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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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Without going full screen? So that your menubar jumps up and down depending on which application is in focus? That sounds even worse, honestly.
I've been in this thread for awhile and I've been one of the more vocal anti notch types, but given there's the TopNotch app and there are other ways to hide the notch, I've now reconsidered not buying a notched machine. I just ordered a new 14" MBP, the miniLED screen and other benefits of the new machines changed my mind. So sorry I've been so adamant in my anti-notch posts. I wont speak of getting rid of the notch again, at least until I get my new machine. 
Incorrect. Removing touch ID and implementing face ID would NOT save any money. If anything, the tech for face ID is likely far more costly given there is two sensors (Ambient light & Proximity),Followed by the dot projector, flood illuminator, speaker/microphone, ect.
FYI, Touch ID was using one sensor and a soldered haptic engine.
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fair enough. You could create a custom desktop with a white desktop and black band at the top if the notch bothers you. One thing about the new display is the black blends beautifully with teh notch.
Also fair, but why didn't Apple create a custom desktop that would do this very thing prior to release?
It's the loss of attention to detail that makes me yearn for the Apple of yore.
Notch inherited from the iPhone, choice of HDMI 2.0 instead of the more "pro" 2.1 (which is available in the "consumer" product Apple TV that comes at 179 USD) and two different design languages used for the iPad-like sharp edges of screen lid and the rounded edges at the bottom of the main body. Bad design. Specs missing "that one thing". No buy. End of story.
Good luck trying to hide the notch on the nasty pastel colours on the 2022 Macbook Air next year. You can't use black any more with those colours...SMFH!! What is Apple thinking? The design team needs to get fired!!
And not give us something to whine about?
Probably, but to add the features people want such as cameras, small bezels, etc. is forcing trade offs.
Necroing this thread to suggest something as a PowerBook G4 user: just, like, don't bother with the iSight? People who need it enough to complain about its omission probably care enough that they're more likely than the average person to go out and buy a webcam. Problem solved -- Apple gets razor-thin bezels, people can stop needing to buy or make webcam covers, and the people who use the iSight can just go out and get a webcam and stick it on the front like nothing ever happened.
You want people to stick an external camera on a laptop lid?
A laptop without a camera is… quite anachronistic, especially in this post-pandemic world.
A laptop without a camera is… quite anachronistic, especially in this post-pandemic world.
Came here to say this. I think we may have been able to have a conversation before COVID, but these days not having a webcam is a non-starter for most professionals.
“people can stop needing to buy or make webcam covers”. That’s a windows thang. And possibly for older macs, been years, that it’s not a thing. Read one snarky know it all actually linked to articles written in 2017 , not current. Simply answer don’t want the notch that comes with extra screen area, just turn off the extra screen area. You are welcome
Just looking, all of the articles about Apple urging MacBook owners not to cover their webcams came out in July 2020. Clearly people were still doing it at least as of a year and a half ago in such numbers that it warranted Cupertino to comment on it.
I'm also not suggesting it should never, ever appear -- one of Apple's things is that every product of theirs they sell directly is BTO. Making the camera optional, even if default, would solve the issue. Even if they charge more -- if they can charge $150 for a stick of RAM with the Mac Pro 2019, they can make displays without cameras.
I'm also not suggesting it should never, ever appear -- one of Apple's things is that every product of theirs they sell directly is BTO. Making the camera optional, even if default, would solve the issue. Even if they charge more -- if they can charge $150 for a stick of RAM with the Mac Pro 2019, they can make displays without cameras.
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I agree! We will abandon the M1... We will make Apple strong again, we will make Apple wealthy again, we will make Apple proud again, we will make Apple safe again, and yes, together, we will make PowerPCs great again!
You joke, but Moore's Law is dead for the dominant architecture, so when I can do everything I need a computer for and keep servicable machines from piling up in Pakistan or Mexico causing ecological issues, on top of getting $2,000 worth of build quality for $50...
I bring it up because nothing says the current laptop paradigm is objectively better than the one from 2005 -- sure, it's the best for some workflows, and I won't deny that. But I'm 20 years old and have never once used a webcam, like, ever. I don't imagine I'm alone, and if I ever do need one, I always have the option of getting a USB (or FireWire) one. I'm not blind to the work-from-home reality for a lot of people, but for people who don't work under those conditions or are willing (or want) to use replacements they bought themselves, it may be worth taking a look to see if going back to the days of webcams not being integral to the idea of a laptop might be a little less unthinkable than is assumed.
