The first MacBook Pro with a notch

MacBook models Published 4 November 2026

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The first MacBook Pro with a notch was the 14 inch and 16 inch model Apple announced on 18 October 2021. Apple’s tech specs list them as the MacBook Pro (14 inch, 2021) and the MacBook Pro (16 inch, 2021). Apple’s pages do not use the word notch. They describe rounded corners at the top of the display.

What Apple said at launch

The press release dated 18 October 2021 describes a Liquid Retina XDR display that “features even thinner borders and extends up around the camera”. It presents the camera as a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, “the best ever in a Mac notebook”, and notes in footnotes that the 14 inch and 16 inch displays have rounded corners at the top. The notch itself is not named.

What the tech specs list

MacBook Pro (14 inch, 2021): 14.2 inch Liquid Retina XDR display at 3024 by 1964, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera.
MacBook Pro (16 inch, 2021): 16.2 inch Liquid Retina XDR display and the same camera line.

Both pages carry the footnote: the displays on the 14 inch and 16 inch MacBook Pro have rounded corners at the top.

What came before

The 13 inch MacBook Pro models of that period use a 720p camera in the bezel. The MacBook Pro (13 inch, M2, 2022) page lists a 720p FaceTime HD camera and a Touch Bar, with no rounded corner footnote.

What came after

The MacBook Air (M2, 2022) was the first Air page with the same footnote. The later 14 inch M5 and M5 Pro or M5 Max pages still carry it. See which MacBooks have a notch.

Why it matters now

Software had to adapt. macOS reports the cutout to apps, and Apple added Scale to fit below built-in camera for apps that were not ready. Developers then began using the cutout for panels, which is the idea behind notch apps.

Read why MacBooks have a notch for the reason Apple gave, and does the MacBook Pro have a notch for current models. NotchStar’s Home tab uses the cutout that began with these Macs.

Quick answers.

When was the notch announced?

Apple's press release for the new MacBook Pro is dated 18 October 2021.

Link to this answer

Which was the first MacBook Air with a notch?

Apple's MacBook Air (M2, 2022) tech specs are the first Air page checked with the rounded top corner footnote.

Link to this answer

Keep reading.

Does the MacBook Pro have a notch?: Yes for the 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pro from 2021, per Apple's tech specs. The 13 inch MacBook Pro (M2, 2022) has a Touch Bar and no such footnote.
Why do MacBooks have a notch?: Apple added a camera cutout to the MacBook display in 2021 so the screen could reach closer to the edges. What Apple said and what it did not say.
Which MacBooks have a notch?: The notch models Apple names: 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pro from 2021, and MacBook Air from the M2 in 2022. A list checked against Apple's tech specs.
The MacBook notch explained: What the notch is, which MacBooks have it, why menu bar icons disappear behind it, and the options for working around or making use of it.

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