Apps can use full screen area around new MacBook Pro's camera notch

Following the unveiling of its revamped 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models on Monday, Apple released new Human Interface Guidelines detailing how developers can best to utilize the laptops' expanded screen real estate.

Apple caused a bit of a stir with its decision to slim down MacBook Pro's display bezels to the point where a "notch" is needed to house the machine's front-facing camera, a design language borrowed from iPhone and affordances made for that device's TrueDepth array. As the company explains, however, developers can choose to include a black bar at the top of the screen to hide the cutout — aping the design of past MacBook Pro generations — or take full advantage of the extra space with a new compatibility mode.According to newly published HIG documents, MacBooks that include a camera housing in the screen bezel provide a special operating mode that prevents full screen apps from placing content under the notch. When active, compatibility mode automatically changes the active area of the system's display to avoid the housing cutout, ensuring that content is not obscured.

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