Oh god, PC makers are gonna copy the MacBook Pro’s notch

When Apple announced the iPhone X in 2017, everyone bemoaned the unsightly notch cutout in the display. Then, almost overnight, Android phone makers copied it.

The same thing happened the year before when Apple removed the headphone jack. Shortly after, Android phone makers removed the 3.5mm jack from their devices, too.

Last year, Apple stopped bundling a charging brick with the iPhone 12. Apple was roasted... and then Samsung stopped including a charger with its flagship phones as well.

My point is: For better or worse, Apple sets trends. When Apple does something new — controversial or not — its rivals jump at the opportunity to bash it, but then many of them clone the exact same feature.

The notch on the new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros is already attracting the same kind of backlash as the notch on the iPhone X did. Many people hate it.

Which makes me wonder: Will PC makers copy the notch on their own laptops?

Ridiculously narrow looking — Windows laptops have had ridiculously narrow display bezels for years. These thin bezels usually come with a trade-off: webcam quality. Either the webcam doesn’t fit above the screen (where it belongs) and companies have to get creative, like sticking it inside of a key, or they have to relocate it to the bottom bezel. Neither is great since it means the camera is aimed up your nose and makes anyone in front of it look like Jabba the Hutt. The alternative is just using a crappy webcam module to fit it in the narrow top bezel. Good, compact and thin webcams are not easy to come by; they need to be custom designed (like in Dell’s XPS laptops).

It’s not a matter of if but when.

The notch in the new MacBook Pros is Apple trying to have its cake and eat it too. Thin bezels and a good webcam.

My guess: PC makers will absolutely copy the MacBook Pro’s notch. It’s not a matter of if but when. When the roasting dies down, PC makers are gonna take a look at the compromise that is a notch and clone it. If Apple can get away with it, PC makers will suddenly have to confidence to include a display notch, too.

So brace yourselves, and don’t be surprised if a crop of Windows laptops sprout their own notches. Ugh.