Comment by gniv
5 months ago
> I would accept any design compromise for the webcam, make it grainy / low-res
I think this is a minority opinion.
I personally don't remark the notch anymore.
5 months ago
> I would accept any design compromise for the webcam, make it grainy / low-res
I think this is a minority opinion.
I personally don't remark the notch anymore.
It’s an okay solution, not the best, but definitely the most expensive.
Another solution that would have been cool and expensive: if they put a camera in each corner of the screen. Then at least they could have the rounded corners they always wanted. Also four cameras could be used for cool 3d effects and AI to keep your eyes looking at the center of the screen.
I think you need to think through that four camera concept a bit more.
It would significantly increase the screen bezels because instead of just one notch you now have to bring in all four edges to accomodate the cameras.
> Also four cameras could be used for cool 3d effects and AI to keep your eyes looking at the center of the screen.
Nvidia has been doing the eyes with a single generic camera for over a year now: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/news/jan-2023-nvidia-br...
Facetime has been doing this for a few years now too. It's called something not-quite-straightforward in the settings ("enhance attention" or something).
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Wait a second, I think you’re onto something here…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_Phone had a camera on every corner of the front screen.
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It's the majority opinion, infact Apple also believes that the notch is a compromise. Apple has been trying to develop the under-screen webcam tech. They just don't have the technical capability to eliminate it. When Apple and others finally eliminate the notch it will be heralded as the best thing ever.
Few will realize how Apple milked you twice - once to accept the horrible design (that they created), and again to accept how wonderful they are for eliminating the problem.
All designs involve compromise. That doesn’t mean that those designs are bad, just that they are taking into account factors which are in opposition. Factors such as size, capacity, function, and legibility are examples of the kinds of oppositional factors that designs often need to take into account.
The MacBook notch is a clever design that increases the size of the screen without increasing the size of the overall case. There are some, relatively minor, downsides.
1. Some applications have an unusual number of menu items. The system takes this into account and renders those menu items to the right of the notch. In many cases, those are the less often used menu items “Window” and “Help” so the impact is lower.
2. When there are large numbers of app icons in the menubar, they may not all fit and some are truncated. This has always been a problem with that feature and many people have solved this by using utilities such as Bartender that hide extra app icons and move them to secondary panels.
3. There is an additional visual element on the screen. Many people quickly learn to ignore the notch and soon forget that it is there. For those who are bothered by it, there are a couple of simple ways to reduce the visibility of it. One method is to change the resolution of the screen so that all content appears below the notch. The downside of that solution is that there is less screen area. Another method is to use a utility to turn the menubar black. This makes the notch blend into the menubar so that it is much less visible.
Do you agree that there is good and bad design? Furthermore, I don't see what is wrong in criticizing bad design when the Vendor also acknowledges that it's bad and they're rushing to fix it. This isn't software where you can just run an update. No, you have to re-buy the machines to get the fixed design.
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Unless you've actually conducted a survey, you don't know how many people feel like you do. I get that you hate it, but I personally haven't noticed the notch in day to day use ever -- I've been using an M1 in light mode since it came out.
I am not saying its the most pressing design feature that disqualifies a purchase. I just don't get the push-back when pointing out obvious flaws.
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I don't see anyone saying the notch on a laptop is a "good" thing that they bought the laptop to get, just people who bought a laptop for other reasons justifying why an imperfect screen shape wasn't enough to make them regret the purchase. They're not being "milked" in any way I can see.
Compare phones, where manufacturers have actually created a narrative that camera cutouts are a desirable feature. Maybe people who bought new phones because they like the cutout design are getting milked twice.
Its an MBA thing. Engineers and nerds would never support it.
https://www.google.com/search?q=apple+incremental+innovation
I'm saving up to replace my personal intel MBP with a new one partially because using my work MBP I really appreciate that little bit of extra screen space. In regular use I hardly notice the notch, sometimes I'll even have fun watching my cursor jump back and forth when it gets close to one side of it.