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

[jlc1978]

Would make zero sense to put the notch in MacBooks if they finally manage to get rid of it in 2022 iPhones...

Who says they will? And a punchout would be a lot les noticeable on an iPhone.

I would just like NO WEBCAM, thin black border, no need for notch.

Except a camera is pretty much a must have for many users. I'd hate to have to carry one more device and have to set it up for a short call.

Make the "webcam" activation seamlessly switch to my iPhone's selfie cam wirelessly (maybe a single prompt). Can rest phone against screen in portrait, landscape, can turn it around to show other things without needing to lift my laptop. Best part: 4K video calls from Mac.

Not everyone has an iPhone; and even so that's one more battery to have to worry about dying, and makes answering calls a challenge as well if its being used as a webcam.

Never need to cover built-in webcam for privacy concerns.

I wish Apple added in a mechanical shutter like HP did on teh Envy. Pretty slick and useful.

 

[johnnytravels]

I would love to see some colors and I absolutely do not mind a white bezel.
With a notch, however, would be an epic fail. Look at all the workarounds Apple has implemented to gloss over the notch in black. They all wouldn't really work with white because it will never be possible to match screen color and frame in such a way that the notch would disappear.
I honestly would rather take a lower quality webcam than a white notch.

 

[Prabas]

They got rid of white bezels on iPhones and now they're adding them to Macs Colors are fine, but screen bezel has to be black.

This black gap looks out of place and kinda cheap.

 

[Joosst]

Still haven’t heard a good reason for the notch to be white? My guess would be: white bezels with black notch.

 

[Kierkegaarden]

Makes sense. Looks sharp in the renders, so we’ll see how this shakes out. The camera modules looks good in the light gray bezel color.

 

[TechGuy327]

I would buy a blue one. I just hope they come in two sizes. I really like the idea of having a 16 inch MacBook.

 

[Ryu02]

I guess what we’re looking at here is not the new MacBook Air, but a replacement for the entry level MacBook Pro (13 inch).
If they label it simply as MacBook, they could keep the actual MacBook Air (maybe update > M2) on a true entry level, while the new MacBook fills the price range between MBA and MBP.

 

[yossi]

Did they purposely make the latest MBP thicker, so that the new air would look thin in comparison??

 

[QCassidy352]

I had three white iBooks and a white intel MacBook, so I have some experience with this design choice. It’s terrible. The white bezels are distracting, and the white keyboard is impossible to keep clean. The machine looks nice in marketing photos and like crap after a year. I’d love an M2 MacBook Air, but I wont go back to white on a laptop.

 

[Victor Mortimer]

The only right answer is no notch. I really wish Apple would stop doing truly stupid things like this.

I know people who have been waiting quite a while for a new MacBook Pro. They're almost all now going to keep waiting.

But at least a white notch would be less distracting, I guess. A big black gap in the middle of a white menu bar is just insanely ugly.

(No, I do not EVER use dark mode, and on Mac OS 11 and later one of the first things I do is turn on System Preferences > Accessibility > Display > Reduce Transparency. I have no idea what idiot at Apple thought having the menu bar change colors was a good idea, and I really wish they'd fire them.)

 

[Pro Apple Silicon]

They will be white because by the time it’s out, the drama over the black MBP notch will subside, so we can have a fresh new one about the white notch.

There is no drama. Just a product, that people like. The "drama" is fantasy blog created nonsense. The real world is different.

 

[Pro Apple Silicon]

The only right answer is no notch. I really wish Apple would stop doing truly stupid things like this.

I know people who have been waiting quite a while for a new MacBook Pro. They're almost all now going to keep waiting.

But at least a white notch would be less distracting, I guess. A big black gap in the middle of a white menu bar is just insanely ugly.

(No, I do not EVER use dark mode, and on Mac OS 11 and later one of the first things I do is turn on System Preferences > Accessibility > Display > Reduce Transparency. I have no idea what idiot at Apple thought having the menu bar change colors was a good idea, and I really wish they'd fire them.)

