Apple already included workaround for MacBook Pro notch

Posted:
in macOS
Even before some vocal users complained about the notch in the new 14-inch MacBook Pro and revised 16-inch MacBook Pro, Apple built in a workaround for them.

Apple has included a workaround for the notch, though it isn't available in all apps
Apple has included a workaround for the notch, though it isn't available in all apps


The camera notch on the new MacBook Pro does not eat into the display as the one on the iPhone does. Instead, the display is raised up around it, so there is additional room, yet it's still not universally popular -- and Apple knew it wouldn't be.

That lack of popularity isn't helped by how developers still need to accommodate the notch, and how it can cause issues with menu bar items being obscured by it. However, Apple has included an optional setting called "Scale to fit below built-in camera."

Good news for notch haters! If you've got an app (or apps) with menus that collide with the notch, just Get Info on the app, and enable "Scale to fit below built-in camera".

While the app is running (even in the bg), your display is scaled.#Apple #M1Pro #M1Max #MacBookPro2021 pic.twitter.com/nlGqkFkXAH

-- Joseph from Sketch (@Jatodaro)


If selected, macOS shrinks the app down so that the menu bar is now below where the notch is. It's really reverting to how the app would have been displayed on previous MacBook Pro models, and that means it also shrinks in from the sides.

So as well as avoiding the notch, the workaround brings back thicker bezels. It's clearly not intended as anything but a sop to prevent complaints, although Apple has not publicized it.

The "Scale to Fit" workaround was first revealed in a new Apple support document. It adds that selecting this option for an app actually selects it for them all.

"If you turn on 'Scale to fit below built-in camera' for an app and the app has menu bar items or windows that would appear behind the camera housing," says Apple, "all open apps or apps that share the same space appear below the camera until you quit the app using the scaled setting."

It's not available, however, for every app. "If a developer updates their app for compatibility with your Mac, the 'Scale to fit below built-in camera' setting no longer appears," continues Apple.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    So if you switch between apps does that mean that the menu bar jumps around?  Sounds very much like a compromise.  Hopefully developers get to grips with it soon.
  • Reply 2 of 17
    Nope, sounds like all apps remain scaled until you quit the app for which you instigated the action.
    cornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 17
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,100member
    What is going on with the Apple design department? From iPhone safari (sometimes the url and toolbar are on the bottom, sometimes on the top) to Notch-All-The-Things, it’s getting kind of weird lately. 
    williamlondon
  • Reply 4 of 17
    tyler82 said:
    What is going on with the Apple design department? From iPhone safari (sometimes the url and toolbar are on the bottom, sometimes on the top) to Notch-All-The-Things, it’s getting kind of weird lately. 
    In which cases are the URL and toolbar at the top again? They moved to the bottom in iOS 15.
    mike1watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 17
    Everyone is different.  I have not been bothered by any of this.  
    williamlondonrezwitswatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 17
    rcfarcfa Posts: 1,124member
    Why would it scale from all sides? Simply advertising to a app a less tall screen would be sufficient. No need to have black bezels on the other three sides, or is the article reporting the behavior wrong/misleadingly?

    The proper way to handle this is, that the code which draws the menu bar, simply makes that unavailable. Very few apps draw into the menu bar directly, so frankly why should developers even have to jump through hoops for something Apple’s libraries should handle transparently without additional efforts by developers?
    edited October 2021 Doodpantssbdudewilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 17
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    tyler82 said:
    What is going on with the Apple design department? From iPhone safari (sometimes the url and toolbar are on the bottom, sometimes on the top) to Notch-All-The-Things, it’s getting kind of weird lately. 
    In which cases are the URL and toolbar at the top again? They moved to the bottom in iOS 15.
    And I moved my URL and toolbar back to the top, and it stayed there. 
    curiousrun8
  • Reply 8 of 17
    tyler82 said:
    What is going on with the Apple design department? From iPhone safari (sometimes the url and toolbar are on the bottom, sometimes on the top) to Notch-All-The-Things, it’s getting kind of weird lately. 
    I think it's called trying to innovate, but also trying to keep the customer happy.

    Very un-Apple-like  ;) .

