I do not understand the 'notch' angst at all.

[inscrewtable]

Edit: Oct 16, there have been a few posts that stand out that I'd recommend not missing...

post #87, that explains the psychology behind the notch,

post #90, that addresses the design issue

post #113 and #116 by flat five that addresses the notch with regard to screen ratio






The so called 'notch' unsurprisingly has evoked some pointless discussions, however what is surprising to me is the extent and virulence of these opinions in numerous tech articles.

This is what I do not understand and if I am missing something perhaps someone can correct my thinking... The quest for a so called wall to wall screen on the front of a flagship phone necessarily is an impossible goal because at the very least, a flagship phone must have a camera on the front, even if everything else is somehow removed, it would seem a camera cannot be eliminated on a flagship device.

The non essential PH-1 was an exercise in minimalism and if any phone was ever going to do without a front facing camera that was the phone that would do it. So they have to have a notch albeit one that is as small as possible.

OK so now that we can establish that a notch is unavoidable, we come to the only other possible complaint and that is that 'it would be better to have the entire notch depth blacked out. But this is also nonsensical because that is software based not hardware based. If it were hardware based then there would be no choice, as it now stands that can be achieved at any time anyway.

In fact Apple have already explained that this will be up to the user at least where the complaint is feasible. For example I personally do not see that the notch is a problem with full screen video, but if one does find that to be unacceptable, Apple has already explained that the user can choose to black out the 'ears' and view the movie smaller.

So what the hell is the notch complaint about, I really do not understand it at all.

 

[C DM]

Some people like some things and don't like othe things and other people like and dislike same and/or different things. Then out of those there are those who like to talk about what they like and/or dislike. Applies to pretty much anything and everything out there and really has been around for a long long time, way before the internet or even printed media or anything like that.

 

[eyoungren]

The so called 'notch' unsurprisingly has evoked some pointless discussions, however what is surprising to me is the extent and virulence of these opinions in numerous tech articles.

This is what I do not understand and if I am missing something perhaps someone can correct my thinking... The quest for a so called wall to wall screen on the front of a flagship phone necessarily is an impossible goal because at the very least, a flagship phone must have a camera on the front, even if everything else is somehow removed, it would seem a camera cannot be eliminated on a flagship device.

The non essential PH-1 was an exercise in minimalism and if any phone was ever going to do without a front facing camera that was the phone that would do it. So they have to have a notch albeit one that is as small as possible.

OK so now that we can establish that a notch is unavoidable, we come to the only other possible complaint and that is that 'it would be better to have the entire notch depth blacked out. But this is also nonsensical because that is software based not hardware based. If it were hardware based then there would be no choice, as it now stands that can be achieved at any time anyway.

In fact Apple have already explained that this will be up to the user at least where the complaint is feasible. For example I personally do not see that the notch is a problem with full screen video, but if one does find that to be unacceptable, Apple has already explained that the user can choose to black out the 'ears' and view the movie smaller.

So what the hell is the notch complaint about, I really do not understand it at all.

Those arguing against the notch point out that you can just make that entire area a bezel. You don't get a true 'edge' to 'edge' screen but they seem to be more comfortable with a minimal bezel versus a notch.

Personally, it doesn't bother me too much.

The camera bump is what bothers me.

Your statement that the notch is unavoidable though, is in the same category to me as those who state the camera bump is unavoidable. I don't really believe that because if it were true then there would not be non-Apple devices that do it.

Yet there are.

 

[inscrewtable]

Some people like some things and don't like othe things and other people like and dislike same and/or different things...

Yes I get that but that is my point, in this case it's not an either/or situation, you want notch you can have it, you don't want notch you can have that too. It's like Apple making a rose pink phone and people saying I don't want that, how arrogant of apple forcing that upon me. This would only be true if it were the only colour offered.

 

[C DM]

Yes I get that but that is my point, in this case it's not an either/or situation, you want notch you can have it, you don't want notch you can have that too. It's like Apple making a rose pink phone and people saying I don't want that, how arrogant of apple forcing that upon me. This would only be true if it were the only colour offered.

Nevertheless, people still like to voice their opinions (and stand behind them) even when they have choices and aren't forced into anything one way or another. Just part of human nature.

 

[bufffilm]

The so called 'notch' unsurprisingly has evoked some pointless discussions, however what is surprising to me is the extent and virulence of these opinions in numerous tech articles.

This is what I do not understand and if I am missing something perhaps someone can correct my thinking... The quest for a so called wall to wall screen on the front of a flagship phone necessarily is an impossible goal because at the very least, a flagship phone must have a camera on the front, even if everything else is somehow removed, it would seem a camera cannot be eliminated on a flagship device.

