Apple Has a Fix for the MacBook Notch, But It’s Not Pretty

One of the most divisive design decisions Apple has made recently is the MacBook Pro’s notch. Apple has come up with a temporary solution for apps that don’t play well with the notch, but it’s far from an ideal solution.

A Twitter user named Jatodaro demonstrated the feature and quickly explained how to use it. Basically, when an app isn’t working well with the notch because a developer hasn’t updated it yet, you can go to an app’s Get Info window and click “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) October 27, 2021

Once the option is checked, the screen will scale down and look more like an older MacBook with a wider bezel. While it’s not necessarily a pretty solution, it’s better than having icons hidden behind the notch, as was reported recently.

Interestingly, the screen will stay scaled down until you close the app, so even if it’s minimized, you’ll still see the older-style bezel.

Apple also said that the option to scale to fit below the camera would go away if a developer updates their app to work around the notch. “Apps can be updated to work better with this area of your screen. If a developer updates their app for compatibility with your Mac, the ‘Scale to fit below built-in camera’ setting no longer appears. You can contact the developer of the app to learn whether an update is available or planned,” an Apple support document notes.

It’s good to see that Apple has a temporary solution in place. While it’s not the prettiest solution, at least it makes everything function properly until developers can get their apps fixed.