The iPhone X’s annoying notch.
A notch on the iPhone X is a controversial feature that some hate and others don’t mind, but was it really meant to be?
Last year was exceptional for Apple. They celebrated the iPhone’s tenth anniversary and launched multiple other products, including the Apple Watch Series 3, a breakthrough technology thanks to its new cellular capability.
Thanks to the iPhone X‘s higher price tag – $999, the Cupertino company is getting closer to becoming America’s first-ever trillion-dollar company. That would be another milestone for the iPhone maker.
But, last year was also a controversial year for the giant tech due to the fact they’ve finally admitted to slowing down old iPhone models. The company has faced multiple lawsuits from different countries around the world.
The new flagship iPhone has set a new standard for the mobile industry. With a much-needed new design that features far less bezel than any previous model and a controversial cutout (“the iPhone X annoying notch”) at the top of the screen to accommodate its TrueDepth camera system.
It’s been rumored and almost confirmed this year’s iPhone models would feature a smaller notch. Okay, we’d expect that to come in future models. It’s a new technology, implemented for the first time on an iPhone. It’s obvious that Apple would make adjustments and improve it over time.
Apple’s Plan to Get Rid of the Notch
But if a report by the Korean website ETNews is correct, Apple will remove the notch in the 2019 iPhone models. Here’s a fragment of the report:
“Apple decided to get rid of notch design starting from 2019 models and is having discussions with relevant companies.” said an industry representative. “It seems that Apple is planning to implement full-screen that is more complete in its new iPhones.”
Okay, let’s put that into perspective. Apple first introduced the notch last year, this year, it’s expected to get smaller and improved, and it will be removed next year.
At last year’s Apple event, Phil Schiller said the company’s vision was always to create an iPhone that’s completely screen. With the iPhone X, they almost fulfill that promise.
The giant tech is known for being careful and never rushing to implement new features. And whenever they do, they make sure it works. It took Apple ten years to develop this groundbreaking new technology, Face ID.
So, when there’re rumors about Apple ditching the notch, we should take it with a grain of salt. The notch is what made Face ID possible since Apple couldn’t figure out a different way to implement it.
If the company removes the notch, there should be somewhere else to house all the components that make up the TrueDepth camera system.
With a bezel-less iPhone, we could only imagine Apple placing all the Face ID components behind the display.
Since the company owns a patent for hiding elements behind a screen with microscopic holes, that could help them get rid of the notch.
Embracing the Notch
With Apple embracing the notch, with its design guidelines for app developers, we realized it was simply because it would set the iPhone X and future iPhone models apart from other smartphones.
Not everybody is a fan of the notch. Samsung even made fun of it in an ad. Now that Android manufacturers started to copy the notch, Apple can’t wait to get rid of it.
Even though the company denies it, the notch was clearly a plan B. If Apple could have successfully put Touch ID under the display, there would be no notch today.
I’ve said it before, and I will say it again. From an aesthetic point of view, the notch is a poor design, and it’s visually disturbing and distracting.
One thing we suspect about Apple, the company never rolls back. Once they get rid of something or develop new technology, they do it for good. To put that into context, the headphone jack won’t make a return.
The point here is that Apple had never had any plan for a notch. That’s why they will get rid of it once they figure out how to implement Face ID without the notch.
