2019 iPhones Could Have Smaller Notch as Apple 'Looking Into' Combining Face ID and Front Camera

[Baymowe335]

What else is it? Animoji? "much much more" LOL

Gotta think a little bigger than just Animoji. All kinds of things Apple and developers can do with 3D depth sensing, facial mapping, facial recognition, etc, etc. or are you just trying to be argumentative and purposely dense? You can at least agree these technologies are capable of much more than a simple fingerprint reader, right?
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Great, now Apple can get closer to copying the essential phone.

Yeah, that has the same exact tech in its cutout.

 

[6803390]

They have that it's call an iPhone 8.

Don’t be cheeky, I said all screen without Bezels.

You know you can never make everyone happy, right?

Does not apply with Apple until iPhone X was released, right?

 

[NMSUballa]

Which is exactly what someone would say who has an iPhone X (justification for the purchase)

Apple release iPhone with notch - those bought it say you can't even notice the notch is there. What notch, said one guy.

Apple releases iPhone without notch - Same guy says, that notch was so noticeable. I am glad apple got rid of it. Insert random text about Jony Ive is back and the notch wouldn't have happened under Steve Jobs!

Kind of like how people have complained about the large bezels and Apple finally does something about it and now everyone wants them back.

 

[Tech198]

Good idea, if the camera could see you, why not use it for FaceID, instead Apple choose to keep it separate.

Kind of like how people have complained about the large bezels and Apple finally does something about it and now everyone wants them back.

Everyone laughs at at GIF image of Steve Jobs and the way Apple users think, but its all true..

 

[pbridge354]

After having the iPhone X for a few months, I can say I love the notch.

The alternative would be to make the bezel go all the way across the screen and have the status bar under that. That seems wasteful to me. The notch provides more screen space to the user. It doesnt bother me at all and I’m impressed Apple designed it that way.

 

[JosephAW]

Can't wait to see the iPhone SE with a notch. /s

 

[ipedro]

The RGB and infrared cameras can absolutely be combined into one as many security cameras are. The dot projector and flood illuminator can be built into one with the illuminator being a ring around the dot projector. The ambient light sensor can be a software function of the camera which already senses light and even the proximity sensor can be replicated since the camera senses depth.

While Apple has achieved incredible miniaturization with the TrueDepth array, this is their first version. There’s lots of room for further miniaturization through consolidation.

 

[Ankou_Sabat]

I don't have a problem with the notch, I have a problem with how Apple's software handles the notch and the prevention of devs mitigating it in their apps.

 

[ackmondual]

Wrong, go read this thread, plenty of people say they don't mind or think it's good design, it's your opinion.
And, btw, MR readers are just a small portion of all people, Apple sold 10's of millions already, so they all dislike it!

You can still buy it and not like things about it. It's not like you can customize your phone beyond the basic attributes... provider, color, and capacity. For example, the iPhone X is the ONLY iPhone with an OLED display. It's also the only Iphone with Face ID. If you hate the notch, but want those other features in an iPhone, you literally have no other choice.

 

[Tech198]

After having the iPhone X for a few months, I can say I love the notch.

The alternative would be to make the bezel go all the way across the screen and have the status bar under that. That seems wasteful to me. The notch provides more screen space to the user. It doesnt bother me at all and I’m impressed Apple designed it that way.

I remember it wasn't so long also people hated the notch when the X came out What a reverse ..

 

[6803390]

I notice it and it does bother me. Used the phone on many occasions trying to convince myself that my initial thought wasn't valid but the notch design simply bothers me so I'm not buying. Simple black bar option in settings would fix that issue for me but not like this. Especially when you are switching between apps. That cutout is simply too awful.
The designer should get slapped for this idea as its simply un-Apple like. Where is the simplicity and elegance from the old days?

I'm sticking to my iPhone 6 and waiting this one out. Tried iP8 but couldn't justify the cost for the "small" day to day improvements so until iPX solves the silly notch issue then I'm not buying. I will not support such an awful design choice. Simple as that.

What a sensible comment. I wish others think the same!

 

[skitidetdu]

FaceID 2 then... which means all the errors, bugs and quirks are being now exposed and will be fixed by next iteration. Thank you beta testers!

And that's the reason why I skip the 1st and 2nd gen of anything

 

[4jasontv]

We finally get away from rectangle screens and people go and cry until they ruin it for everyone. #GiveMeNotchOrGiveMeDeath

 

[Tech198]

I like to say "embrace the notch, not the dosh'

 

[justperry]

My only problem with Face ID is when I am wearing sunglasses. It struggles with that. I usually have to lift up my glasses for a second and then the phone unlocks.

Polarized sunglasses?

Could be that those glasses interferes with FaceID.

 

[spazzcat]

Don’t be cheeky, I said all screen without Bezels.



