Apple Says Notch is a 'Smart Way' to Give Users More Space for Content on New MacBook Pros

[pmiles]

Yeah, but what about applications that run full screen... where the Apple Menu bar is not present, but now the notch intrudes into the applications space? Perhaps blocking features?

 

[jdoyle]

Can someone explain why they couldn't just use the exact same components from an iPhone and fit it all into a narrow bezel? Im looking at my iPhone now and the notch is right at the edge of the front. And that included Face ID as well. Don't understand why it has to be so big. If I get one I'll have to use every trick to try and disguise it.

 

[greenmeanie]

There's absolutely no reason to have such a massive notch other than keeping costs low and Apple's margins high. They could have built it with a notch that fit the menu bar (or even no notch), but that would have cost more.

The really insulting thing about this for the customer is that it's sold as a premium laptop.

Do you really think if there are smaller cameras out there that Apple wouldn't have used them?

 

[El Szomorito]

The notch is a Hitler mustache, and causes me emotional distress. Is there a good American
lawyer?

 

[EM2013]

Smart will be when the notch is replaced by an under screen camera or some sort of dual pixel technology.

So innovation.

 

[El Szomorito]

I don’t think that will be compatible. Everyone will be looking for a dongle. If you don’t have a dongle… say no to the virtual meetings. You are pretty much screwed.

Imagine how much a dongle will cost. $99?

I hate that every device has cameras now and I can't say sorry I don't have one. Video conferencing is stupid and overused.

 

[Tech_Mac_Man]

Why not remove the notch and sell a webcam as a dongle?

I was thinking the same thing. Why not sell a 1080p webcam separately for those who actually need a webcam for their day to day lives..? Apple could have monetized from both the Macbook Pro and Webcam adapter.

 

[Tech_Mac_Man]

The notch is big for no reasons.

I agree they have the 1080p webcam with no Face ID so why have a notch there to say they are future proofing it for the next generation. More like they don't want to change the design for another 5 - 6 years smh!

 

[mikethemartian]

I hate that every device has cameras now and I can't say sorry I don't have one. Video conferencing is stupid and overused.

That’s my view on meetings at work in general. How many times do I have to hear people at the meeting say the same thing over and over again especially when it has nothing to do with my task.

 

[Johnny907]

My question: why is it so damned big? We already know the answer, because Apple clearly intended for these things to feature Face ID but the tech didn’t work out in time, maybe next revision. Love the runaround though.

 

[fbr$]

When using Windows or Ubuntu the notch will look pretty awful. Oh, wait, this computer is not suposed to officially run other OS...

 

[ricketysquire]

I don't understand this obsession with shrinking bezels. It's like the notch is a solution for a non-existent problem. No one asked them to shrink the bezels around the screen.

If it's a "Professional" grade machine, there needs to be a level of pragmatism in the design. I think they partially succeeded at this by adding additional ports, bringing back function keys, focusing on computing power, battery life and not being so concerned with thinness this time around. But then they really screwed it up with this notch.

 

[kerr]

a white notch on the next MacBook Air would not be smart

 

[mikethemartian]

The notch is a Hitler mustache, and causes me emotional distress. Is there a good American
lawyer?

Harvey Birdman?

 

[bepj]

Apple should offer a no camera option for the MacBook Pro. This would be great for people who don’t want a camera w/ notch, or can’t have one on professional work computers for security issues.

 

[danmaldesign]

I think the notch is a great idea. It is functional, gains more screen space in the same physical envelope, and looks good. I think the complainers are just complainers. Maybe looking for media hits for an ad revenue.

There were a few comments about putting the webcam on the chin. I have a Dell Precision laptop for my dayjob with the webcam there. That's the worst idea ever. It makes everyone look horrible on the webcam.

Are you really allowed to call the notch “FUNCTIONAL” when it lacks FACE ID capabilities?

 

[ASentientBot]

This may be a silly question, but -- coming from someone who never used a miniLED device -- does the notch height correspond nicely to an integer number of backlight regions? Does it even matter?

I'm wondering if a fullscreen window with notch hidden, in a dark room, would look identical to a notchless MBP, or if there would be a slight glow to the black bar at the top.

 

[sunny5]

And you know this how? Have you gotten the computer and done a teardown of the screen?

Do you know how small is the web cam? Also, there is a punch hole option.

 

[paradox00]

I don't understand this obsession with shrinking bezels. It's like the notch is a solution for a non-existent problem. No one asked them to shrink the bezels around the screen.

If it's a "Professional" grade machine, there needs to be a level of pragmatism in the design. I think they partially succeeded at this by adding additional ports, bringing back function keys, focusing on computing power, battery life and not being so concerned with thinness this time around. But then they really screwed it up with this notch.

Plenty of people have asked for that actually, and it makes sense for laptops. Providing a larger screen in a smaller device footprint is worthwhile.

They could have kept a larger top bezel and had a 16:10 screen with no notch, which is what this laptop gives you in fullscreen mode. What would you gain from that though? Nothing. You'd have the same usable screen area in fullscreen mode, and less when not full screened.

You talk about being pragmatic, but your argument is for having less usable screen area in the same device footprint. Simply because you don't like how the notch looks. I'm not sure how you're squaring this circle of claiming pragmatism, yet complaining about aesthetics, but good on you I guess.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

The fact they have to defend it means poor design.

They are trying to convince people that a notch isn’t a bad thing. A notch is a notch. Part of the screen 😂

 

[firewood]

Doing this without notch would be way smarter though

You want a MacBook without a front camera? Or maybe one of those old camera dongles you had to clip on top?

Otherwise, there needs to be room somewhere for the front camera.

 

[dwaite]

I find it curious that when Apple introduced the notch with iPhone X developers were asked by Apple not to attempt to hide it, but now they chose the opposite approach and developers need to actively opt in to unhide it? ??‍♂️

When the iPhone X came out, developers had to opt in to get the notch unhidden - otherwise it shrunk down the screen size to just the safe area without the notch or rounded corners.

If you rebuilt an app without taking this into account, you would get navigation/toolbar buttons cut off by the notch or corners.

 

[Wildkraut]

The notch is a Hitler mustache, and causes me emotional distress. Is there a good American
lawyer?

Is there a new Ironsky in the works?

 

[CWallace]

There's absolutely no reason to have such a massive notch other than keeping costs low and Apple's margins high. They could have built it with a notch that fit the menu bar (or even no notch), but that would have cost more.

We'll know for sure what we see iFixit's teardown and how large the components actually are.

 

[[AUT] Thomas]

I'm okay with the notch, but they should really have put FaceID there... was expecting that for the new Macbooks...