How the Mouse Pointer Deals with the Notch on the MacBook Pro

[fpnc]

Interestingly enough, this issue about mouse pointer behavior was being discussed right here on CN fairly early on and even before some of the content on Twitter and elsewhere. So, I guess maybe the writers on CN could spend more time reviewing forum content here on CN rather than looking afar on Twitter and Reddit.

That said, and following on to some of my earlier posts on the notch and mouse operation, I think that the behavior that Apple's user interface designer has revealed shows that there is really no "perfect" solution to this issue.

IMO, the fact that the mouse pointer can disappear and become hidden under the notch isn't an ideal user interface behavior, but that may be the best that can be done since any alternatives could introduce even more serious user interface issues.

The problem with most alternatives is what do you do when the user approaches the notch from below and at an angle to the menu bar? That's not as simple of a case as just moving the mouse from right to left (horizontally) as shown in the animation on Twitter. These kind of angled movements add all kinds of issues to the proposed solutions shown on Twitter and as I noted earlier (ahem, here on CN) it's probably quite difficult to determine the "best" behavior until you've actually tried it on one of these notched displays.

In any case, all of these user interface issues with the notch can be or will be addressed in software (with varying degrees of success), so they could be subject to change in the future.

Oh, maybe I should add that I'm not particularly bothered by the notch itself and it certainly wouldn't prevent me from buying a new NotchBook MacBook Pro.

 

[cb3]

I love the notch! 🥰 I wish it was bigger.

 

[yyzguy]

I have no issues with the notch.

I absolutely don't understand all the notch haters who outdo each other at finding ever more extreme ways to express their disdain for the notch. I mean, seriously, how much can you hate such a relatively insignificant detail

It still seems ludicrous to me that people are complaining about getting more screen real estate.

If you have the choice between no notch with less screen real estate and a notch that can either allow for more screen real estate or look the same as if it weren't there, then the latter has only advantages and no disadvantages. The notch is all upside, no downside.

Smartest reply I’ve seen. The anti notch people don’t seem to understand this

 

[haysoos123]

So... they've included a notch on a Mac. Not enough to do it to our handheld devices... They've now taken a form over function approach to yet another part of Mac design.

Yay.

What's next?

This is an example of function over form. Yeah, I think the notch is a little annoying and not that great-looking, but I think I've come around to it. Having a little more vertical space seems to be a good trade-off (74 pixels more it looks like). And I run dark mode mostly, so my menu bar is usually dark and it won't be so visible. In full-screen apps you won't see the notch at all. I think if you run light mode it might be more annoying... but this is exactly what it is, function (74 more vertical pixels) over form (a kind of ugly notch). To pass on the other amazing qualities of these machines because of a slightly annoying notch is shortsighted.

 

[fpnc]

No one should complain about the cursor being hidden behind the notch. Drag your cursor to the bottom corner on any Mac right now and it is hidden completely below the bottom bezel. Simply shake to expose it. Mac users have survived the dreaded hidden cursor in the bottom bezel for 2 decades. This too shall be fine.

That's not exactly true, at least not on my Mac. When you move the mouse off to the bottom or right of the display there is always a small part of the pointer that remains visible. It is never completely hidden (mostly hidden, but not completely). The only time my mouse pointer completely disappears is when I move from one display to another, but that could be because my second display has overscan.

That said, I agree that having the pointer completely hidden under the notch should NOT be a major issue for most users.

Frankly, I've been okay with the notch since it was first rumored a few days ago.

 

[ellsworth]

So it's now a "STASH" instead of a NOTCH. Got it.

 

[Mainyehc]

I would love if there is a way to make the menu bar black for all applications instead of translucent. This way you get the benefit of the extra screen area without drawing attention to the notch.