Does not apply with Apple until iPhone X was released, right?

Pretty sure there a group of complainers every new model, and there is going to some kind of cut out if there is a front camera and no bezel.

 

[Glideslope]

FaceID 2 then... which means all the errors, bugs and quirks are being now exposed and will be fixed by next iteration. Thank you beta testers!

Agreed. Today’s Apple is a .3 release company at best. Such a sad outcome. This year will be the key. If they can get it together it’s recoverable. To see a company that used to be worshiped for it’s intuitive software, quality, and R&D become a vendor of Premium Beta Products makes me flabbergasted.

 

[FelixDerKater]

Notch-yo old-fashioned notch.

 

[myscrnnm]

What puzzles me is the (software) design choice Apple have made, to amplify the appearance of the notch, rather than disguise it.

For me, this is a far more attractive screen implementation:

View attachment 747167


..but I know Apple disagree, and have actively advised developers not to design like this, but to preserve the notch appearance. Puzzling.

I don't think this is a puzzling decision at all. The amplification of the notch serves to create brand identity. When a person sees you using the phone, or sees a simple outline on a piece of paper, the phone is instantly recognizable as an iPhone X, and as an iPhone product. It does the same thing for the iPhone X as the home button did for all the iPhones that came before it.

Eventually other smartphone manufacturers will follow suit and make devices with screens that take up the entire front face, but the iPhone will continue to have the notch that keeps it from becoming completely generic at a glance.

 

[pbridge354]

I remember it wasn't so long also people hated the notch when the X came out What a reverse ..

This was never me. To me the notch has made sense since first I saw it in the keynote. After reading negative reviews about it I became a bit weary, but now I can say for certain that I love it. It’s pure clever Apple design.

To each their own though. I can see how it could bother some people. But to me it just makes more sense to have it.

 

[aliensporebomb]

Okay, great smaller notch, good job. How about batteries that don't crap out after a year or so? I mean, 2 years would be a nice "start of degredation point"?

 

[AppleScruff1]

I can honestly say that not once have I looked at my IPX and said 'Damn I wish that notch wasn't there, look how it obscures my view of this photo / app / video'

And I'll bet you never said "I'm glad the notch is there, I like the way it juts into my view"

 

[paulvee]

I'm sure I'm as opinionated as Mr Topolsky, the author quoted in the original post. I'm sure I'm not as influential an arbiter of good design, of course. When I checked out his Twitter feed, it was a long litany of petulant, know-it-all pronouncements, many attacking Apple products and "Apple fanboys," but more often anything that seems to be crossing his mind. Pretty much like the Twitter feed of any other young techie male. In other words, his pronunciamento about "BAD DESIGN" doesn't carry much weight with me, even though I do read criticism and try to pay attention to opposing views, even when they are colored by the taint of certainty.

As for my own experience, and not that of any critic or other person on an Internet comment thread that will go on forever, the notch is not a part of my consciousness. I have had the X since the first week. I have had a few other issues, mainly in facial ID not always performing perfectly, as well as some minor interface tweaks I would have done differently, but I look at that screen all day and the notch does not bother me. I swim in the design and graphics world and do have strong opinions about aesthetics. I don't love every decision that Apple makes when it comes to design in software or hardware, but the notch is a non-starter for me. For those who simply cannot tolerate it, you should definitely not buy one. And you should probably keep on ranting how awful it is if it makes you feel better about yourselves.

 

[Bacillus]

Aaaah \ Apple reviving the SW industry /again

 

[handsome pete]

It's not a design decision. It's a post-hoc argument to cover for a design failure.

Just. Like. The. Camera. Bump.

The simple fact that they had a couple of options is the very definition of "decision."

The only way I can think that the notch was an intentional design decision, was that Apple wanted to differentiate their phone face from the other phone faces. That means, they sat down in a room and asked the question, "How can we differentiate the X from other phones immediately?"

Good design starts with a problem and then solves it elegantly.

The notch was probably a failure to hide the camera tech from the front of the phone, which led to a post-hoc argument to explain why the notch exists: it's a "feature" of iphone X that distinguishes it from other slabs of glass.

Again, this is the very definition of "design decision."

This article, offering a rumor that the notch will shrink, means that Apple didn't want the notch to begin with; because if they had wanted the notch to begin with, then they wouldn't want to shrink it later this year....

That's complete BS. If they didn't want the notch then the alternative was to have a solid black bar across the top. They chose the former. Keyword: Chose.

It's certainly a possibility that in a perfect scenario they would want no notch at all and a complete edge to edge display, however the technology at the time completely held them back from that. So they were left with a choice, and chose one over the other. And it appears they are now choosing again.



If you're arguing that there were other options rather than the two everyone's pointed out (notch or black bar) then I'm all ears. But even if there was, then it's still a design decision. It just happens to be a decision you don't agree with.