Starting this April, all iOS developers are required to make their apps compatible with the iPhone X, meaning their design must put into consideration the phone's nearly bezel-less OLED display and the huge notch above.
Heads Up, Developers
Apple informed the developers about the mandate on Feb. 15. The Cupertino company has not set a deadline for when updates to existing apps must support the iPhone X, but all new apps submitted by April should be developed with the iPhone X in mind. Also, starting that month, all apps must be created based on the iOS 11 SDK, though this doesn't necessarily mean they must support new features — just compiled with the latest SDK.
The news doesn't come as a surprise. Although the iPhone X was launch merely months ago in November 2017, Apple has, in recent years, become extra aggressive in pushing developers when it comes to supporting its latest devices.
About The iPhone X Notch
If anything, the notch has been an interesting and contentious topic of debate among Apple fans and detractors, with some even calling it ugly and not something the late and former Apple CEO Steve Jobs would have approved himself. In a poll by Phone Arena in October 2017, more than 65 percent of the total respondents said they hated the notch, while 25 percent said it didn't bother them that much.
But let's face it: though the notch can prove annoying at times, Apple has found a way to make it work, and even turn it into one of the flagship's most unique aesthetic qualities. Technically, there's no phone in the market that looks quite like the iPhone X, and that's a hard feat to achieve given the starkly similar smartphone design trends in recent years.
Apple telling developers to embrace the notch is just an example of the company's unapologetic stance on what many deem as a poor design choice. Like it or not, though, it does make the iPhone X look interesting, if a bit slightly off-putting. What's more, the iPhone X is the most radical design refresh to iPhone model in years, and it might hint at what Apple's future iPhone variants could look like.
Thoughts about the iPhone X? Do you agree that it's a poor design choice, or does it make the phone unique? As always, if you have anything to share, feel free to sound them off in the comments section below!
