
iPhone Notches on Android Phones - sgillen
https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/4/17077458/iphone-design-clones-mwc-2018
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walrus01
I don't really see the problem with the iphone-like design, there are three
conflicting design problems... People want things that aren't gargantuan to
fit in their pocket, but they also want the largest possible screen. And they
also want a high quality front facing camera. The camera has to go somewhere
and if you put a big bezel at the top it looks like an old phone from two
years ago.

~~~
scarface74
Here is the problem.

 _But the problem with these notched screens on Android phones is that they’re
purely cosmetic.....the cutouts at the top are self-evidently motivated by the
desire to just look — not function, look — like an iPhone X._

~~~
jjcm
The Verge's argument is that because they have a chin at the bottom, the notch
is purely cosmetic since they didn't utilize the space at the bottom. I find
this argument to be poor reasoning. Moving to a notch at the top seems like an
inevitable future for most smartphones - we need an earpiece as well as front
facing cameras and other sensors, either we at a top chin, or we notch. Those
are the options. The notch just means we have additional usable screen space
and creates a more full screen experience. By moving to a notch now it means
that more android phones can start practicing for that future design, rather
than pushing it off to avoid looking like they're copying apple (despite
android doing it first with the essential phone). Eventually that chin at the
bottom will be screen as well, but that won't be a change to usability like
having the notch is. I think Asus is smart moving forward with this despite
the strange publicity that they probably expected it would get (such as this
article). This seems like less a design issue or an aspect of one company
copying another, and more like just The Verge trying to write something that
will generate clicks.

~~~
TAForObvReasons
> The Verge trying to write something that will generate clicks

Is it ever not the case? The economic incentives drive institutions like The
Verge to promulgate clickbait and sensationalized titles

~~~
jjeaff
Presumably you should also be interested in writing content that generates
credibility and a long term following.

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askafriend
Any opinion of the iPhone's design decision should be reserved until you have
had a chance to use the device for at least an hour.

It has become increasingly clear that the experience of the phone in-person
and the experience of looking at product screenshots and marketing material
are wildly different.

Anecdotally, every single people I know who has the iPhone X has indicated
that they don't even notice that there's a notch after the first hour or so of
owning the phone.

~~~
ocdtrekkie
This is one of those things where Android folks made fun of the notch, to the
extent that Samsung even made an ad making fun of it, and within a year,
Android folks will have decided their notches are great, and in fact, better
than Apple's notches for this reason or the other. (And of course, the
"Essential did it first" thing has to crop up as well, even though they were
likely developed without inspiration from each other at around the same time.)

Make fun of it right up until you copy it, is basically the industry standard
now. Headphone jack going away was the same thing, pretty much.

~~~
josteink
> Headphone jack going away was the same thing, pretty much.

Except most manufacturers are still making phones with headphone jacks. Those
who want to sell phones at least.

Even Apple has a headphone-jack option for those who has it as an absolute
demand: The iPhone SE.

~~~
sundvor
Yep. Case in point: S9. Headphone jack. Still waterproof, and they throw in a
memory card slot just for further mockery. Samsung knows their stuff.

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jvm
I'm pretty sure Andy Rubin's Essential Phone predates the iPhone notch. Odd
that the Verge didn't mention it in the article.

[https://www.essential.com/](https://www.essential.com/)

…also, regardless of who invented it, it seems like this design feature is
unavoidable. If you want to kill the bezel but still want to have things like
front-facing cameras, you're pretty much stuck with a notch.

~~~
sundvor
I don't feel that my S8 has any bezels worth worrying about. The iPhone X and
its notch is a design monstrosity compared to the clean lines of Samsung's
work.

I find the whole notch design an abomination which should just die and be put
to rest: By adding a notch you effectively create a _software_ bezel for
renderable content; web site developers have to deal with this. You can't show
fullscreen video without obstruction, etc etc. Horrid insanity.

~~~
null0pointer
Have you even used the iPhone X? Myself and every person I've talked to do not
even notice the notch after a short period of use. And I was initially very
skeptical of the notch too. A better mental model is that the iPhone has 2
additional 'ears' of usable screen.

Compare this to the S8 which not only has physical bezels on top and bottom,
but also software status bar at the top and software home bar at the bottom
cutting further into usable screen space.

Not to mention Apple have nailed the gesture based UX. It feels totally
natural and is a pleasure to use. Whereas any time I have to use an android
phone it feels clunky and poorly executed.

Call me a fanboy, whatever. But I have never found the same quality experience
on an android phone that I get with my iPhone.

~~~
sundvor
I've seen it a fair bit and the more I see it, the less I like it. I have also
read the web design guidelines for how to avoid putting important content in
the dead zones, and (AYFKM) is my one and only response.

The bottom bar is switchable on the S8, and the top one disappears when it
needs to. The physical bezels are _tiny_ , on the sides there are none; the
S8+ is not lacking for (vertical) real estate.

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prions
A lot of the arguments complaining about the iphone's notch are missing two
points:

1\. The notch is necessary to house faceid sensors that no current android
phone with a notch has

2\. The notch isn't cutting into the screen, the ears of the notch are
actually cutting into the bezel.

A lot of hate towards Apple (justified or not) has been towards their
preference of form over functionality. It's ironic to see Android handset
makers taking a functional compromise from the iphone X and making it a
completely cosmetic feature.

~~~
bitmapbrother
This is especially ridiculous when you consider the Galaxy S9 has a screen to
body ratio that exceeds that of the iPhone X. In the words of one of the most
egregious iPhone X copycats - Asus:

 _Well, it’s quite simple. Some people will say it’s copying Apple, but we
cannot get away from what users want. You have to follow the trends._

I'm going to guess those users don't reside in North America or Europe.

