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

[CWallace]

Yep, but 16:10. Which is a poor aspect ratio. Too tall for content consumption but too wide for work.

Ideally they’d be closer to the 4:3 of the iPad 12.9. 4:3 to 3:2 is best for productivity IMO, but difficult to fit into a hinged laptop.

Well Apple did it with the PowerBook G3 (4:3) and PowerBook G4 (3:2), but speaking only for myself, I prefer 16:9 and 16:10 displays.

 

[Wildkraut]

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

This reminded me of…

"A horse is a horse, of course, of course,
And no one can talk to a horse, of course,
Unless, of course, the horse, of course,
Is the famous Mr. Ed!"

 

[Nick_P]

Yes. Its functional as a webcam while increasing screen real-estate. That functional value is higher than the prior design.

 

[ekwipt]

Personally I don’t see the problem you either have the notch, have a black bar above the screen with the camera or have a clip on camera.

I know most people wouldn’t be with me but I would’ve preferred a seperate camera that magnetically clips on the top and then just one big screen.

In saying that the notch doesn’t bother me

 

[840quadra]

Since there is no FaceID, a hole-punch would have made a lot more sense, be less distracting, and disrupt the menu bar far less.

My guess is they were planning on putting in FaceID, but did an 11th hour abort due to pandemic / masks or other concerns.

 

[RedWing512]

They should really give the end users the choice to remove it by moving the menu bar below it and see how many opt to do so. Try using say Fantastical which notes upcoming meetings in the menu bar and loading up bluetooth, sound, time, airplay, and a few other widgets to the right and the notch is now in the way…On a phone the notch works, but a phone doesn’t have a menu bar, the design principles just are not the same.

To a certain degree, the notch “works” on the iPhone because there isn’t as much crucial information at the top as on a Mac. I say “to a certain degree” because there are people still to this day complaining that you can’t show the battery percentage at the top. I can guarantee—as mmikuta stated above—that at some point the notch will impede with the menu bar, either because there are too many icons showing in the “tray” area or the current app has too many menu options (or both). This is actually worse than the iPhone because you’re talking about actual menus and shortcuts being tampered with.

Long story short, despite what Apple is trying to make everyone think, the notch is an impedance.

 

[chrono1081]

Doing this without notch would be way smarter though

You can't, unless you get rid of the webcam which in the work from home era, may not be a great idea.

 

[aidler]

Steve would have never approved the notch. Especially on the phone.

Let's face it Steve would have fired anyone on the spot who suggested something like a notch on any device... even Jonny Ive. ?

 

[Wildkraut]

Personally I don’t see the problem you either have the notch, have a black bar above the screen with the camera or have a clip on camera.

I know most people wouldn’t be with me but I would’ve preferred a seperate camera that magnetically clips on the top and then just one big screen.

In saying that the notch doesn’t bother me

Well, it’s an esthetic disability without any weighting reasons, just like a furuncle in the middle of a beautiful face.

 

[aidler]

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

You mean the much better and apparently smaller cameras every other manufacturer is using?

 

[MGrayson3]

How about a “Pro Bezel” mode where the menu bar drops to its old location. No notch. Just the original bezel. That should make everyone happy, right? Right?!

 

[Johansee]

This is like buying a monitor with a permanent thumbprint. It's comically offensive, I would never in a million years buy something this ridiculous

 

[aidler]

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

STOP IT... that would be actual innovation. You need to be careful to talk about something like that around here...?

 

[npmacuser5]

Form vs Function! It's a computer not a Renior art. Could care less about the notch. Does it do the job? Good to go. The iPhone color another, could care less, when almost everyone (me) has some form of a case on the iPhone covering up the color. The only function any of the Apple products need to accomplish meet users' needs. How cool it looks, nice to have zero necessary.

 

[DesertDrummer]

Here's a crazy idea, people: Just chill out and give the notch a chance. Let's see how it actually feels to use it. It's highly likely that Apple tested this out with human beings.

 

[kerr]

Apple should offer a no camera 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.

Yeah, that's not happening. Some asked years ago about phones without a camera, that was never happening.

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

We all know that Apple drip feed features, so it wouldn't surprise me if Face ID is added within 2-3 years.

 

[azajohns]

There's a very simple software solution to all this, just shift the menu bar down. Maybe if Apple gets enough feedback they will add it as an option...

 

[CARIB_APPLE]

Should have added FaceID also.

 

[dwaite]

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

You still have physics to contend with, if you are going through screen and backlight the camera would be entirely top-case bump.

 

[jonnysods]

This was on Macrumors a day or two ago. The mouse cursor will go "behind" the notch.

Yeah I wasn’t sure if that was confirmed or not. Seems like a great way to prank folk.

 

[verniesgarden]

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

But what about those people that are hyper paranoid someone is watching them through their webcam And put black tape over their screen?

 

[chabig]

Let's face it Steve would have fired anyone on the spot who suggested something like a notch on any device... even Jonny Ive. ?

Actually, Steve was a fan of the notch. Trust me. ?

 

[Martyimac]

SMH.
no problem with notch on the iPhone or the MBP

 

[aidler]

Here's a crazy idea, people: Just chill out and give the notch a chance. Let's see how it actually feels to use it. It's highly likely that Apple tested this out with human beings.

You mean like the touch bar, the butterfly keyboard, the design with only two ports and so on??

 

[aidler]

Actually, Steve was a fan of the notch. Trust me. ?

The man had taste so that's impossible.