The Notch: Is it as bad as you thought?

[Hustler1337]

Hi guys,

So many of you have now got your hands on the iPhone X and after much debate, outcry and criticism about the notch, is it really as bad as it has been made out or is it worse than you thought?

What's it like when watching videos, pictures and day-to-day activities? Is it noticeable or have you even found yourself forgetting its even there? Has your perception changed now that you've started using it?

Would be great to hear what your views are now that you actually own one and have started using it in your day-to-day activities.

 

[democracyrules]

Notch is no big deal and overly exaggerated and overrated. iPhone X is the best design iPhone in the history.

 

[immigrantsong]

For me , it just pretty much faded away very quickly. In fact, I watched Blade Runner some late last night...in Dolby Vision HDR by the way...zoomed it in so it filled the entire display...and I just didn’t think about the notch. My 2 cents, FWIW.

 

[DiveKitty]

I was always rather neutral, and having X in hand for last day confirmed it is a non issue. It blends away for me even watching video full screen.

I actually like that the clock/battery icons are tucked up in the corners, and how the notch sets boundaries of sorts for the swipe functions. It definitely identifies it as an iPhone, even in a case, which I think was important to Apple if they were losing the Home button.

I think the X is a gorgeous phone and is not “marred” by the notch as so many seem to allege. It just works.

If you had a “Neutral but now Team Notch” I would vote that one!

 

[AlphaPoppy]

I knew it wouldn't be a problem and with the phone in my hands, I still don't think it is.

 

[Cashmonee]

I agree that it is more or less a non-issue. I was worried about it before I got it, but honestly, if I am not thinking about it, I really do not notice it. In a few days, once the newness of the phone wears off, I doubt I'll think about it again. In fact, I am coming to prefer it. I rather like stealing a little extra real estate for persistent information like battery life, time, etc. The one thing that would be perfect is to make that area not accessible to apps and allow the user to change the background color of it. It would solve the full screen photo/video issue and the notch would basically not exist for those that it bothers. I would not be surprised to see something like that in an update.

 

[saltd]

It’s a non-issue-I don’t even notice it at all. Compared to huge bezels, it’s so much better.

 

[Mr. Y]

What notch? Jk, hardly notice it and never was concerned about it in the first place.

 

[shootertwist14]

Not a problem at all, i even liked it since i get to see the edge to edge screen on the left and right

 

[jbachandouris]

My eyes are immediately drawn to it. Mayne that will change with time...

 

[Rogifan]

No. Doesn’t bother me at all. Actually the persistent home bar indicator (or whatever Apple is calling it) bothers me more, especially in certain apps like Safari where it’s always there. I’d like it to fade away after a few seconds and only come back if you swipe on the screen.

 

[adela28362]

Forgot about it within minutes. You really don’t notice it. Only real implication is the lack of battery percentage that is actually noticeable by proxy.

 

[Cashmonee]

No. Doesn’t bother me at all. Actually the persistent home bar indicator (or whatever Apple is calling it) bothers me more, especially in certain apps like Safari where it’s always there. I’d like it to fade away after a few seconds and only come back if you swipe on the screen.

I agree with you on the bar. I was playing a game in landscape and the bar bothered me far more than the notch. This was a game updated for the X as well.

 

[aloecool]

My eyes are immediately drawn to it. Mayne that will change with time...

Same. Coming in, I didn't think it was going to be a big deal and certainly didn't think it was going to bother me. But I've got to say...I can't help looking at it.

 

[jamin00]

First time I noticed it was playing golf clash today and no it didn’t bother me then either

 

[xxray]

I wasn't worried or bothered by it much in the first place, but after playing with it in person, the complaints were so overplayed. The notch is what allows the screen to go across the entire front face of the device. Without the notch, there'd be a straight black bezel across the top which would look much worse. When using the phone, I forgot the notch was even there.

 

[44267547]

Notch is no big deal and overly exaggerated and overrated. iPhone X is the best design iPhone in the history.

I agree. The notch likely on a tech site will have more speculation about it than just the average iPhone consumer who wants to upgrade to the latest and greatest. It's likely not that big of a deal for many outside a tech forum.

 

[barkomatic]

The notch is a big deal for me when watching videos with a naturally wide aspect ratio and so I watch them zoomed out. This takes away the notch but adds a black box around it which makes the video tiny. However, many video apps don’t have that aspect ratio and there are bars on each side that obscure the notch — and don’t have black bars at the top and bottom at least. I don’t like it all and it was exactly the annoyance I thought it was going to be.

It’s one aspect of an overall enjoyable device though. All smartphones out there have strengths and weaknesses.

 

[walex19]

There's a notch?

 

[dave006]

The problem is not the "Notch", the real issue is the shear number of third part apps that have not been updated to allow for the Notch.

Youtube works great but everything else sucks wind.

Dave

 

[LarrySmith]

I barely have noticed it, not a problem at all.

 

[flat five]

delete


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i voted #3

 

[Dd0tc]

What notch?

 

[redman042]

I notice it at times, and some apps need updating to work right with it, but it hasn’t made me doubt my purchasing decision at all. This phone and this display are just too good. Heck, I even play my movies at full screen (notch visible) because they look great filling the whole screen.

 

[Mr. Y]

No. Doesn’t bother me at all. Actually the persistent home bar indicator (or whatever Apple is calling it) bothers me more, especially in certain apps like Safari where it’s always there. I’d like it to fade away after a few seconds and only come back if you swipe on the screen.

Agree 100% about the home bar. At the very least, the home bar should disappear during use, like how Safari hides the navigation options. My biggest hope would be that it disappears entirely in an iOS update.