Leakers Claim Next MacBook Air Will Have White Notch and Bezels, Here's Why They Could Be Right

[Orange Bat]

Hey, I’ve got an idea! It’s a little thing I like to call ”consumer choice”. It goes like this: on the MacBook Air, why not offer consumers a CHOICE of bevel color? I know what your thinking: ”That’s crazy talk! And heresy!” But imagine it like this: Apple gives you a choice of laptop color, and then you also get to choose its bezel color. You could do something as wacky as a blue laptop with black bezels! WOW!

I won’t even discuss my ideas for choosing between a notched a notchless laptop. I don’t think the world is ready for that one yet.

 

[TheSynchronizer]

Personally I think Apple will take an entirely different approach, and instead keep the air with the thicker top bezel, slimming down the side and bottom bezels. Kind of how the iPad air has thicker bezels than the pro. Yes they will be white but there won’t be a notch, making the extra space for a menu bar as another feature of upgrading to the pro.

 

[IIGS User]

It amazes me people have this crap fit about the notches. I never even NOTICED the notch on any Apple product until I started seeing people have a cat over it here. It NEVER bothered me, ever since I had an iPhone X, Xr, 11, 12P, or 13PM. I never really cared.

So I guess I'm a little different.

 

[headlessmike]

My eyes are already burning.

Light bezels are actually better than dark ones when it comes to eye strain and readability.

 

[fuchsdh]

I’d be happy with this. I remember my white plastic-bodied iBook with great fondness, and that definitely filled a market niche.

Yeah I don't get the gnashing of teeth we've seen over the iMac and similar. It's like people forgot that Apple was selling white-bezeled iMacs for years before they got black ones, or the entire category of extremely popular iBooks and MacBooks. I get why some people prefer the black look but the idea they would go to (another neutral color) doesn't seem bizarre.

(Of course there are also the people complaining that Apple was intelligent and didn't stick super-saturated colors right next to your screen with the iMac. So there's definitely no way of pleasing everyone.)

As a side note it's hilarious half of these renders act like the MacBook Air will still have super-flat sides and no feet like the (inaccurate) MacBook Pro renders.

 

[fjsalcedosotoca]

Apple is expected to equip the next MacBook Air with a notched mini-LED display and slimmer bezels, similar to the new MacBook Pros. But why would the screen borders and notch on a new MacBook Air not be black, like the Pro models, rather than white, as recent rumors suggest? First let's look at the context for these leaks, and then consider Apple's possible reasons for such a design change.

Color in Context

Leaker Jon Prosser claimed back in May that Apple's upcoming redesign of the ‌MacBook Air‌ will be available in various colors, similar to the current 24-inch iMac. Since then, reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has made the same claim, and more recently, reliable leaker Dylandkt has repeated the rumor, apparently based on information from his own sources.

Concept render by @RendersbyIan​

Both Prosser and Dylandkt say the bezels on the colored MacBook Air models will be white or "off white," like the screen borders on Apple's 24-inch colored iMacs, along with an all-white keyboard. Both leakers also reiterate rumors that Apple's redesigned entry-level notebook will have several features adopted from the recently announced 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, including mini-LED display technology and the controversial camera notch.

The obvious anomaly here is that the new MacBook Pros have a black notch and bezels, not to mention an all-black keyboard. To make sense of the possibility that Apple will make these areas white on the next MacBook Air, it's worth going back to the iMac and looking at Apple's reasoning behind the 24-inch desktop's colorful redesign, and that contentious white border.

Back to the iMac

When Apple unveiled the radically redesigned 24-inch iMac in April in a range of colors, some observers winced at the white screen borders (Apple calls them "light gray") and wondered why Apple hadn't extended the vibrant color scheme to the edges of the display, or at least used black for the bezels instead.

"The borders are meant to complement the typical home design, for one, and blend into the background," Colleen Novielli, Apple's head of product and marketing, later explained in an interview. "The lack of the stark contrast provides a more seamless experience for the user."

Pitched in this way, Apple was claiming that black bezels would have provided too much contrast against most home decor, but it was also suggesting something else: White borders are there for casual Mac users, the consumer segment most likely to appreciate iMac colors designed "to bring a sense of brightness, optimism, and joy."

Office workers in brightly lit environments are also likely to warm to the same design attributes, while using apps with white backgrounds such as spreadsheets and word processors, which pair well with the light gray bezels.