There is a way, in case you are willing to forgo those fancy live/dynamic desktop wallpapers; just open the background photo of your choice on a decent photo editor (like, say, Photoshop, Pixelmator, Affinity Photo or, if you want to go the F/OSS route, Gimp), scale it to the exact same size in pixels of your screen and add a black rectangle on the top edge with the exact same height of the menu bar (to figure that one out, obviously screenshots are your friends, and seeing how the menu bar on Monterrey and specifically on these machines is especially tall, you’ll need to either wait for your machine to arrive or for someone to post full-screen ones on the web to be sure of how tall it really is). That’s what I did, and it works great!

 

[anthorumor]

This is hilarious. Apple engineers need to stop hiding behind their notches and get back into the office!

What’s next, a sold out Apple microfibre cleaning cloth?? Oh wait…

 

[Jim Lahey]

Additional two hot corners would be useful for some, but I don’t think Apple would bring attention to the notch as something you purposely interact with. It would be immensely irritating accidentally bumping into it.

 

[pacalis]

I heard the notch has touchscreen implemented....

 

[jon9091]

There is a way, in case you are willing to forgo those fancy live/dynamic desktop wallpapers; just open the background photo of your choice on a decent photo editor (like, say, Photoshop, Pixelmator, Affinity Photo or, if you want to go the F/OSS route, Gimp), scale it to the exact same size in pixels of your screen and add a black rectangle on the top edge with the exact same height of the menu bar (to figure that one out, obviously screenshots are your friends, and seeing how the menu bar on Monterrey and specifically on these machines is especially tall, you’ll need to either wait for your machine to arrive or for someone to post full-screen ones on the web to be sure of how tall it really is). That’s what I did, and it works great!

How do you place a desktop wallpaper on top of the menu bar?

 

[Fomalhaut]

My God, enough with "The Notch"!

Apple had to give people something to talk about....everything else seems to be pretty good

 

[mumble]

Is this April 1?

 

[CC77]

You are not. Apple did enough market research. It is just that the vocal minority sometimes might make you feel that way

Apple famously does no “market research”. The trade off is that they dominated the industrial design community as as design visionaries. People brought their products because there was a level of polish and perfectionism at every single level, without compromise. That is, emphatically, no longer true. That’s why people care about the notch.

 

[carestudio]

actually I am more interested in the full screen shot than the mouse pointer.
Will the screen shot have the notch too?

 

[applemanit]

Steve Jobs would never allow this

Think about the last products they introduced.. iMac 24, iPhone 13 pro, new MBP

They lack “the apple” in term of design, they are now making industrial products.

 

[Mr Todhunter]

Right now I can completely hide the menu bar when I don’t need it. I don’t think this will still be possible with the notch. The notch will be there to annoy me.

 

[DeadeyeM]

Who the hell is writing this crap "for example, when users want to more easily hide the mouse pointer while they watch a video" all video players hide the cursor. jezus looks like MacRumors started hiring children who have no clue about the OS and App's

 

[attila]

The mouse cursor disappears by itself when you watch a video. This issue was solved decades ago.

 

[cupique]

The Notch doesn’t protrude into the display, actually the Notch has always been there. It is the display, that extends beyond the Notch making new space for the menu bar. I guess there might be option to hide the Notch permanently for those who can’t stand it.

 

[aeternitas]

To everyone buying a MBP now… you all know the notch will be gone just as fast as the butterfly keyboard was gone lol.

 

[pearvsapple]

Stupid feature for a stupid feature. Mac is dead.

 

[Shirasaki]

My God, enough with "The Notch"!

Until apple adds notch to iPad Pro, iMac, Mac Pro, Apple Pro XDR display and every single existing accessory on sale, the rant will not be “enough”.

 

[MowgliWolf]

Poor mouse pointer, travelling through the immaterium.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I have no issues with the notches.

Can’t say I’m ecstatic or anything about the notch but it certainly doesn’t bother me

 

[joecomo]

I have an even better question. Did they make the notch this big on purpose, so that they can shrink it in two years and call it innovation or because they originally wanted to put more sensors behind it and do they still plan to introduce FaceID on the Mac in the future? 🤔

Right now we have a big ugly notch with no real purpose! 🙅

my feeling is: it is bigger to accommodate FaceID in some not so far away future