~~~
sundvor
Yep, the S8 / S9 has really nailed the design as far as I'm concerned: Just
one massive screen with no intrusions.

And they retain the headphone jacks as well, with a fairly decent DAC, so you
can keep on using your high end wired headphones if you want.

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userbinator
As someone with large fingers, I despise this trend of removing/reducing the
bezels --- making it harder to hold the phone without either blocking part of
the screen with fingers or activating the touchscreen. The screen is plenty
big enough already; another few mm is not going to make much difference either
way.

Notching the display is merely another development in this trend, and what's
worse is that it turns what usually is a reasonably standard LCD panel into an
even more proprietary part with its associated manufacturing difficulties,
since the dimensions of the notch then become another variable in the design.

(More ironically, web and UI design trends are going toward _wider_ margins
and blank space, almost as if to compensate.)

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ziikutv
Yet again, Apple manages to make their decisions standards. Good on them, bad
on others. Should've waited some time to see if users want that damn notch.

Edit: My only problem with this is that there is copying going on even without
general/mass acceptance.

~~~
bitmapbrother
The Android phone OEM's implementing the notch aren't really big players. When
Samsung does it then it'll become the standard. And since the S9 already has a
better screen to body ratio than the iPhone X I don't see them ever doing it.

~~~
walrus01
The OnePlus 6 is rumored to have a notch almost like the Asus. By some
measurements Oppo/OnePlus are now the 4th largest Android platform phone maker
in the world.

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bobbles
I know it looks bad in photos, but using the iPhone X I honestly do not even
notice it at all

~~~
rhinoceraptor
Yep, I had the same experience. I also thought getting rid of the home button
would drive me crazy, by I don’t miss it at all.

~~~
ilovecars2
I’ve never used an iPhone X - how does one get back to the home screen from an
app?

~~~
askafriend
Swipe up from the bottom of the screen (similar to how you used to activate
control center to toggle wifi).

The iPhone X's interface is more gesture based than ever before.

~~~
ilovecars2
On iPhone X how would I get to control centre if Swipe Up has been remapped
for home screen?

(I still swipe up for Control Center on the 6S)

~~~
askafriend
You swipe down from the right of the notch at the top to get control center.

Swiping down from the left of the notch at the top (or from the notch itself
directly - yes it recognizes touch) you get your notifications/lock screen.

~~~
photojosh
Kinda irrelevant to the discussion, but the 'swipe down from top right' for
Control Center is pretty universally hated AFAICT. The best solution I've seen
suggested is to make it part of the multitasking interface: you swipe up and
right from the bottom to go to the previous app, CC should be swipe up and
left.

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BugsJustFindMe
The moment I saw an iPhone X in a commercial for something else, the notch
really clicked for me. The notch does so much more than just extend the screen
a little bit more. It makes the phone instantly identifiable, which is a
marketing technique that Apple has always been fantastic at. I was watching an
ad for some unrelated thing/service and my mind went "Oh look. An iPhone X."
It's interesting seeing that they may have started yet another design trend.

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compsciphd
This reminds me an old jewish joke about chasidim.

A person visited a chassidic town and saw that all the chasidim when they
entered the walked through doorways would dip their heads. He didn't
understand why, perhaps it's a form of piety? So he asked them and was told
"we do it, because 'the rebbe' does it". So intrigued, he asked the rebbe, why
he does it. And he was told, "Can't you tell how tall I am? I'd bump by head
otherwise".

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bitL
So the inter-company envy is coming back, like when iOS copied flat interface
ideas from Windows Phone. I am wondering why we always end up with unified
bland stuff instead of many possible variations so that everyone can choose
what they like? It seems like nobody wants to take risks anymore. I remember
time when every single app had completely different interface; these days
everything looks alike. Even if it is more economical, one size doesn't fit
all.

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ocdtrekkie
Android P is supposed to add support for notches, so I assume software
customization right now is an afterthought: They'll adapt to whatever Google
gives them in the next couple months.

~~~
sgillen
Yeah I would think this would cause issues with apps until they update for the
notch. Is there a default "notch less" mode that only uses the lower part of
the screen? and developers opt in to using the space adjacent to the notch?

I can also see all the different sized notches being a headache for app
developers in the coming years.

~~~
ocdtrekkie
Well, MWC is where you show off all your new hardware that's coming out...
later in the year. So everyone has their notchified hardware, but they likely
won't release them until Android P is available.

~~~
sgillen
I guess I'm mostly thinking of apps that aren't well supported. If the
developer doesn't notchify their app and someone opens it on their new notched
phone a year from now I'm wondering how android P will handle that.

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Grazester
The first phone with a notch was the Essential phone but once apple made the
iPhone X you knew it was going to be mainstream. It's unfortunate.

~~~
GeekyBear
The Essential Phone and iPhone X were both in development simultaneously,
unlike the current situation where ASUS, for example, has been very clear that
it is intentionally copying Apple.

>“Some people will say it’s copying Apple,” Asus’ global head of marketing
Marcel Campos told The Verge, “but we cannot get away from what users want.
You have to follow the trends.”

[https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/2/28/17062030/i...](https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/2/28/17062030/iphone-
x-clones-android-mwc-2018)