Apple is essentially saying black borders are better suited to creative professionals – video editors and photographers who tend to work in darker environments, for example. And we don't need to wait for Apple's redesigned larger iMac to see if it has black bezels to prove this theory. Apple has already said the black notch and borders on the new MacBook Pros "look great in dark mode, which our pro users love."

It's easy to imagine Apple likewise claiming a white notch and bezels look "great" in light mode, but the current 24-inch iMac gives us another reason to believe the redesigned MacBook Air is likely to have off-white elements.

Back to Roots Redesign

When Apple revealed that the 24-inch iMac would be available in a range of fun colors, many were quick to note the similarity it bears to the original 1998 all-in-one desktop, the iMac G3, which was offered in several colors and paired with a light gray bezel.

Instantly recognizable thanks to its iconic rounded design amidst an ocean of boxy beige desktop PCs and monitors, the iMac G3 was loved by consumers and quickly became the best-selling computer on the market at the time.

Apple followed the original iMac in 1999 with the iBook G3, which continued the theme of combining color and light gray plastic, and added an off-white keyboard to boot. The iBook was essentially the portable version of the iMac. In ads, Apple even used the slogan "iMac to go. Introducing iBook" and "iMac unplugged."

From the return of the classic "hello" in joined-up handwriting in Apple's marketing material and software, to the latest all-in-one desktop Mac's bold colors, everything suggests Apple is in the midst of a back-to-roots design overhaul for its consumer Mac line. This explains why Apple changed the iMac's bezels to white after 14 years of black, and why it makes sense to expect the MacBook Air could follow in the same footsteps – even if it does mean a white notch.

Concept render by @RendersbyIan​

For all the rumors and leaks about the upcoming MacBook Air expected in 2022, check out our most recent MacBook Air rumor posts and our dedicated MacBook Air roundup.

Article Link: Leakers Claim Next MacBook Air Will Have White Notch and Bezels, Here's Why They Could Be Right

Now, bring back the rainbow coloured apple to de top left corner of the screen... at least, as an option.

 

[Kashback]

True the iMac has white bezels. But every mobile product now has a black bezel. Including the colourful iPad air and mini. Even the silver entry level iPad and iPhone SE which always had a white bezels are now black. So hopefully these rumours are incorrect.

 

[JamieLannister]

White bezels (and a white notch) to remind u that your are a peasant and not pro enough to spend on a higher end much more expensive machine.

Marketing genius apple is!

 

[jlc1978]

It used to be that the MacBook was aimed at home and school users and the Air was that middle tier that appealed heavily to people who traveled a lot for work, especially as a second machine, and people who wanted something with pro characteristics w/o the pro weight and price tag.

It is appealing from a weight / size perspective for traveling. Lugging a 15" MBP through multiple terminls gets old real quick. Several of my co-workers have Airs and tehy meet all tehir needs even as a primary device.

I was going to trade in my M1 MBA on my new M1 MBP but will trade in my 15" 2018 MBP instead.

So it’s a bit of a shift to make it the low-end machine, though in the last few years, that’s what it’s been. But Apple has made it seem like there is no low end, just middle and high. This feels like more of a low vs high with no middle.

"Low End" and Apple is a bit of an oxymoron but I agree with your point.

Until Apple finds a way to make the screen white when the Mac is asleep, this design rationale is quite absurd. If you can’t hide the screen, why not hide the bezel? I never understood white bezels on iPhones for the same reason. And as others have pointed out, it makes even less sense with a notch.

I would guess Apple figures most peopel close the machine and not just let it sleep when not in use.

'Corporate' has such a broad meaning, so I think I disagree with you a bit.

Fair enough. There are quite a few different "corporate" environments.

Many corporate users only ever run basic office applications and prefer the thinnest/lightest devices possible, so the MBA is absolutely aimed at them (well, the 12" MacBook was prime for those people, but now we're left with the Air). Now that the MBP is a bit chunkier, pricier, more clearly aimed at creative professionals (and the basic M1 crushes the old intel low-wattage stuff anyway), the MBA is even more going to be the choice of corporate folk.

Good points. The price point makes them compelling as well, especially if you're buying more than 1 or 2 machines. Price is probably the biggest driver of what to buy for most companies since, as you point out, most users needs are very basic.

From a user perspective, since carrying around your laptop to meetings, working with a co-worker, etc. is much more common thin and light is appealing.

I just think Apple, from a marketting, as well as revenue, perspective would like to position the MBP as the "corporate" or "professional" machine and the MBA as the Home/Education one.

