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Hate the 'notch' on the new MacBook Pro? You're totally missing the point

My word, some people get worked up about tiny things.
Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Senior Contributing Editor

Apple's new line of MacBook Pros running the Apple Silicon M1 Pro and M1 Max chips are out, and they are powerhouses.

But rather than looking at the incredible power or the groundbreaking performance-per-watt figures, some people couldn't get beyond the tiny notch on the display.

This…

The "notch"

The "notch"

Huge, isn't it?

In the grand scheme of things, no.

It's tiny

It's tiny

We've created a world that's so comfortable that people get worried about something so small.

And there are several good reasons why Apple chose the notch.

Must read: The new MacBook Pros highlight what's gone wrong with the Windows laptops market

First, Apple is reusing the R&D that it's done for the iPhone, rather than sticking with the old-style bezel or coming up with some in-display camera setup.

Secondly, it offers more screen area without having to make the whole laptop huge.

In fact, you're getting a 16.2-inch display in a package only marginally bigger than the 15-inch MacBook Pro -- 14.01 inches (35.57 cm) x 9.77 inches (24.81 cm) x 0.66 inch (1.68 cm) vs 13.75 inches (34.93 cm) x 9.48 inches (24.07 cm) x 0.61 inch (1.55 cm).

Then there's branding.

Apple's already embracing it. It did the same with the iPhone.

Branding

Branding

I'm willing to bet a steak dinner that a year from now, there will be a lot of notched laptops out there.

It's an ingenious yet simple solution to the problem of putting a camera into a laptop display while keeping the bezel to a minimum.

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