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Can't Get Used to Your MacBook Pro's Notch? These Apps Will Hide It for You

bradman83 said:
This is the iPad Mini 6’s camera modules from the iFixit teardown. As you can see they’re almost as thick as the iPad case in general. I show this in part because I want to emphasize that there’s nothing in the module that can be spread out as you describe.

The issue here is not one of spreading out electronics, it’s good old fashioned optics and physics. To increase the webcam resolution to 1080p without sacrificing quality the sensor needs to be increased in size, and if you increase the sensor in size then the size of the lens assembly also needs to be increased so that it projects a light cone that will cover the sensor. Generally speaking the options are to either make a shorter stack of wider lens elements (called pancake lenses in the case of regular cameras), or a taller stack of narrower lens elements; the latter is what the iPad does with its thicker lens assembly. Apple had to engineer a flatter but wider lens assembly for the MacBook Pros. Wide apertures, needed to gather more light and improve low-light image quality, also require wider lens barrels. Look closely at the pictures and you’ll also note that what you see on the surface as the top layer lens isn’t indicative of the width of the optical assembly below. Nothing in those modules pictured can be spread out because they’re all part of the stacked lens assembly.

Put another way, Apple would not be able to fit even a 1080p webcam into the bezels of the iPad Mini if it were as thin as the lid of a MacBook Pro. Wider lens elements would need to be used, or the sensor size would need to be reduced, which would in turn reduce image quality (see: Dell XPS).
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The "spread out" point I was making was in some of the surrounding metal parts. The poster implied- or I interpreted them to mean- that those parts would "spill" into the screen area in these thinner lids. Those appear to be simply metal trim- not camera modules- and thus look like they could be relocated to me. However, I'm neither a hardware engineer, nor stayed at a Holiday Inn last night. ;)

I do thoroughly grasp physics though and I am casting no doubt about the physics limits of size of camera module. I get all that. There IS a 1080p camera in the thickness of this lid, so there IS a way to fit one in the thickness of this lid. If so, does it have to be that far from the top edge of the lid?

To make the notch essential here, that's the key question. It has to be placement (of this camera) driven. The argument would have to be that this positioning was as HIGH as Apple could get it in these MBpro lids. Else, if there was room to move it a bit higher, they could do what they did with iPads: modestly thicken the top bezel and fit the camera into the bezel = no notch needed.

So, as you speculate, this MBpro camera module is going to need to be relatively "fat"- the "shorter stack of wider elements." If so, then maybe the upper edge of the module IS not as high as iPad camera tops because it is considerably "fatter," so the middle of the "lens" must be positioned lower. If so, that makes the case for some kind of Notch, hole punch or (less appealing IMO) top bezel thicknesses somewhere between iPads and previous generation MBpros to fit it all in sans notch.

We'll see about this soon enough. iFixit will likely reveal this in the next few days. This is the first tangible logic to offer direct support of the real need for a notch here vs. my "what if" imagination/thinking. So I can certainly appreciate that.

I look forward to learning whatever is actually in there. My gut leans to placement driven by aesthetics: a decision for thinner bezels required a notch... so center the camera between top of bezel and bottom of notch... not because that's as high as it could fit but because that probably looks best if the notch decision was set. But that's gut... which is NOT brain. I acknowledge this positioning could be as close to the top as it could possibly be placed.

We'll see what iFixit reveals. And thanks for the new, logical rationale.
 
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Iconoclysm said:
Apple made the screen taller by the size of the notch. You have a complete large screen. Without the notch and the screen added there, you would have an aspect ratio that is on literally no other laptop. I think this piece of information is lost on the people that hate the notch because I keep reading the same complaints like yours. The laptop is taller than the "full screen".
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Okay. Yes, the screen is taller. So? The notch is still ugly and sticks out like a sore thumb. I’d rather a shorter screen than have the notch.
 
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I would actually like to see the opposite.

It would be cool if there was a way on safari where the menu bar would hide upwards (like the dock does at the bottom) and the websites address bar/icons were then on either side of the notch.

This would push the website tabs just below the notch and would give you even more screen to surf the web.
 
Iconoclysm said:
Yeah, it's like technology discussions should always be bitch fests with no counterpoints.
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point.jpg


They bought their MacBook, They KNEW what they were getting in to.

I SAY, LET 'EM NOTCH!
 
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Orange Bat said:
Okay. Yes, the screen is taller. So? The notch is still ugly and sticks out like a sore thumb. I’d rather a shorter screen than have the notch.
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Ok, so going back to your original complaint that it's taking up room...that's really not your problem with it, now is it? You think it doesn't look good. Nothing wrong with that but let's keep that in perspective when everyone is claiming Apple made some kind of mistake here. The mistake they made was that they did something that is not pleasing to your sensibilities, aesthetically.

And this is really my point about "defending" the notch. If I said, "The notch is beautiful, you should like that and you're a jerk if you don't!" - that would be defending the notch. Getting us on the same page about what the notch is and why you don't like it is not "defending" the notch. In fact, I also find the notch ugly...but I'm more interested in its usefulness in expanding the screen size without a bezel there. I'm certainly not spending $4000 on a laptop so I can show off how great it looks.
 
