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Apple’s upcoming macOS 12.1 update will fix the MacBook Pro’s notch and menu bar issues

Apple’s upcoming macOS 12.1 update will fix the MacBook Pro’s notch and menu bar issues

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A fix for your notch woes

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New MacBook Pro
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales

Apple’s upcoming macOS 12.1 update will fix some odd interactions between its new MacBook Pros’ notched displays and menu bar apps, which should no longer be blocked behind the notch, according to MacRumors.

Previously, some users had reported issues where menu bar icons could end up getting pushed behind the notch in the event that too many were open. Or, as Apple’s changelog describes the issue, prior to macOS 12.1, “[menu] bar extras may be obscured by the camera housing on 2021 MacBook Pro computers.”

The bug admittedly was rare to begin with, requiring that users had enough menu bar icons (referred to by Apple as “menu bar extras”) to reach from the right side of the display to the notch’s location, but particularly large menu bar apps (like iStat Menus) could accomplish the task.

In addition to fixing the menu bar / notch bug, the new update also brings a few other issues, including HDR problems with YouTube and MagSafe bugs on the 16-inch MacBook Pro.

macOS 12.1 is still in beta, but given that the company has seeded the release candidate version of the software to developers, the update (and the bug fix for the notch issues) should be rolling out to all users in the coming weeks.