Apple wants to ensure that the 2021 MacBook Pro notch is not a problem for apps

MacOS developers will be able to exploit the areas to the left and right of the notch of Apple’s new 2021 MacBook Pro 14 and 16.

The 2021 MacBook Pros have a notch like the iPhones // Source: Apple

Apple unveiled several things during its second keynote of the start of the school year. We note in particular the announcement of new ultra powerful M1 Pro and M1 Max chips which equip the newly unveiled MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16 2021. Beyond the very attractive characteristics, these laptops also have a distinctive sign that makes people talk: they sport a notch similar to that of iPhones.

Take advantage of the MacBook Pro notch

Some might then wonder if this can cause display problems on applications. If it is too early to calmly assert that there will be no bugs, it should be noted that Apple seems to have planned the blow and allows application developers to display their software with a black bar at the top, this which will hide the notch and avoid potential technical problems.

But that’s not all. As 9to5Mac remarks, Apple updated its documentation for developers to explain to them that they will also have the freedom to adapt their applications to take advantage of the area around the notch using the APIs available to place things on either side of the notch.

On Macs that include a location for the camera as part of the display, the system provides a compatibility mode that prevents apps from unintentionally putting content in the area occupied by the camera. With this mode enabled, the system changes the active area of ​​the display to avoid the location of the camera. The new active area ensures that the contents of your apps are always visible and not obscured by the camera.

It will take time

It is by activating this famous mode that developers will therefore be able to display a black bar at the top or to exploit the notch as they wish by adapting the content displayed in a slightly more original way. For this second option, it is simply necessary to specify that this will probably not happen overnight.

Let us also take the opportunity to recall that such notch on the MacBook Pro allows Apple to refine the rest of the borders as much as possible in order to highlight its mini LED and 120 Hz (adaptive) screen. However, we note that the 3D Face ID facial recognition system is not part of the 1080p camera.

Are you going to need the Apple M1 Pro? M1 Max? 32 or 64 GB of unified RAM? 16, 24 or 32 graphics cores? We try to see more clearly.
Read more