iPhone X Notch: Everything You Need to Know

[elmaco]

Don't attempt to hide the device's rounded corners, sensor housing, or indicator for accessing the Home screen by placing black bars at the top and bottom of the screen

It's unlikely Apple will be able to move camera etc. behind the screen in a future release, so the only reason I can see for those guidelines are so that Apple may add a setting in a future release where you can configure the notch.

If every developer would create their own unnotchifier, it would be a mess and could conflict with the official one.

 

[stevet]

We can only hope that Apple starts putting notches on their MacBooks, iMacs, and iPads so that there is uniformity. A notch in every Apple display would take a lot of courage.

They couldn't even put USB-C in their flagship devices... That means the notch is a given on the next MacBook Pro

 

[Hedwigg]

the notch will always be in your face, unlike the camera bump on the back

And everyone will forget about the notch once they get their iPhone, just like they did with the camera bump, regardless of placement.

 

[RuffyYoshi]

Honestly if I had the money to buy one, I'd not do it JUST because of this. Not only does putting Control Center on the top ruin the point, but having a chunk of the screen missing all the time is annoying. It should have been masked by a black bar and put the oled display to good use, but Steve is not here to tell them the obvious sadly.

 

[rockrigo]

the notch will always be in your face, unlike the camera bump on the back

Camera bump is also easily masked by a case, no case will fix this ugly thing

 

[Nicky G]

This confirms my concerns.

I have a 6s I bought at its original release, and I will not buy a new iPhone this cycle. I bought a new iPhone annually up through the 6s, on release, btw.

I can't stand the notch. The mockup of how it should have been designed would have been much preferable. And I don't see any real reason to go from 6s to the 8.

Blech.

 

[newdeal]

if they really decide they don't like the notch then they will just make the background black and be done with it. Then it would look just like the render

 

[Macalway]

Have notch will travel.

 

[ForumChick]

"Make a bezelless phone! Smaller bezels the better!"

"Why didn't you make thicker bezels to hide the necessary cameras and sensors? Nobody asked for bezels that small."

People don't realize that the reason that their bezels is to make the phone proportional. Because of the size of the Touch ID sensor, the bezels have to be big to make the phone look more aesthetically pleasing. These same people wanted apple to get rid of the bezels, and now they want Touch ID. Can't have it both ways

 

[deadoctopi]

I would suggest putting a black tape across the top. Then make holes for the cameras.

You could keep wrapping, and then just cut a hole for the screen. It takes courage to make a case like this.

 

[iapplelove]

I just want to hold one, and play with it in person before I make any more opinions on something I have yet to experience.

 

[DakotaGuy]

I remember a lot of people on these forums criticizing Samsung and LG for rounded screen corners on their latest phones, but it seems Apple one-upped them by throwing a notch into the mix. I actually think the rounded corners are fine, but that notch on the other hand...

If it was a good idea on a display you'd think we would have had monitors and TV's with a notch at the top for years.

 

[prowlmedia]

I like the notch and the curves. Something new isn't it and of course will lead to Developers USING them for UI elements.

Who said a Phone has to be a rectangle. I like the Samsung curve idea - but they don't use it for Ui elements enough.

With the X and the images seen The time and battery indicators need to be shifted up. They could have made space with vertical 4G bars and a vertical battery.... thank you Apple. UI job for me please.

also I understand you swipe from the notch for the control centre... Really it should be

Right notch swipe down - Control Centre
Middle swipe - Notifications
Left notch - Widgets.

and then you can swipe left or right between them.

 

[snarlz]

The missing battery %? Will a software update squeeze it in?

 

[JGIGS]

One of the biggest annoyances with phones as they have gotten larger is being able to easily. This is going to get worse with the X now having to pull down specifically on the left (maybe it can be switched for lefties?) and down the middle for notifications. I wish they would have done like some launchers work on Android (I use this with nova launcher) and get notifications swiping down anywhere on the screen and maybe swipe up for control centre again anywhere on the screen. Yes I know the swipe down on the middle of the screen pulls up search but I'm going to guess most people don't use that function as much as notifications and control centre.

Yes I know there are a specific group people who use it all the time but maybe they could bake it another gesture or in the today view

 

[Mr. Dee]

The iPhone X is basically going into the unknown even for Apple. I keeping safe by going with either an iPhone 7 or 8 Plus. When they do introduce an iPhone X Plus, I will take a second look. Too much compromises both for devs and end users.

 

[Nicky G]

"The far corners of the screen can be difficult areas for people to reach comfortably."

That's why we moved control center AND Notification Center to the corners furthest from the users thumb...

I anticipate these guidelines changings, and software updates changing how the edges of the display will look within apps.

Let us hope so. I've been using Apple products since age 5 in 1983, and this is a design travesty.

 

[Duane Martin]

Purely a marketing tatctic. If they hid the sensors within a small bezel, the phone would look just like an S8, G6 etc. they want this phone to stand out. When you see that notch you’ll know exactly what phone it is.

That's exactly it. Apple couldn't solve the problem of needing room for the various sensors without the space at the top and someone pointed out that the notch would make the iPhone visually unique. Everyone knows the old silhouette of the iPhone with a rectangle within a rectangle sitting on a circle, it's used everywhere, pretty much is a universal symbol for "smart phone". Apple embraced the notch to keep their product visually distinct and easily identifiable.

Somehow I think developers are going to figure this out without the world actually ending.

 

[jujufreeze]

*shrugs* it looks damn cool to me but whatever.

looks damn obtrusive to me, especially watching full-screen video.

 

[jonnybgood87]

I think the design is....

...top-notch.



In seriousness, I think this wont be such an issue when you have apps that use colour in the notches. All the white makes it look stark. Example from CARROT.

 

[bigjnyc]

hope there is a software fix in iOS 11 or a future release.

Doubt it. Apple isn’t gonna go out of their way to tell developers not to avoid the notch, only to turn around and issue an update to avoid it or hide it themselves

 

[JosephAW]

Why not just put the camera, sensor and earpeace in the bezel? Then we would have full screen bliss.
I can live with rounded edge photos and videos, come on, we watched TV like that for 50 years! It would make it retro like the Incredible's TV.

 

[Dj64Mk7]

The one thing Apple did NOT explain was Reachability.

 

[dannyyankou]

Apple doesn’t want black bars, but Apple puts white bars in Safari

 

[remydlc]

This is hideous. Any true Apple fan would call them out for what it is. I guess whoever is fine with it is a sheep on steroids. You would expect this crap from other company, not a company like Ape which is aesthetically obsessed with their products. It is what have taken them to where they are. The S8 or Mi Mixes? Have way better front design. The Essential's is also ugly, although theirs is smaller and less intrusive due to only having the camera.