    MplsPcornchipwilliamlondoncuriousrun8watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 17
    mike54 said:
    I would like the top bar to be totally black, and I'll have the menu and notifications on that bar there all the time. If the menu encroaches on the notch, it will be a problem... maybe an arrow at the end with drop down box or something.
    There's a neat app called TopNotch (www.topnotch.app) - I've been using it and love it, even on my non-notched MacBook Pro. It's really quite slick.
    cornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 17
    rcfa said:
    Why would it scale from all sides? Simply advertising to a app a less tall screen would be sufficient. No need to have black bezels on the other three sides, or is the article reporting the behavior wrong/misleadingly?

    The proper way to handle this is, that the code which draws the menu bar, simply makes that unavailable. Very few apps draw into the menu bar directly, so frankly why should developers even have to jump through hoops for something Apple’s libraries should handle transparently without additional efforts by developers?
    Not everything is written with standard UI views. Something like Premiere, for example, relies almost entirely on custom views, so scaling in only from the top would produce a squished UI. This is obviously especially not great for video editing.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 17
    tyler82 said:
    What is going on with the Apple design department? From iPhone safari (sometimes the url and toolbar are on the bottom, sometimes on the top) to Notch-All-The-Things, it’s getting kind of weird lately. 
    tyler82 said:
    What is going on with the Apple design department? From iPhone safari (sometimes the url and toolbar are on the bottom, sometimes on the top) to Notch-All-The-Things, it’s getting kind of weird lately. 
    In which cases are the URL and toolbar at the top again? They moved to the bottom in iOS 15.
    There is nothing random or weird in the design department. People just like to complain. Since iOS 15 Safari by default put the bar at the bottom. Since it was a major change Apple include the option on Settings/Safari to bring back the bar to the top with the familiar UI. So whichever position you like there’s a setting for that. 
    MplsPwilliamlondonrezwitswatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 17
    sbdudesbdude Posts: 255member
    That's not a workaround. That's a compromise for another compromise. Why would it scale from the sides? And why couldn't it be a universal setting so you didn't have to use get info on every app?
    williamlondon
  • Reply 13 of 17
    Developers will no doubt modify their apps to detect presence of the notch and user setting, and menu will auto adjust.  It will take time to get there.  For most people, keeping the notch will be worth will extra screen real estate once the developers adjust apps for the new feature.  Smart by Apple, but if you hate it, overridable.  I didn’t like the touch bar because you couldn’t override it and get your physical function keys back, but this is different.
    edited October 2021 watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 17
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member
    crowley said:
    So if you switch between apps does that mean that the menu bar jumps around?  Sounds very much like a compromise.  Hopefully developers get to grips with it soon.
    From the article: “ While the app is running (even in the bg), your display is scaled”

    it appears you can turn on the option for specific apps. If you open one of those apps then the display scales downs (or stops using the extra rows Apple added to the top) for all applications.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 17
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member
    sbdude said:
    That's not a workaround. That's a compromise for another compromise. Why would it scale from the sides? And why couldn't it be a universal setting so you didn't have to use get info on every app?
    Actually the first ‘compromise’ wasn’t a compromise at all. When they added the notch, Apple essentially added 2 tabs on top of a standard 16:9 screen. The notch didn’t take anything away, they just used the blank bezel space on either side of it. If you ‘re-scale’ the display to lose the notch, you simply quit using those tabs and go back to a standard 16:9 display. 

    This is a beautiful decision by Apple - they made use of the previously unused space but gave the option not to use if for the people who can’t get over it. Personally, I’d rather have an extra 6mm of space at the top of my screen.
    urashidwilliamlondonDetnatorwatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 17
    rcfa said:
    Why would it scale from all sides? Simply advertising to a app a less tall screen would be sufficient. No need to have black bezels on the other three sides, or is the article reporting the behavior wrong/misleadingly?

    The proper way to handle this is, that the code which draws the menu bar, simply makes that unavailable. Very few apps draw into the menu bar directly, so frankly why should developers even have to jump through hoops for something Apple’s libraries should handle transparently without additional efforts by developers?
    Not everything is written with standard UI views. Something like Premiere, for example, relies almost entirely on custom views, so scaling in only from the top would produce a squished UI. This is obviously especially not great for video editing.
    This is a problem with the App developer.  There is a reason Apple provide developer guidelines.  If the developer doesn't follow Apple's advice, it's the developers problem.

    And yes - this includes big developers, also.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
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