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therealMasa said:

Comment?
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There's a bug there that needs to be fixed...but he's not adding menu items, he's adding custom widgets or something along those lines. Someone already did a breakdown of what's going on and showed that the app he's running does not do that to them. The guy is both sensationalizing and being slightly disingenuous.
 
Shirasaki said:
Shut us critics up with workarounds and fixes or noises will just keep going for longer.
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They shut me up for now, I just ordered a new 14" MBP. :)

The hide the notch apps were enough, I don't think I'll have a problem with it anymore.
 
bobcomer said:
They shut me up for now, I just ordered a new 14" MBP. :)

The hide the notch apps were enough, I don't think I'll have a problem with it anymore.
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I can’t afford new MacBook Pro yet, but my eyes may force me to do so no matter what. :( :( :(

Took a trip to apple store recently and 16” is so much bigger than I thought. It’s crazy…
 
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Avatar74 said:
Man, anyone will write an app to capitalize on any kind of impulse these days.

So for $10 you can basically convert your 16" MBP to a 15" MBP. Eventually there'll be another app so you can re-add the notch back in on some apps but not all... and I bet it'll sell for $50.

W.C. Fields wasn't kidding.

Sidenote: I received my MBP M1 Pro yesterday and the notch does not even enter my mind. You know how often I've looked at the menubar and thought, "God, I wish it were lower, like on my 15" MBP?" Not once.

Also, if you think putting the camera below the screen would be a better solution, let me introduce you to what that looks like.
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Two of them are free.
 
Iconoclysm said:
Complaining leads to "defending". If you think it's worse to point out when a person literally doesn't understand what they're criticizing or pointing out how ridiculous their complaint is, you really aren't paying enough attention to what's going on here. We've got people in this very thread claiming that Apple's competition is already doing all of this, and better than Apple, which is flat out wrong and misinformation.
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Why do you feel the need to be an apologist? Does it bother you when criticism goes undefended, especially when it doesn't fit within your view of the world? Seems to me that's the very thing wrong with the world at the moment: I'm not allowed to have an opinion unless it's yours, and you'll spend more energy than necessary trying to convince me I'm wrong.

I hope that brings you joy; otherwise it's wasted energy.
 
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I don't understand people logic, a notch is unnoticable but a thin bezel is ugly?
If Apple made that 50mm webcam into an all around 50mm bezel all these issues would have been gone.

I am using 2015mbp with thick black bezel and everything works beautifully no issues or chipped screens or weird app behaviour
 
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contacos said:
I tried one of them but I actually prefer the notch. Seeing the black bar at all time makes the screen appear smaller for some reason. Trick to the brain?maybe because this way you will have the actual bezel + the black „digital bezel“ from the menu bar so it ends up looking like one big bezel. I prefer seeing the wallpaper behind the menu bar
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i think the rounded corners make it unappealing , try with sharp edges
 
BvizioN said:
What I have learned is that people in general always want to find something to dislike.
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Nope! I want to like this. If it still had the touchbar and no notch, I would already have placed an order. It would be perfect. But unfortunately it’s not. For other people the calculation is different...they didn’t like the touchbar. That is the problem here: Apple makes polarizing design choices. You can see it throughout this site. Face ID vs. Touch ID. Headphone jack vs. wireless. Touchbar vs. function keys. Notch vs. no notch. In making changes to things, or even doing outright reversals on things, Apple splits people into two camps. And at various times, one camp or the other is going to be unhappy. Not because they WANT to, just because Apple isn’t giving them something they want or took away something they were used to and liked.
DMG35 said:
Anyone thinking about these, get Topnotch, its the best of them imo.
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Lol...might just be the best name ever for an app.
 
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MadeTheSwitch said:
Nope! I want to like this. If it still had the touchbar and no notch, I would already have placed an order. It would be perfect. But unfortunately it’s not. For other people the calculation is different...they didn’t like the touchbar. That is the problem here: Apple makes polarizing design choices. You can see it throughout this site. Face ID vs. Touch ID. Headphone jack vs. wireless. Touchbar vs. function keys. Notch vs. no notch. In making changes to things, or even doing outright reversals on things, Apple splits people into two camps. And at various times, one camp or the other is going to be unhappy. Not because they WANT to, just because Apple isn’t giving them something they want or took away something they were used to and liked.

Lol...might just be the best name ever for an app.
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Well said. And whether one found it useful or not (never had one so can't comment), the Touch bar was undeniably beautiful. The new keyboard is not. Neither is the notch.

Macs are the go to device for creative people who prize beautiful design. Anyone who specialises in product or ux design will have an understanding why the notch is an ugly design (and the MBP notch appears to have been created with none of the attempt to carve an attractive curve that marks the iPhone notch out). Some people don't care about the appearance of their machine, just the functionality, and for them I'm happy. By all accounts these new MBPs are the most powerful MacBooks ever by some distance. For those of us whose next device is always going to be the most powerful portable machine running macOS, it's a real frustration when that machine is revealed to be not only not attractive but also in the case of the notch, actively unattractive. It's not like I can run Xcode on a Dell (nor would I want to).
 
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