When the iPhone X was announced, I was among those criticising the notch, it looked stupid in photos. I hoped apps would hide the notch by making black status bar and feared they would all “embrace the notch” (they’ve had a powerful incentive – those apps would be featured everywhere, from blogs to magazines, to Apple itself). Regardless, I’ve ordered the X the second pre-orders went live and then begged my carrier to deliver it for my birthday (they did and this is one of the reasons I don’t change it for something cheaper).
So why all of this 8 months after the release? I was sitting on the roof, reading some articles and it dawned on me – the power of the iPhone notch – no chin, it feels like you don’t have a phone, but you are holding the information itself in your hand. It’s truly amazing. I don’t see the notch, because mostly I look at the lower half of the screen and all I can see is this beautiful peace of glass in my hand with the text going from edge to edge and all the way down.
That is what Android manufacturers can’t get right – they copy the notch, so that the phone looks similar to iPhone, but all of them have this chin, so it looks like cheap copy and not as something that was inspired by the Apple desing.
Oh, and also, one of my favorite apps – Halide, did embrace the notch and that’s one of the reasons I like it so much. That’s another reminder that I should more thoroughly consider everything before judging the product.