In the crazy last minute rumor category, I ask for the notch on the MacBook Pros. Four years after that of the iPhone X which caused so much digital ink to flow, Apple could take up the idea, but in its Macs. The screen would rise much higher, but the webcam would keep its place, centered in a notch.
The idea may sound like a bad joke, but it’s a rumor to be taken seriously, as there are several concurring clues. The first is this picture from China appeared during the weekend. It’s not a very good quality image, but it does feature the supposed screen of a supposed future Mac, with a cutout at the top for the front camera (which would be at 1080p, like the one on the iMac 24), as well. than a microphone and the dedicated True Tone sensor.
These components would all be behind the notch, which means that these new Macs would not have Face ID, unlike the iPhones. Instead, a stranger suggest on Reddit that a Touch ID sensor would still be present on the keyboard, but without Touch Bar which would disappear with this generation if we are to believe an old rumor. Clearly, these new MacBook Pro would inherit the MacBook Air keyboard, even if it could be entirely black now, including for the metal under the keys, according to the same source.
Several clues in favor of the notch
These aren’t the most reliable sources of rumors out there, to be sure, but there are other clues that point in the direction of the notch. To start with a patent filed in 2019 which proves that Apple has considered at least to integrate a notch in its Macs. Above all, this patent describes a main screen, covered with two additional screen areas on either side of the notch, which fits perfectly with the second clue: the supposed definitions of the screens of the two Macs.
These definitions are known since September and as they are taken from a beta of macOS Monterey, we are almost sure that they correspond to those of the two MacBook Pros that Apple should present tonight. The 14-inch model would thus have a screen of 3,024 pixels by 1,964, while the 16-inch would display 3,456 pixels by 2,234. This is interesting for two reasons: on the one hand, it would mean that the resolution increases. , which could allow Apple to offer a true @ 2x display (each pixel displayed is made up of four physical pixels) rather than the current DIY based on an intermediate zoom.
On the other hand, the ratio is not exactly the one used by all Macs so far, namely 16/10. The definitions provided by macOS Monterey have a little too many pixels in height, but this is perhaps the best clue so far of the presence of the notch. As explain it MacRumors, by removing 78 pixels high, we fall back to the 16/10 ratio on both models. These 78 pixels could correspond to the height of the notch and they could be in an area reserved for the system, inaccessible to apps by default. It would be the same principle as the part around the notch on the iPhone, reserved by default for iOS.
Another information provided in August by a leaker Chinese unknown to battalion already evoked this notch with an additional clue. He says he saw the future packages of these MacBook Pros and notes that Apple would have chosen to hide the notch on the official photos with a black wallpaper at the top of the screen. A technique that the company had used for the first notched iPhones, even causing a complaint of a client who had felt deceived by the photos on the website.
How would Apple use the area around the notch? On the forums of MacRumors, Internet user offers these two concepts with two different ideas. The first places the menu bar on either side of the notch, with a black color by default to better erase it. The second leaves the macOS menu bar under the notch, but then exploits the vacant space, in particular for a few icons on the right like on the iPhone.
By the way, the arrival of the control center with macOS Big Sur could be seen in retrospect as a way of preparing the ground. If the menu bar includes the notch, as on the first of the two concepts, there will be less room on the right for all the icons and the control center would come to solve part of this problem. Its appearance on macOS is justified in the first place by its port of iOS, but it could be an additional benefit for this new design.
The notch also for the MacBook Air?
We will know from this evening if all these rumors were just a big frenzy blown up by unreliable sources or if the new MacBook Pros do indeed include a notch. And if so, is it the start of a new era for Macs? One of the sources announcing his arrival for Apple’s pro laptops also evokes it for the future MacBook Air. This Mac is due for a big update next year with a brand new design and maybe it’ll adopt a notch as well.
But then, why stop there so good? Apple also needs to update its large iMac, with the current 27-inch still based on an Intel processor. We are talking about a 32-inch model that could very well have its notch. After all, if macOS adapts to this situation, it could become the new standard, as we have seen for iOS with iPhones …
For or against the notch on Macs? Are you curious to see how Apple could exploit it with macOS? Do not hesitate to discuss it in the comments!