The non essential PH-1 was an exercise in minimalism and if any phone was ever going to do without a front facing camera that was the phone that would do it. So they have to have a notch albeit one that is as small as possible.

OK so now that we can establish that a notch is unavoidable, we come to the only other possible complaint and that is that 'it would be better to have the entire notch depth blacked out. But this is also nonsensical because that is software based not hardware based. If it were hardware based then there would be no choice, as it now stands that can be achieved at any time anyway.

In fact Apple have already explained that this will be up to the user at least where the complaint is feasible. For example I personally do not see that the notch is a problem with full screen video, but if one does find that to be unacceptable, Apple has already explained that the user can choose to black out the 'ears' and view the movie smaller.

So what the hell is the notch complaint about, I really do not understand it at all.

You are right...you don't understand.

See how easy that was.

 

[Ralfi]

It's just internet extremist opinion on what is seen to be an aesthetic decision not to their liking.

Essentially, the notch has been on every iPhone, but in this case, it's a more efficient blending of the sensor/camera array + Status Bar.

The only negative is you miss out on some Status Bar info, but the screen space you gain more than makes up for it.

App developers should be able to create a blackened header for their Apps, if they choose to.

Those with black background Apps won't have to & people will be drawn to the X when these Apps are seen on the device.

I can then see people warming to the Apps with light coloured backgrounds, as the ears will complement them imo.

Most people are ok with it. It's just typical internet, when an angry, hypocritical horde who want change, but can't handle it when it happens, repeatedly need to scream their opinion & drown out others.

The X design is the most exciting thing to happen to iPhones, & I'm staggered people are defecting to Android because of it...

I've set myself to own an X for a year, but the price has left me deflated. It's a principle thing for me though....I can't pay that much for a phone...yet to definitively decide..

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

I'm so glad someone finally decided to start a thread about this.

 

[inscrewtable]

I'm so glad someone finally decided to start a thread about this.

I do note your sarcasm but this is not so much a thread about the notch but it's more of a meta thread about the notch threads. In that there is no valid complaint at all, as I said, one can like a colour of phone or not like a colour of phone but it's not possible to complain that a colour exists that one does not like.

 

[Applejuiced]

It could be an OCD thing for some too.
You have this asymmetrical screen with a blank unusable spot missing on the top and then those side ears that wrap around the ear headphone and the rest of the sensors placed up there. It just doesn't look right to me.
It's like someone took a big bite out of the top your tv or your computer monitor.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Here's my take on it:

There needs to be quite a bit of space devoted to the hardware of the front-facing camera, proximity sensor, earpiece speaker, and all the FaceID stuff.

Apple could have just made a solid bezel across the top of the phone like any other phone in this generation.

Instead... they gave us two little extra screens on either side! All the hardware goodies are in the middle... and we get extra screens for mundane static things like the clock, battery and carrier info.

People call it a "notch" because they think it cuts into the screen... as if it's taking away screen area.

I think it's the complete opposite. I think Apple is giving us bonus screens!

Maybe I'm trying to make lemonade... but I'm stickin' to it!

 

[Applejuiced]

Lol
They gave us 2 extra little screens? What?
They're advertising a 5.8 OLED screen measured off course diagonally with a piece of it missing

Here's my take on it:

There needs to be quite a bit of space devoted to the hardware of the front-facing camera, proximity sensor, earpiece speaker, and all the FaceID stuff.

Apple could have just made a solid bezel across the top of the phone like any other phone in this generation.

Instead... they gave us two little extra screens on either side! All the hardware goodies are in the middle... and we get extra screens for mundane static things like the clock, battery and carrier info.

People call it a "notch" because they think it cuts into the screen... as if it's taking away screen area.

I think it's the complete opposite. I think Apple is giving us bonus screens!

Maybe I'm trying to make lemonade... but I'm stickin' to it!

 

[Michael Scrip]

Lol
They gave us 2 extra littl screens? What?
They're advertising a 5.8 OLED screen measured off course diagonally with a piece of it missing

Don't take away my lemonade!!!!!

 

[throAU]

there are people who know how having an irregular curved corner screen with a cut out in it will affect software and there are those who don’t.

 

[cbreze]

Maybe they could have just made enough of a bezel to not need a notch. Oh, but then we;d complain about to much bezel. Hmm, begs the question, which is the more disliked, the notch or the bezel? Doesn't bother me either way as I don't pay the kind of bucks it takes to belong to the notch club anyhew, I do find these types of threads interesting tho and of course amusing.
In any case I'm sure Apple will come up with an acceptable solution for the next generation of "X". Or why bother as I'm fairly certain the notch phone will be a sellout.