In my recent experience, the corporate market is actually dominated by iPad Pros and Microsoft Surfaces.

Having been pretty much WFH due to Covid I haven't seen many offices lately but before it seemed Dell/HP was teh machine of choice. I have a 12" iPad Pro with Apple's keyboard / touchpad case and it is a fine second device for traveling when you don't need teh power of a Mac.

It amazes me people have this crap fit about the notches. I never even NOTICED the notch on any Apple product until I started seeing people have a cat over it here. It NEVER bothered me, ever since I had an iPhone X, Xr, 11, 12P, or 13PM. I never really cared.

Think different. Like your avatar. I had a ][GS and would give Mac using friends a hard time about not having a color finder, back in the day when Mac and Apple ][ users hated on each other. The ][gs was a great machine but not Jobs' vision for the future. Had the Mac not come to pass we'd be arguing over the Apple ][ Pro's notch design.

So I guess I'm a little different.

I pity folks stuck with Surfaces. From my experience they are neither a good tablet nor PC and prone to failure. YMMV.

 

[Lukkee24]

I just hope they keep the current price point, but sadly sounds as though that won't happen. Yet despite the rumoured price increase; based on the new MBP starting at 512gb, the Air will probably still start at just 256gb. Hope not!

 

[Darth Tulhu]

Th silver MacBook airs for last decade are just spectacular, brilliant and have a nicer silver finish,
or that is just me?
View attachment 1881802

My 2012 15" MBP (matte hi-res screen) looks like that, albeit with thinner bezels. I love it. I also love the black bezels on my 17", so for me it doesn't matter.

Most of my iPads have had white bezels anyhow, and I'd welcome the choice on all products.

 

[El Szomorito]

Order the current Air while you can. These look terrible. I'd rather go back to thinkpads than buy one of these.

 

[PaulKemp]

Pros just love black, and casuals love colour.

In all seriousness, this makes sense for differencing the machines.

 

[asiga]

If at least they released a 16inch MBA, then I'd have a hard time deciding whether to get it or not, as a 16inch MBA is exactly the laptop I'd want, so I'd be trying to convince myself whether I can live with the notch or not. But if it's going to be 14inch, and with a notch, I'll pass.

 

[PowerGala]

If they do it, I kind of hope they go back to calling them iBooks.

 

[blairh]

I hate white bezels. This absolutely sucks as someone who wants the new MBA. And a white notch would be truly awful.

 

[StrangeNoises]

It amazes me people have this crap fit about the notches. I never even NOTICED the notch on any Apple product until I started seeing people have a cat over it here. It NEVER bothered me, ever since I had an iPhone X, Xr, 11, 12P, or 13PM. I never really cared.

So I guess I'm a little different.

Like, dislike, or indifference, are all valid viewpoints. But if you didn't *notice* it... well, let's just say I wouldn't want to be a pedestrian where you're driving

 

[Teenage_Explosion_Man]

I am down with this. Got my white Apple watch, my white iPhone, and hopefully a white MBA. (Although I suspect there won't be a white model, just white bezels.)

 

[Spock]

Don't mind the white bezels but a white notch would be very noticeable. I also highly doubt they will keep it under $1,000 like it should be. Also makes me wonder what the plans are for an upgrade to the standard M1 with the Pro and Max reserved for pro machines.

 

[rpmurray]

So I have to wonder why Apple started giving us "dark mode" in the OS a few versions back.

 

[citysnaps]

I think that would look terrific!

 

[The Cappy]

Considering all of Apple's pictures have in one way or another downplayed or minimized or obfuscated the notch, it seems really unlikely they'll put a spotlight on it.

 

[alluneediz1mik3]

Apple is expected to equip the next MacBook Air with a notched mini-LED display and slimmer bezels, similar to the new MacBook Pros. But why would the screen borders and notch on a new MacBook Air be white, as recent rumors suggest, rather than black, like the Pro models? First let's look at the context for these leaks, and then consider Apple's possible reasons for such a design change.

Color in Context

Leaker Jon Prosser claimed back in May that Apple's upcoming redesign of the ‌MacBook Air‌ will be available in various colors, similar to the current 24-inch iMac. Since then, reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has made the same claim, and more recently, reliable leaker Dylandkt has repeated the rumor, apparently based on information from his own sources.

