New MacBook Pro Could Have a Notch, Says Sketchy Last-Minute Rumor

[arn]

I'm confused, who is the Weibo user in China making this claim? That is, presumably they have provided rumors before and been accurate, or work somewhere that would provide them the possibility of having insider info? I assume MacRumors isn't at the point where I, I random person, could tweet, the new MBP pro will be available in Black, and that would count as publishable rumor? And the other person mentioned, even says with no track record, so why is this being published? I mean I understand its being published because we will click on it and for those who don't block ads, will be helping MR make money. But won't be a MR for long, if they literally start publishing statements from anyone who a social media account.

The 74 extra vertical pixels on the new MBP screens makes this rumor surprisingly plausible, and worthy of discussion.

Although the claim may seem laughable at first, the Redditor highlighted MacRumors' finding that the new 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros will feature resolutions of 3024 by 1964 and 3456 by 2234. When subtracting 74 pixels from the height of both, the 3024 by 1890 and 3456 by 2160 is equivalent to an aspect ratio of 16:10. All of Apple's current MacBooks feature an aspect ratio of 16:10, so with the allowance of 74 pixels in height for a notch, this point does seem to be plausible.

 

[Serban55]

When you want no bezels, you need to have a notch for facetime/faceid
And the resolution that were leaked weeks ago, makes this rumour believable

 

[GrumpyCoder]

Wait, people don't want a notch? You guys are thinking the old way. Think different! You have to UNLEASH yourself from the old ways! All hail the notch! ... ... /s

 

[Saladin12]

Okay highly unlikely rumour but if true I actually don't think this is the end of the world as long as it's only as deep as the top menu bar. Nothing important, if anything at all, ends up in that middle bit anyway...

EDIT: I can see others have said what I have said before me in the comments!

 

[infinitea]

 

[Kissmo1980]

The only way to introduce a notch is to keep the same layout and add extra pixels where the menu bar would be placed. But that would be weird! A broken menu….

creative professionals would hate it

 

[leman]

How would that work in practice? Like when you have a fullscreen app such as a game? I mean, I do not reject this idea per se, it could actually be an interesting experiment to put the menu bar there and have the notch as a physical divider between the menu and the status icons, and the area could be just blacked out/cut for fullscreen apps, but ugh, wouldn't it create more issues than it would solve?

 

[pi=e=3]

Why would the MacBook need a notch but not the iPad Pro

If you matched the bezel size of the pro, you wouldn’t need a notch.

 

[Circa1984]

New MacBook Pro Confirmed to have a Notch, Massive Chin and Wider Bezels Says Reliable Source ... and Only Available In One Color!​

 

[Serban55]

But again, to have a notch you need very slim bezels..and the panels are not oled or microLed

 

[Freida]

What a joke. Only a fool would think that this is happening. Notch would kill the product for tons of people and it just doesn't make any sense from any perspective. Its April's fool too late (or someone wants the clickbaits)

 

[satchmo]

I think there are only three options to accommodate a 1080p camera in a thin housing...

1) Notch but thin equal bezels all around

2) No notch but unequal bezels (thicker top bezel)

3) No notch, but even thick bezel all around

 

[shamino]

I am not going to voice an opinion about whether or not there will be a notch, but if there is...

• I think it will be pretty unobtrusive. Assuming it is small enough to only obscure the menu bar, it won't get in the way as long as macOS can ensure that no menus appear under it (e.g. if there is one that would end up under it, move it to the right)
• If it's only for what MacBooks currently have (a camera and in-use light), it should be a very small notch.
• If they need to make a bigger notch in order to add FaceID capability, that would be awesome, but I'm not counting on that.

I don’t about you, but I actually have menus in my menu bar.

Of course. But the menu text can be positioned in a way to make sure none of the menus are obscured by the notch.

 

[Serban55]

who confirmed that? im sure not Apple

 

[jz0309]

so if there are no bezels, and if there is faceID, and there will be a camera ...
not buying it

 

[michelg1970]

I hear nobody about the possibility of 4 x USB-C, MagSafe, HDMI, USB-A and SD-card reader, only about the notch on the rendering.

 

[julesme]

No way. If there's a notch on a MacBook Pro, then my name is Chartley Harlton.

 

[Serban55]

This is right from the source
"First of all, the display. As you have already heard, the new MacBooks Pro comes with miniLED displays, so all that HDR stuff is present, but whether they’ve got ProMotion or not these sources can’t confirm. Now onto the borders: it seems that even with a notch, these displays still can’t get that 4-borders-equal-width signature look of the newer iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches, as the lower border of the displays is thicker than the rest. Also, the “MacBook Pro” markings there have moved back to the bottom of the machines, à la the 2012 to 2015 Retina display Pros. Then there’s the notch: it’s not the smaller sized ones on the iPhone 13 series, and with all that screen area devoured, it doesn’t house Face ID modules. The new 1080P camera, TrueTone sensors and mic array are there though."

 

[Serban55]

TouchID remains, and now comes with backlight to help you locate it like the rest of the keys. Another change is that the entire keyboard area is black now, instead of just the keys themselves. That’s probably the biggest visual change on the keyboard since the Unibody redesigns over a decade ago.

Thirdly, the return of the kings: NEW MagSafe, HDMI, and SD card slot. Again, Apple caved in and went practical. As rumors had stated half a year ago, the left side of the Mac sports MagSafe, 2 Thunderbolts and a 3.5mm audio jack; the right side presents HDMI, one Thunderbolt, and an SD card slot. In total, you lose one Thunderbolt and gain 3 differing ones. Don’t worry, you can still charge these Macs on either side with USB-C.

Some miscellaneous items: two big fans, thicker, heavier body, less curvy chassis (like other rumors stated), and the packaging features wallpapers with dark areas on top not unlike iPhone XS so that the notch is less obvious. At least tens of thousands of units had already shipped to the States from China.

 

[Serban55]

the screen resolution leaks, which came directly from Apple’s macOS beta files: 3456 by 2234 and 3024 by 1964. Subtract 74 from the height of both of them, and you get a perfect 16:10 display just like all the MacBooks on shelf right now. That 74 is probably the height of the notch in terms of pixels.

 

[synergize]

notch

nŏch

noun​

1. A V-shaped cut.
2. Such a cut used for keeping a record.
3. A narrow pass between mountains.
4. Something Apple is obsessed with.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

 

[00001000bit]

there is nothing in the menubar there anyway

Depends on what you're running. I'd guess the majority of apps are OK.

But, just from the anecdotal sample of what I have running on my 2018 15", a few app menus come close to the camera location (Photoshop, some of the JetBrains IDEs) and two pass it by a little bit (FreeCAD, Davinci Resolve).

 

[barkomatic]

There won't be a notch but I'm more concerned about uneven bezels. If Apple gives the macbook pro a big fat chin ala the iMac then it's a hard pass for me.

 

[Serban55]

ipads dont need a notch because they are touch screens orizontal displays
The macs will not come with touch, so you dont need to hold the screen, so the bezels could go very thin

 

[yaxomoxay]

I am not going to be happy until the AppleTV has a notch.