An odd thing is occurring within smartphone circles. A lot of criticism is being targeted at Apple for making such drastic changes to what people think a smartphone should be. It's gotten rid of the headphone jack, and then recently it introduced this "notch" design for its radical iPhone X flagship.
Yet a great number of Android manufacturers are embracing Apple's polarizing changes. Some are dropping their headphone jacks as well — except for a few holdouts like Samsung and OnePlus — and every phone scheduled for release this 2018 is likely to adopt the notch. The just-unveiled Asus Zenfone 5 has it. The rumored LG G7 Neo was spotted in the wild with it. The OnePlus 6 will have it.
The Debate Around The Notch
As Apple receives criticism for its design decisions, Android's embrace of it derails such complaints. But more than that, the act makes dangerous implications. It seems to suggest that Android manufacturers are mere copycats, all frothing at their mouths due to such haste to make the best iPhone X knockoff. There's a complexity to it, of course. The smartphone industry moves at a rapid pace, and Apple is one of the brands at the front of this race.
As such, it is understandable that the iPhone X is driving this notch trend forward, and manufacturers want to jump in on the bandwagon. But one company isn't merely jumping — it's trying to make small but smart changes, too.
Huawei P20
Huawei's new P20 line of flagships comes with a notch, but it can be removed. How so? Well, the user interface offers an option to block out the notch by covering the rest of the space beside it with a black bar, to be filled with the notification and icons typical on Android. This is completely optional, and users who actually like the notch may choose to keep it visible at all times.
You can turn the notch "off" in Huawei's new phone. pic.twitter.com/IDbJgKyS6r — Stefan Constantine (@WhatTheBit) March 27, 2018
Apple, it's worth noting, also considered offering this option on the iPhone X but later decided that both consumers and app developers must embrace the notch, not hide it. Huawei pulled a smart move by including it, however, because now its P20 line of smartphones will cater to people who hate the notch and love it.
It's hard to say whether the notch design will be around for some time. Vivo is already challenging it with a concept phone called Apex, which features an uninterrupted screen with extremely minimal bezels, or if any. It uses complex vibration technology to emulate sound coming out of an earpiece, and its selfie camera is tucked away inside the phone and pops up when called for action.
Do you like the notch? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
