New MacBook Pro Finally Features a 1080p Webcam Within a Notch

[jz0309]

I suppose the healing could have said "Apple updated the Webcam to 1080p and created additional useable display area to the left and right ...", but that would have been even more controversial and not generated as many clicks ... but it would have been closer to the truth ...

 

[Zoboomafoo]

For the love of God dude there’s gotta be at least one person on their design team who thinks this looks absolutely horrific. Their design team is terrible. How somebody at Apple or even multiple people allowed the notch to make it over to the Mac so unnecessarily needs to be fired immediately. I just can’t comprehend why they decided to do this.

design is a series of trade offs, always. And the right thing to do will not always perfectly align with what you specially want.

Not thinking too hard but ..

pros: provides for more viewable screen real estate in the same physical body size.

cons: not perfectly rectangular, apps with lots of nav bar items.

that PRO is just huge in the form factor, especially when actually using while portable. For everyone. Apple, customers, business with websites worried about “the fold”

that’s why they did what you don’t like. They answer to a hell of a lot more people than you.

 

[BC2009]

Why don't macBooks get the "Center Stage" feature? Why is that an iPad exclusive?

 

[ValSalva]

I am wondering if as you navigate the menu bar if the pointer will get stuck against the either the left or right side of the notch.

Maybe it smoothly passes behind the notch. I wonder if the mouse can hide behind the notch.

Such odd UI problems. No cursor/pointer on the iPhones. This should be interesting.

 

[ProfessionalFan]

How is it that Dell ca do this?!

People keep saying the Dell has a crappy camera, that's how. I wouldn't know though.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Why would anyone have an issue with the notch when it is so clearly integrated as part of the menubar system? Looks like good use of otherwise dead space? Unless these people out there have engineered ways to get around the fundamental engineering and physics issues no-one else can?

Now, the fact that the prices keep creeping up – and as a user in Australia I still pay the "far-far away" tax – is a bummer. But no different than ever really. In fact, the M1s have already spoiled us all in reality. Now I have to think about deluding myself that I need a Pro-level machine for my work; the same as 90% of the people that will buy these!

Nice job Apple. Killed the PC industry a little more and then kicked the PC laptop corpse. 🙂

Well, the sort of bumped up the prices, but sort of didn't. When the M1 MBA was released, the 16" Intel MBP w 16GB/512GB and base processor and GPU, was AUD$3800. After a while they gave it a price drop to $3500. The base model 16" M1 Pro MBP (wow, what a mouthful if you say that out loud!!! It's a Pro Pro!) is $3750, so $50 cheaper than the pre-discounted 16" Intel price. All the RAM and SSD upgrades are the same price, but faster generations.

Also note, when the M1 MBA was announced, the base model was the same AUD$1600 price as the previous base model Intel MBA (with same 8GB/256GB). After a while they dropped the M1 MBA to $1500.

So in reality, prices have actually come down a touch.

 

[obiwan]

Doesn't bother me but I am confused at why the display needs a notch and the iPad Pro, Air and mini do not and arguably have a better camera system.

Exactly. The notch is stupid. I won't be upgrading 'till they get rid of it. I still prefer the design of my Intel MacBook Pro - although the internal upgrades and extra ports are a welcome addition.

 

[Morgenland]

design is a series of trade offs, always. And the right thing to do will not always perfectly align with what you specially want.

Not thinking too hard but ..

pros: provides for more viewable screen real estate in the same physical body size.

cons: not perfectly rectangular, apps with lots of nav bar items.

that PRO is just huge in the form factor, especially when actually using while portable. For everyone. Apple, customers, business with websites worried about “the fold”

that’s why they did what you don’t like. They answer to a hell of a lot more people than you.

If you look closely, more than half of the people here don't like the notch very much. So don't try to give a false impression of approval.

 

[jent]

? You still get your 16X9 ratio. Watching full screen is exactly the same.