 

[throAU]

bezels do not bother me at all

 

[santela]

A little off-topic, but I think it is possible to not have a notch. Companies like Xiaomi (I think) has a back display which can be used for selfies and video calls along with the main camera. This eliminates the need of having a front facing camera. The ear piece can be minimal like the Xiaomi Mix2. In fact I would expect someone to do this within the next year or two. Not Apple though, since they’ve now gone all in with Face ID. Most likely a Chinese company.

As for the X, the notch is definitely aesthetically unpleasant for many people, but it is what it is, not a deal breaker for me.

 

[Applejuiced]

Same here.
Before this I don't think there was complaining of the bezel on the top of the screen.
A completely bezel-less device does nothing for me personally.
I don't know why they focused so much into creating a completely bezel free phone. I'd rather have the option of having a full size symmetrical OLED screen with no pieces missing than having no bezel.

bezels do not bother me at all

 

[Ralfi]

Apple could have just made a solid bezel across the top of the phone like any other phone in this generation.

Instead... they gave us two little extra screens on either side! All the hardware goodies are in the middle... and we get extra screens for mundane static things like the clock, battery and carrier info.

People call it a "notch" because they think it cuts into the screen... as if it's taking away screen area.

I think it's the complete opposite. I think Apple is giving us bonus screens!

Maybe I'm trying to make lemonade... but I'm stickin' to it!

That's the way people should see it. There's more screen, not less.

Although, it brings me to what I think are the core users of where the angst comes from - Plus phone owners....they knew they were going to have to sacrifice some screen for the X, but then to have the notch area add to the lessening of usable screen, they see it as a further punch in the face (ID ).

I think non-Plus owners are much more content with the notch, as they're still gaining screen, especially for what'll be their main use - Portrait mode.

 

[throAU]

That's the way people should see it. There's more screen, not less.

Although, it brings me to what I think are the core users of where the angst comes from - Plus phone owners....they knew they were going to have to sacrifice some screen for the X, but then to have the notch area add to the lessening of usable screen, they see it as a further punch in the face (ID ).

I think non-Plus owners are much more content with the notch, as they're still gaining screen, especially for what'll be their main use - Portrait mode.

i don’t care whether it is more or less screen. i care that’s it not the same shape as content, and that ui elements plain don’t work with it.

 

[Ralfi]

Lol
They gave us 2 extra little screens? What?
They're advertising a 5.8 OLED screen measured off course diagonally with a piece of it missing

Their advertising is misleading & perhaps another reason why many are put off by it & treating the notch as taking away screen area.

Apple shouldn't have marketed it as 5.8" imo. Should've measured it diagonally from below the status bar area. What would that make it? 5.5"? Still more space for non-Plus users . & Then the ears could've been interpreted as bonus screen area as oppose to them being apart of a (non)full row of screen that makes up the falsely marketed 5.8".

 

[inscrewtable]

Here's my take on it:
Apple could have just made a solid bezel across the top of the phone like any other phone in this generation.

Am I talking in Swahili without realising it, what you say can be achieved with software exactly so in the sense that they have left that possibility of which you say they could have done, they have in fact already done it. Yes?

 

[44267547]

The notch is here to stay. It's part of Apples trademark and the technology behind the notch is loaded. We all understand it's not a aesthetically pleasing, but it does serve it's purpose for the time being, until Apple refines it or changes the design in the future.

 

[inscrewtable]

i don’t care whether it is more or less screen. i care that’s it not the same shape as content, and that ui elements plain don’t work with it.

You see this is the whole point of this meta thread, you are ignoring the meta thread premise and pretending that Apple don't already allow the shape to conform to the content. They showed that on the Video demonstration, it's your choice when watching a video, you can have the notch or not have the notch.

This is like some sort of mass hysterical delusion, a reverse 'reality distortion field' where people are complaining that they do not have what they really do have. I just don't get it.
[doublepost=1507950402][/doublepost]

...until Apple refines it or changes the design in the future.

How, how would it be possible to 'change the design'. They can either black out the bezel, which they already allow Or they can remove the front facing cameras. Is there a third way? Tell me what other choice is there. Even saying 'they could have left things as they were, they also have covered with the iP8

 

[Ralfi]

i don’t care whether it is more or less screen. i care that’s it not the same shape as content, and that ui elements plain don’t work with it.

Could you list the UI elements you're referring to?

Without having seen many Apps on the X thus far, I'm eager to see reviews, hopefully showing my most used Apps, so I can see how it impacts my planned use.