The new MacBook Pro laptops have a notch, a design that was copied from the iPhone series. However, unlike the iPhones whose notch houses not only a front-facing camera but other components for Face ID, the notch on the MacBook Pro doesn’t have components for a biometric scanner. So why is it there and why is it that wide? Actually, there are a couple of other components alongside the 1080p webcam.
A photo has surfaced on the web and it is of the camera module for the Macbook Pro. Posted by Twitter user David Pogue (@Pogue), the photo shows that there is more than just a 1080p camera on the module.
As you evaluate your opinion on the MacBook Pro’s notch, keep in mind that it houses more than just a 1080p camera. It also houses the TrueTone sensor (colors consistent in all lighting conditions), light sensor (adjusts brightness/keyboard illumination), and “camera on” LED. pic.twitter.com/XpKvhvtEWn
— David Pogue (@Pogue) October 19, 2021
As seen in the photo, there is a component flanking the 1080p camera on the left while an LED is on the right. The component on the left is the TrueTone and ambient light sensors. The former measures ambient light color and brightness and uses the information to automatically adjust the white balance of the display to match the environment. Apple‘s TrueTone technology made its debut on the 2016 iPad Pro and is now available on the iPhones and MacBooks.
The light sensor adjusts the brightness of the display as well as the keyboard’s backlight based on ambient light while the LED on the right of the camera is the camera indicator light that comes on when the camera is in use. All of these components were previously “hidden” by the bezel but are now visible since it has trimmed the bezels for more screen estate.
If Apple were to include the components for Face ID, the notch will be a bit wider. It has been able to shrink the Face ID module on the iPhone 13 series by moving the dot projector from the edge to the middle and combining it with the flood illuminator into a single module. So along with that and the infrared camera, that’s two more components to add to the existing ones on the MacBook Pro.
Sure, it could pack Face ID into the MacBook Pro and keep the bezel but with the bezel significantly reduced, the area occupied by this module now digs into the screen.
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