I’ll raze Cupertino to the ground if the new MacBook Pro has a notch

There are two simple words that sum up how I’m feeling about the new MacBook Pro: oh no.

In case you haven’t heard, Apple is holding an event today. Supposedly, this will be the announcement of the M1X MacBook Pro.

There’s a lot to be excited about. The rumors are that Apple will ditch the traitorous Touch Bar, MagSafe is making a return, and the displays will be sharper and larger.

On paper, this is fantastic. The new MacBook Pro doesn’t sound like an update, it’s an entire refresh — something the machine has sorely needed.

Yet — and you knew there was going to be a yet — a disturbing rumor has been floating around, one that’s made me sweat. Are you ready? WRONG. YOU CAN NEVER BE READY FOR THIS.

The M1X MacBook Pro may have a notch. Yes, you read that right, a notch. The bane of phone users’ lives.

Oh no, indeed.

At first this seemed just like idle speculation, but things are getting too real for my liking:

The leaked photo of a MacBook Pro with a notch yesterday appears to be overlaid with a stolen schematic of a MacBook Pro with a notch that surfaced as part of REvil’s ransom attack on Apple supplier Quanta Computer earlier this year.

Notch might really be happening… https://t.co/WrW0YpWWYQ

— Joe Rossignol (@rsgnl) October 17, 2021

The rumor mill is in such a spin that there are even stories circulating about how Apple’s planning on obscuring the notch in MacBook Pro marketing materials.

The whole saga is baffling. I can’t see the upside to including a notch. Slightly more screen space overall? But at the expense of having a horrible bump jutting out into the display? And lots of software being buggy? Or needing a redesign?

The weirdest part of this rumor is that Apple (supposedly) isn’t planning to include FaceID with the notch.

There’s no need for facial recognition on a laptop when you have the TouchID fingerprint scanner, but surely this would be at least one selling point for the ugly bump?

I don’t get it. Especially when, and let me say this as loud as possible:

THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH A THIN BEZEL

It hides a camera perfectly. And it’s far less noticeable and irritating than a notch jutting out into your screen space.

I’m going to stop here. For the moment.

Hopefully, this is another Apple Watch redesign-style rumor that the leakers have got wrong. Or there is some delicious element of this potential notch on the new MacBook Pro that no one has thought about.

But until the event later tonight, I’m going to be praying to Mr. Tim Apple that this is all a big misunderstanding.

Story by Callum Booth

Callum Booth is a freelance journalist with over a decade of experience. Previously, he was the Managing Editor of TNW, where his reporting (show all) Callum Booth is a freelance journalist with over a decade of experience. Previously, he was the Managing Editor of TNW, where his reporting was cited widely, including in VICE, the FT, and the BBC. Callum’s writing has appeared in The Verge, The Daily Telegraph, Time Out, and many more. He covers the full spectrum of technology, with a particular focus on how it shapes our daily lives. And a lot of regulation stuff too. Outside of work, Callum’s an avid bookworm, a Fisherman’s Friends addict, and resolutely unshaven. Follow him on Twitter @CallumBooth or visit www.callumbooth.net.