I had the live event on in the background and don't have the specs in front of me… does this mean the 16x9 aspect ratio is for the perfectly rectangular shape below the notch? And that the "bars" to the left and right of notch complement the screen? If I recall correctly, watching a video full-screen on the iPhone hides content under the notch. Genuinely curious and thanks for any info!

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

No but a bigger more usable screen does. You can still watch 16:9 content without it interfering. You only loose a bit of a the menu bar. Curious how apps with lots of menus handle this.

OR, they could have made the entire laptop the equivalent of 74 pixels taller, and without a weird, ugly, notch.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

No new Mac Minis. I hope we don’t have to wait till 2022 🙁

They are still trying to work out how to add a notch to it.

 

[avz]

I don’t understand why the notch is not smaller and round in shape to match the camera?

 

[obiwan]

The items could skip over the notch and keep going to the right. You'd lose 1 or 2 menu slots.

And that totally breaks the user-experience, which Apple used to be passionate about.

 

[Morichan]

I bet PC manufacturers take this and will make trend out of it like they did for the phones. Just no!

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

And so you would rather completely useless dead space bezels? Yep, I hate this nose on my face, gonna cut it off!

Yes, I would much much prefer a slightly taller machine with dead space bezels, than they ugly as f*** notch.

 

[Surne]

This is a Pro machine with amazing performance. Try to find a thinner and better looking machine with that kind of power.

They finally made a non-compromise Pro machine deserving of the name.

Consumers will likely be happier with the next Air.

Finding a better looking machine is easy, finding one with that kind of power is a bit harder. That notch though, was a really stupid and unecessary design choice. This is going to be a meme for a very long time.

 

[Surne]

I bet PC manufacturers take this and will make trend out of it like they did for the phones. Just no!

lol yeah no, only Apple could sell a laptop with a notch. Other PC makers and users for that matter are too smart for that.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Doesn't bother me but I am confused at why the display needs a notch and the iPad Pro, Air and mini do not and arguably have a better camera system.

Presumably because they are thicker behind the screen, due to the entire thing being behind the screen. Why oh why didn't they just make the entire laptop the equivalent of 74 pixels taller though, is beyond me.

 

[mrex]

this must be a joke, isnt it?

 

[coolkid93]

no vaccine for this notch

 

[x-evil-x]

so I guess your not supposed to watch anything fullscreen. damn that was a bad design choice for a laptop. on a phone due to bezel restrictions I can understand... but a notch on a laptop? come on, you are better than this apple

Fully agree It’s a horrible design choice.

 

[elptdbi3lYI]

For the love of God dude there’s gotta be at least one person on their design team who thinks this looks absolutely horrific. Their design team is terrible. How somebody at Apple or even multiple people allowed the notch to make it over to the Mac so unnecessarily needs to be fired immediately. I just can’t comprehend why they decided to do this.

"And it looks great in dark mode"
Apple is aware that notch is ugly

 

[x-evil-x]

It'll be like the iPhone. After one week you won't even notice it anymore. Just wish they added FaceID.

I notice it after 3 years of having it on phones. It’s never been a good thing.

 

[IamTimCook]

I have some apps that cover more than half the menu bar with menu items. Some people use the low res scaled display options. I wonder what happens in these cases.

Is there now a limit how many menu bar items developers will be allowed?

Their menu bar (developers) will still be under the notch occupying normal normal screen real estate. Now Apple’s menu bar won’t be stacked with it taking up even more area.

 

[obiwan]

I guess people prefer the large notch of the MacBook Pro 13", that goes across the full length of the screen, over the small notch in the new macbooks.View attachment 1869940

That's not a large notch on the left, it's a bezel. There is nothing wrong with it as it doesn't interfere with the screen. I really don't get what people's issue is with the 'large bezel' as if it needs adjusting. The next thing Apple will do is carve a notch out of the top of the very large trackpad, and stick the space bar in there, just for the fun of it.