If phone manufacturers are designing phones with notches, wouldn't it make sense for Google to update Android to support it?This is ridiculous. First Android mocks the notch, and now embraces it. Pathetic.
Reminds me of the signs at a WWDC 12 years ago, "Redmond, start your photocopiers" and Steve Jobs quote "The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste."
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Google Debuts 'Android P' With Support for iPhone X-Style Notches
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The notch is the best possible design right now. As little bezel as possible and giving us the most screen possible while still including all the technology needed for Face ID and a front facing camera. So much better than having extra bezel for no reason.
I don't understand why companies feel the need to copy EVERYTHING Apple does. When something is BAD, DON'T copy it. Stop perpetuating nonsensical design decisions. In short, the notch is dumb! Don't copy it.
LOL reading through this thread is hilarious. So many of you are blindly assuming this gives the user the option of adding a digital notch to their device. Wrong. This is a developer preview, meaning it allows developers to simulate a users experience so they can design around a notch.
No the Essential isn’t bezeless, it has a rather large bottom bezel.
It looks great on an Apple device, but looks like....*hit on an Android device. Android manufacturer's are trying way to hard to become relevant. It's time for Google to erase 80% of the vendors and just keep the top 5 for Android. Asus isn't creating any value within the Android portfolio with crap like this...or any other Android vendor trying to be Apple.
Hey, why not offer notches all the way around? Take the worst feature of any phone EVER and imitate on more phones! Apple should have made that area off limits on either side of the notch and used it only for feedback items (i.e. clock, wifi connection, etc.). Why would I want to watch a movie/video/tv show with part of the picture MISSING or have to get something to force it to sit below it so it doesn't cut out part of the picture? Apple wanted to get rid of that bezel SO BAD yet they FAILED so miserably to do so. If the camera has to be there, use the space around it for something, but stop pretending to be bezel-less when you've got a giant HONKING NOTCH covering up your video playback!
And why would they want a notch as preview for their apps for an OS that has no notch yet? Probably becayse google knows that other manufacturers will create a phone with a notch.
Actually, it proves that all mobile device makers are struggling to find some way of distinguishing new products in the absence of actual new innovations by fixing mature designs that ain't broke.
How about the "reason" of being able to pick the thing up, hold it, hand it to someone etc. without accidentally touching something on the edge-to-edge, wrap-around screen?
Anyway, now we have a 21st Century version of the glass half full/half empty dilemma... Does your display have a notch cut out, or does it have ears added on?
The whole world knows Android manufacturers are creating devices with notches, so what's your point? Google is letting developers create around notches of varying sizes because those devices are already revealed.
Apparently so. Even if they are stupid standards. The next big test is to see how many ridiculous phone manufacturers duplicate the physical notch.
I hate the notch being used as an extension of the active display. It would be much better, in my opinion, to have the areas on the display on either side of the camera module have a permanently black background with the ability to display battery percentage, signal strength, time, and whatever other device information would be appropriate.
I like symmetry and the notch calls unneeded attention to itself when you have a bright screen showing around it. It needs to blend into the background as much as possible.
I like symmetry and the notch calls unneeded attention to itself when you have a bright screen showing around it. It needs to blend into the background as much as possible.
Hmmm....wonder why the notch is smaller on the Asus? Could it be because the tech isn't as capable?
No phone is bezeless, and the EP still has a higher display ratio than the iPhone X. Bottom line is android had the notch first and if anyone copied the notch it was Apple.
Screen-to-body ratio
iPhone X 82.35 %
EP 84.85 %
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No they can’t. Because they are all made by Chinese.
Because of phones like the Essential phone and the companies that were inspired with its notch
It’s a bit more than just “adding developer support at the very basic level.” They've added new APIs for Apps to detect notch size/location and adjust content accordingly. Device manufacturers can specify the notch size so content can render properly. In other words, Google is going “all in” on the notch.
If the notch is such a bad idea and poor UI design (as oh-so-many here claim) then Google should refuse to support it as it conflicts with their intended UI design.