personally: those who like having the option to move the menu bar in the notch area can do so, those who don't like it will likely have a mode where the area around the notch is permanently black and effectively have a 16:10 screen only.
Android studio takes up so much menubar space, and I have so many icons on the right side, that just using Android Studio on a 15" Macbook starts hiding the left-most icons. I can't even imagine how bad it will be on a 14" with a notch.
So funny, the lengths people go to, the mental gymnastics they're willing to perform, to rationalize their bias. Amazing.
I'm no Apple hater. In fact I'm willing to wager that I've spent more on Apple products over the last 20 years than just about anyone on this sub. But I also have clear enough lenses to understand that the notch is poor design in a laptop.
But you guys do you.
What "mental gymnastics" are you talking about? That the notch doesn't eat into the traditional 16:10 monitor area is a fact confirmed by the screen's resolution. It's not a matter of "bias": it's a matter of counting the pixels and applying basic math.
There is a difference between "I don't like it, so it's bad for me" vs. "I don't like it, so it must be bad for everyone". I understand you don't like it, but you don't represent every user.
Furthermore, even if you don't like it, I'm sure if you really can't stand the notch you'll have the option to use the screen as 16:10 permanently. This will give you what you want, without preventing other users to get what they might want.
What I don't get is how you make a definitive statement, I show you to be wrong and all of a sudden you start whining about it. I get it. You don't like it. I just got my new MBP and am not bothered by it. With a black menubar it looks just like a bezel except the space isn't wasted. The 14 incher is a little bigger than my M1 Air with a larger screen. Compare to my 2018 15" MBP it looks like I lose about an inch on the tides and maybe 1/8" from the top, based on the screen protector the M1 MBP shipped with, when I overlaid it on the M1 MBP. All in all a nice combo of weight, size and usable screen space.
Meh. Call me when you hit 40+.
That's your opinion. Based on my experiences today I'd say Apple hit at least a triple, if not an in park HR.
Keyboard is nice. Good feel when closed. Small Bezel to maximize screen space. MacBook Pro engraved on back is a nice touch.
My only question right now is "Return it for a more powerful processor?"
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This is for sure the frustration, and your summary at the end is spot on.
At some point the notches will be gone and will be humorous (and a bit sad) to return and read so much defense of them -- even worse, the posts claiming it's BETTER with a notch! lol
You did not make a definitive statement, you just assumed your opinion to be a fact and universally acceptable. You degrade his opinion to something that is all about not liking something, while he instead gave a reason why it is not smart.
And I get his tone. People here go to great lengths to defend their precious products and once design fails (design is both aesthetics and functionality, which here is impaired for a number of people who have to use the menu bar more than just Safari browsers who happen to buy a "Pro" laptop because it is cool) prove to be a mistake even among your peers, those people change their attitude from "omg such a great idea" towards "yeah but I can live with it". Same as with the Touch Bar, Butterfly keyboard, mouse charging, holding your phone wrong and the likes.
Again, you can move the display down a notch or two and the massive bezel provided below can be halved on top and bottom, completely eradicating the notch and having an extended display without having to provide software workarounds to deal with the problems the notch introduces. And it would even be symmetrical.
There is so much low hanging fruit up for grabs it's insane they let everything be picked up by the competition. Or they just plan their pipeline accordingly which imo is the more likely scenario.
Thats... is not what bad design is. That is YOU having a personal confrontation with the way is designed.
I know. I did not claim to make one.
I made no statement that my opinion was a fact.
My statement about "definitive statements" was in regard to his original post, to wit:
Here's how we know: when the leak came out a couple days before the announcement it was 100% mocked and ridiculed.
That was a pretty definitive, and wrong, statement. I quoted several posts from the thread showing that. You need to go back to the OP to understand the discussion.
I have no issue with his, nor anyone's, dislike of the notch. Personal taste is subjective and there is no definitive right or wrong. I do take issue with people claiming that it is somehow wrong for everyone and that an opinion to the contrary is wrong.
Some people found the Touch Bar useful. Apple clearly felt it was not worth continuing. I really don't get the issue with having to charge the apple Mouse form the bottom; but then again I think the Magic Mouse is pretty useless for real work.
For me, I really don't care about the notch but like the extra screen space. I like the SD Card slot returning, think MagSafe should have used a USB-C plug instead of yet a new proprietary one, HDMI Meh, I have never really needed but in a few situations where a dongle worked just fine. I like the size and form factor of my new 14" MBP. Only decision is whether to keep it or get a more powerful processor. Either way, it will no doubt last for my 3 year refresh cycle.
But that is just my opinion. In the end, the device either meets your needs or it doesn't. YMMV HAND.
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The same can be said to those attacking Apple's design decisions though: many were skeptical of the touch strip and it proved itself to be a failure, but also many were skeptical of larger-sized iPhones and it proved to be a success instead.
What I think should be frowned upon is the insinuation that those who have a different opinion don't have a rational argument in support of that and are assumed to lack objectivity, or the insinuation that people are defending Apple's design decision a priori. You should attack their arguments, not your personal assumptions of their motivations.
If you check the post history of some arguing in favour of the notch you might discover they were very critical of other design decisions Apple made, depending on their personal taste or the way they though the change would impact them.
You can't reduce something that wasn't already there to begin with. Either you get a 16" laptop with no extra height and no notch, or you get a 16.2" with a notch that's specifically for the menu bar. No one is making a no camera, 16.2" laptop with a completely non standard ratio.
Why can't the menu bar have a dark mode (in 16:10 without the notch and with squared corners like full screen apps but with the menu bar icons and text in white) independent from the screen all of the time?
At least that might be aesthetically pleasing.
I use a black desktop and it keeps the menubar black with white icons and have not run into a case where it changes.
Jesus...you can move the menu below the notch...and then you have a 16:10 screen just like before.
You keep saying that, but AFAIK it's only possible by entering full screen.