Lol. Nope. To all of it.

 

[nilk]

Not a fan of this look, but mini-LED display in the MBA while keeping pricing the same would be fantastic. 120Hz isn't absolutely necessary; I just want a screen that approaches the quality of OLED / plasma and can do 23.976 / 24 Hz refresh rate (for TV/movies) or a multiple of that (47.95 Hz / 48 Hz) -- ideally with VRR to accomplish that so I don't have to do it manually. MacBook Air w/ mini-LED would be a better option than buying a 12.9" iPad Pro, at least for me. Nice device for watching TV/movies/video, plus being able to do everything I use macOS for.

I'd probably get the 512GB / 16GB configuration, though, which at current prices, would make me consider trying to pick up a refurb base model 14" MBP if those become available and have decent enough discount.

 

[aevan]

There is no drama. Just a product, that people like. The "drama" is fantasy blog created nonsense. The real world is different.

Hey, I’d agree, personally - but looking at the Internet, there definitely *is* drama

I personally really like the solution they chose.

 

[Think creative]

Can we not quote Prosser as a source please. The bloke just goes iMac is in colours with white bezels so MacBook Air will be in colours with white bezels. There is no more to it.

He’s still batting above 70% on accuracy. People get really mad he has a juvenile sense of humor. He makes fun of himself still for getting stuff wrong.

he technically has a higher percent accuracy than MCQ, but because Apple media hate that he is loud mouthed, folks love to trash on him.

bottom line, he’s usually the first Canary in the coal mine of rumors, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good indicator.

 

[Ankaa]

*insert "Shut up and take my money" meme*

I've been grieving the white-colored Macs ever since the iMacs went silver back in ... 2007?

I prefer the MBA over the MBP anyways. My last macbook only became a Pro because there just wasn't any alternative at that time, I was not gonna buy a non-retina macbook and I didn't want the small screen of the Macbook at the time. And while I actually do need the computing power of the Pro, if I had to choose, I'd choose the MBA design over the MBP any and every day and make it work, somehow (note, my macbook is not my main computer, my iMac is. But I do need to be able to run Matlab and other power-intensive stuff on the road as well, if needed). If it goes back to white? HELL YES.

 

[Regbial]

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

Oh God I love that lil iPod... Had one in black, but silver and white is just the best. Black is just not the same. (for iPods...)

 

[wyarp]

Good article and very good analysis. Certainly shows the level of design rationale and study that goes on at Apple; it's exactly what you'd expect of them. These are highly skilled designers with a wealth of experience unlike many companies that would likely just go 'er yeah let's make it all black cos black is cool right?'.

 

[EnderTW]

Gross. Hope all the MacBook Air owners can enjoy that plastic book.

 

[rmoliv]

DISGUSTING design choices.

" Apple has already said the black notch and borders on the new MacBook Pros "look great in dark mode, which our pro users love."

I'm not a "pro" user (whatever that is) and I also "love" black borders.

FIRE whoever's in charge at Apple.

 

[mi7chy]

So, white notch for light theme and dark notch for dark theme. If you switch back and forth you're SOL.

 

[JahBoolean]

DISGUSTING design choices.

" Apple has already said the black notch and borders on the new MacBook Pros "look great in dark mode, which our pro users love."

I'm not a "pro" user (whatever that is) and I also "love" black borders.

FIRE whoever's in charge at Apple.

Simmer down buddy ...

 

[danmaldesign]

“Please substitute cheap white plastic that will turn yellow in one year in place of the metal!” said no one ever. If the notch doesn’t include FACE ID, they should ditch it and stop giving customers these ridiculous incremental updates that are happening at a snail’s pace for profit. I’m still using a 2010 MBA and I am a professional user, I travel regularly & prefer the lightweight portability of the air. 2010 MacBook Air user so I remember the days when Apple was GREAT.

 

[aeternitas]

Apple, please find a more elegant solution. The notch makes the Mac seem dated.

 

[yyzguy]

Serious first world problems