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Comment by bri3k | Hacker News Reader

You can change the resolution in System Settings->Displays, make it so the entire display is below the notch.

The thing is, I really like the thin bezel, but why has the notch to be so massively big? The camera hole looks like it's just about 3..4 millimeters in diameter.

PS: also looking around, there seem to be plenty of laptops with thin display bezel and no notch, if others can do it, why not Apple?

> PS: also looking around, there seem to be plenty of laptops with thin display bezel and no notch, if others can do it, why not Apple?

Because those laptops have worse webcams.

You don't have to agree with the tradeoff Apple made, in fact I don't, but I think the reasoning is pretty clear.

Most of those other laptops have asymmetric bezels, which Apple was probably trying to avoid. They wanted thin bezels on all edges.

The extra room in the notch is likely there in case they want to change webcam parts to something larger, add Face ID, etc so they don’t also have to change the display panel and can continue to use existing stock.

Apple seems to like to try to avoid changing parts/tooling wherever possible and will go as far as to awkwardly keep using a chassis until stock of that part has been exhausted if necessary (see the 13” M1 Touch Bar MBP).

> Most of those other laptops have asymmetric bezels, which Apple was probably trying to avoid. They wanted thin bezels on all edges.

Yeah, I'm thinking firing Johnny Ive wasn't enough.

There’s like four different things in the notch. Not just a camera. Plus some recessed screw holes to mount it.

The notch feels weird, but when I try to redesign it without sacrificing features, I can’t come up with a better option. …Not that I’m a brilliant designer by any means.

Not really? There's a webcam, an indicator LED, an ambient light sensor, and a lot of empty space. As far as I can tell, the MacBook notch is wide just to make it look like the iPhone notch.

https://guide-images.cdn.ifixit.com/igi/5JIdAqwLsxWAFAyZ

There is also the mounting hardware. It’s not an unreasonable size for what it contains. If they were to really redesign the module they might shave a little off of it but how impactful would that reduction really be?

Here is the module behind the notch: https://forums.macrumors.com/attachments/img_0383-jpeg.22053...

They probably set the notch size with some margin too, so they could develop the camera module and LCD at the same time.

> The MacBook notch is wide just to make it look like the iPhone notch.

I'm convinced this is true, at least partially.

The iPhone notch is branding and a visual differentiator from the competition, which is Apple's forte, and carrying over that very distinctive design element to other product lines seems right in Apple's playbook.

In other words: glass slab in your hand? Who knows. Glass slab with a black notch? iPhone.

Person typing on metallic laptop in a cafe? Who knows. Ah, but the screen has a notch? MacBook.

It is extremely hidden, but here's how you access all available resolutions, including the ones which work below the notch:

https://support.apple.com/en-ke/guide/mac-help/mchl86d72b76/....

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