An Apple official said in a recent interview that the recesses on the newly designed MacBook Pro offer a "smart way" to give users more room for content and allow Apple to make the bezels thinner, giving users more screen real estate.
Adding a groove to the all-new MacBook Pro was a surprise, and one of several last-minute rumors that surfaced before Apple's Unleashed event last week. Unsurprisingly, some social media users criticized Apple's design choice to add grooves to the screen.
In an interview with Persistent Solutions, Haldea, Mac product line manager and one of last week's hosts of the Apple Event, said the gap in the same Brain podcast is a "smart" solution for Mac users because it provides more space for content by moving the macOS menu bar.
The monitor is higher. Just like on a 16-inch notebook, you still have a 16.0 active area in a 16:10 inch window from where you add the monitor and put the menu bar there. I moved it out. So it's a really smart way to give your content more room, and when you're in full-screen mode, you have a 16:10 window, and it looks great. It's seamless.
The bezels on the new 14 – and 16-inch models are significantly smaller than on previous MacBook Pro designs. Apple said the left and right bezels of the new iPhone are 24 percent thinner than the previous model, at just 3.5mm. At the top, thanks to the groove, the bezel is 60% thinner and also 3.5mm.
While the notch is obvious at first, Apple is betting on some macOS software features, including dark mode, to help some users minimize its visibility in daily use. For example, when a macOS application is in full-screen mode, the system adds a black border to the top of the screen to hide the groove without interfering with the user's content. Developers can choose to display their app content on either side of the notch.
The groove is one of many changes in the new MacBook Pro. The new laptop features a completely redesigned case, additional ports such as HDMI and SD card slots, MagSafe, a mini LED display and promotion, and the M1 Pro or M1Max chip, which is the first Apple silicon chip designed for professional consumers.
Preorders for both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models began last week and will begin shipping On Tuesday, Oct. 26. Both sizes can be configured with M1Pro or M1Max chips, providing users with substantial performance gains compared to the Apple chip of The M1 MC. Learn more about the new MacBook Pro using our detailed roundup.