Concept render by @RendersbyIan​

Both Prosser and Dylandkt say the bezels on the colored MacBook Air models will be white or "off white," like the screen borders on Apple's 24-inch colored iMacs, along with an all-white keyboard. Both leakers also reiterate rumors that Apple's redesigned entry-level notebook will have several features adopted from the recently announced 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, including mini-LED display technology and the controversial camera notch.

The obvious anomaly here is that the new MacBook Pros have a black notch and bezels, not to mention an all-black keyboard. To make sense of the possibility that Apple will make these areas white on the next MacBook Air, it's worth going back to the iMac and looking at Apple's reasoning behind the 24-inch desktop's colorful redesign, and that contentious white border.

Back to the iMac

When Apple unveiled the radically redesigned 24-inch iMac in April in a range of colors, some observers winced at the white screen borders (Apple calls them "light gray") and wondered why Apple hadn't extended the vibrant color scheme to the edges of the display, or at least used black for the bezels instead.

"The borders are meant to complement the typical home design, for one, and blend into the background," Colleen Novielli, Apple's head of product and marketing, later explained in an interview. "The lack of the stark contrast provides a more seamless experience for the user."

Pitched in this way, Apple was claiming that black bezels would have provided too much contrast against most home decor, but it was also suggesting something else: White borders are there for casual Mac users, the consumer segment most likely to appreciate iMac colors designed "to bring a sense of brightness, optimism, and joy."

Office workers in brightly lit environments are also likely to warm to the same design attributes, while using apps with white backgrounds such as spreadsheets and word processors, which pair well with the light gray bezels.

Apple is essentially saying black borders are better suited to creative professionals – video editors and photographers who tend to work in darker environments, for example. And we don't need to wait for Apple's redesigned larger iMac to see if it has black bezels to prove this theory. Apple has already said the black notch and borders on the new MacBook Pros "look great in dark mode, which our pro users love."

It's easy to imagine Apple likewise claiming a white notch and bezels look "great" in light mode, but the current 24-inch iMac gives us another reason to believe the redesigned MacBook Air is likely to have off-white elements.

Back to Roots Redesign

When Apple revealed that the 24-inch iMac would be available in a range of fun colors, many were quick to note the similarity it bears to the original 1998 all-in-one desktop, the iMac G3, which was offered in several colors and paired with a light gray bezel.

Instantly recognizable thanks to its iconic rounded design amidst an ocean of boxy beige desktop PCs and monitors, the iMac G3 was loved by consumers and quickly became the best-selling computer on the market at the time.

Apple followed the original iMac in 1999 with the iBook G3, which continued the theme of combining color and light gray plastic, and added an off-white keyboard to boot. The iBook was essentially the portable version of the iMac. In ads, Apple even used the slogan "iMac to go. Introducing iBook" and "iMac unplugged."

From the return of the classic "hello" in joined-up handwriting in Apple's marketing material and software, to the latest all-in-one desktop Mac's bold colors, everything suggests Apple is in the midst of a back-to-roots design overhaul for its consumer Mac line. This explains why Apple changed the iMac's bezels to white after 14 years of black, and why it makes sense to expect the MacBook Air could follow in the same footsteps – even if it does mean a white notch.

Concept render by @RendersbyIan​

For all the rumors and leaks about the upcoming MacBook Air expected in 2022, check out our most recent MacBook Air rumor posts and our dedicated MacBook Air roundup.

Article Link: Leakers Claim Next MacBook Air Will Have White Notch and Bezels, Here's Why They Could Be Right

Makes sense... I think the Apple stickers included with the new MacBook Pros gave us a huge hint. Black stickers for Pros... White stickers (which I assume with come with the new Air) for the non-Pro models.

 

[tomtad]

True the iMac has white bezels. But every mobile product now has a black bezel. Including the colourful iPad air and mini. Even the silver entry level iPad and iPhone SE which always had a white bezels are now black. So hopefully these rumours are incorrect.

Exactly my thinking. Just because the iMac has them doesn't mean the MacBook Air will. Colours seems a dead cert but it wouldn't surprise me to see these more inspired by the iPad Air and mini, with mute pastel colours and black bezels (probably with a notch)

 

[mjtomlin71]

Nope. The next Air is not going to have a ProMotion miniLED display and it is not going to need a notch as the bezels will not be reduced enough for it. The display of the new MBP's are one aspect of those systems that make them "Pro", just as with the iPad Pro.

And of course they will come in colors! And those colors will match the 24" iMac.