Retractable cameras on a revolving screen could replace the hole on a future MacBook.

The notch can be replaced with a protruding lens — but it could also be repositioned
Apple’s FaceTime camera on the MacBook Pro is not as good as that on an iPhone. But new research indicates Apple is working to improve it. It may have even decided that mounting larger cameras onto a rotating display is the best solution. You may not give the camera notch in the MacBook Pro much thought. Even if you hate it and think it takes up screen space, you can’t deny that it’s thick. It’s wide enough to make you wonder why Face ID isn’t included yet. It doesn’t increase the thickness of the MacBook Pro’s lid. And maybe this thickness is what limits the quality of the camera system Apple can put in there. Apple is exploring a different approach, rather than waiting for slimmer components. In a newly granted patent entitled “Camera Integration for Portable Electronic Devices,” the focus is not on being slim but rather on providing the camera system that the MacBook Pro requires. This patent is only a claim for an idea and the drawings are merely illustrative. However, it suggests that the thickness should not exceed 3mm. It’s also certain that the camera would protrude out of the MacBook Pro lid. The obvious question would be how wide the protrusion would appear, but a less obvious one would be where it would be placed. Apple’s patent drawings show it “at least partly positioned at a display assembly notch.” In other patent drawings, Apple has a “second module” that can be moved on one side of screen. Or, it can be removed from the front of the screen and attached to the back. Apple’s patent describes a “component” that is attached to a “wall” of the MacBook Pro (or lid). It sounds like magnets. The patent states that “the optical component can be configured so that it is removably held against the wall by retention component,” and “to be removably held against the display assembly” by retention component. The camera module is repeatedly mentioned as being able communicate with other modules. In one key example, a camera protrudes out of the front display, facing the user. Another sticks out from behind. The notch has been removed, but a larger camera has been installed. It’s difficult to imagine this system working with some participants facing the screen and others not. The people behind the keyboard will be framed incorrectly if the angle can be adjusted for the user. This could be similar to the iPhone 11 if there was a distance between the MacBook and those being filmed. Apple’s iPhone 11 was limited to HD, and thus less useful than Apple claimed. However, it could simultaneously shoot video with its front and rear camera. A camera module can be attached to the back of a MacBook Pro display. Or, perhaps a camera module could be attached to the back of a MacBook Pro display. The interviewer would then use the FaceTime camera. This new patent makes one other suggestion that, at first glance, seems revolutionary — literally. The patent states that “a portable electronic device may include a base part including an input component and a display section rotatably mounted to the base part.” A user could mount these extra camera models to the back of a MacBook Pro lid and then rotate the entire display when they wanted to be filmed. Mount it on the front, and rotate the display to use the LiDAR sensor of a camera module. This patent is unusual in that it doesn’t focus on the benefits of rotation or how to achieve it. The patent’s goal is to describe the protruding sensor or camera modules. The descriptions of rotation are concerned with how much display space will be visible. Even a regular, hinged display is an electronic marvel. The strain on the cables flexing has always been a problem. It may not be an issue anymore, as a rotating screen does not need to have cables running through its axis. Instead, it could be a completely wireless screen. The patent’s final idea about displays would be possible if such a screen was a Sidecar. The display part can be rotated or removed, then repositioned. The lid could be removed from the keyboard area and then flipped around. Once you do this, you can create screens or keyboards that are configurable in some way to suit different needs. This patent does not go into this. The patent is credited four inventors. Keith J. Hendren is one of them. His previous work included research into making an iMac out of a single piece glass.