I bring it up because nothing says the current laptop paradigm is objectively better than the one from 2005 -- sure, it's the best for some workflows, and I won't deny that. But I'm 20 years old and have never once used a webcam, like, ever. I don't imagine I'm alone, and if I ever do need one, I always have the option of getting a USB (or FireWire) one. I'm not blind to the work-from-home reality for a lot of people, but for people who don't work under those conditions or are willing (or want) to use replacements they bought themselves, it may be worth taking a look to see if going back to the days of webcams not being integral to the idea of a laptop might be a little less unthinkable than is assumed.
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Just because people did something doesn’t mean they had do. Some people will always believe made up nonsense because facts don’t matter to them. Apple hardwired the cam light years ago and locked it down in privacy settings, but….. need to cover camera and break display cause…..
Regardless, people evidently see value in not having a camera, especially given that I've honestly never seen the plastic slide versions until October 2020 -- before then, it was always a post-it note or painter's tape, which shouldn't do much of anything in terms of pressure to the screen and so wouldn't get reported. Personally, the camera light being hardwired seems like a copout response. Yes, it's what you're supposed to do and I'm happy that they do it -- but assuming the person using the computer even notices (even if people were perfect at noticing things like that, occasionally people might be faced away from the laptop with the lid still open), it doesn't actually do anything to stop the camera access, just tell you to turn it off.
Whether you think the concerns are justified or not -- and honestly, I'm not all that worried, it's nice to have the option to not give anyone the opportunity. I'd even really consider getting one at that point -- I really am interested in M1, especially since it's both as fast as a 3080/Ryzen 4800H combo in Mac OS, and can in some cases be twice as fast with Asahi, while being non-amd64.
And even sidestepping the idea of people snooping on your webcam, which wasn't the initial point -- some people just never use webcams, and would prefer not to be saddled with the notch. Or they do, but are fine throwing a separate webcam in their laptop bag.
Whether you think the concerns are justified or not -- and honestly, I'm not all that worried, it's nice to have the option to not give anyone the opportunity. I'd even really consider getting one at that point -- I really am interested in M1, especially since it's both as fast as a 3080/Ryzen 4800H combo in Mac OS, and can in some cases be twice as fast with Asahi, while being non-amd64.
And even sidestepping the idea of people snooping on your webcam, which wasn't the initial point -- some people just never use webcams, and would prefer not to be saddled with the notch. Or they do, but are fine throwing a separate webcam in their laptop bag.
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What an odd thing to suggest. You may as well have suggested they make them with an optional trackpad.
You know, if I was just designing a laptop on my own and it wasn't attached to Apple, I would. Though I'd make it a modular part -- so as to make repairing the laptop or replacing it with some other sort of input (or a flush plastic or aluminum insert) easy.
A trackpad is still more universally useful than a webcam though, since it gives you an integrated option for one of the two input streams which is integral to using the computer when you don't have room for a mouse -- for example, during those times where you have your laptop on your lap; a webcam isn't and (hopefully) never will be, considering how awful Kinect was. I mean, I've gone the last... what, 14 years without ever needing a webcam? A mouse on the other hand, I even use one on my DOS machine, which technically I don't need the mouse for at all. And considering painter's tape and sticky notes are slightly more "permanent" solutions (obviously you can remove them, but the idea is they stay on fast and don't slide out of the way) than a sliding door, I imagine I'm not alone in using mice more than webcams.
A trackpad is still more universally useful than a webcam though, since it gives you an integrated option for one of the two input streams which is integral to using the computer when you don't have room for a mouse -- for example, during those times where you have your laptop on your lap; a webcam isn't and (hopefully) never will be, considering how awful Kinect was. I mean, I've gone the last... what, 14 years without ever needing a webcam? A mouse on the other hand, I even use one on my DOS machine, which technically I don't need the mouse for at all. And considering painter's tape and sticky notes are slightly more "permanent" solutions (obviously you can remove them, but the idea is they stay on fast and don't slide out of the way) than a sliding door, I imagine I'm not alone in using mice more than webcams.
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Solve what issue? Privacy+security concerns with the camera, yes.
The notch? No. They’re not gonna make a BTO option that turns that space into screen estate. Instead, in that hypothetical scenario, you’d either still have a notch, or they’d shove the menu bar into the 16:10 portion.
I'd take a conventional 16:10 display, if I had to. I fail to see how logistically that makes sense unless they're just reusing their old tooling from the 2020, I guess, but if they're gonna be that way, I'll bite.
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