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Would a notch on the iPad bother you?

Would a notch on the iPad bother you?

  • Yes

    Votes: 90 50.6%

  • Maybe (Wait and see how it turns out)

    Votes: 30 16.9%

  • No

    Votes: 58 32.6%
  • Total voters
    178
CrazyForCashews

CrazyForCashews

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Apr 1, 2018
1,048
2,759
Reading rumours of how the 2018 iPad Pro might have a near bezel-less display "thanks" to the Face-ID technology, I really hope Apple doesn't put a notch on the display like they do on the iPhone X.

The notch was a mistake, an eye-sore, and screams laziness. A notch on the iPad Pro let alone any iPad would be a major letdown. It'd be a distraction at all angles. You can't un-see the notch. iPads are big enough that their bezels should be able to keep the Face-ID tech flush and hidden, but you know Apple, what makes sense to us doesn't make sense to them. I have a feeling that the 2018 iPad Pro will have a notch just so that Apple makes their premium line of tablets and phones similar yet distinctive.

If the 2018 iPad Pro has a notch, I will immediately run out and buy the 2017 10.5" iPad Pro.
 
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What does anyone know? Everyone was moaning on and on about how the notch was ugly on the iPhone and how it was gonna be a flop and it ended up being the best selling iPhone of all time. And I see them everywhere even where I am.

It gets a little tiring as I get older to watch one “gate” after another or another “Apple did something I don’t like so I won’t buy” and then watch everyone buy them anyway.

Remember when Apple redesigned the MacBook to only be usb c and all the backlash they got from it and how it looked like the Mac was gonna get hit hard by lackluster sales? Then they went on to actually see growth? Or when the iPhone 7 dropped the headphone jack and you see commen section after comment section complaining about how it’s a dealbreaker and then the iPhone 7 is a runway success?

Here it is: if there’s a notch on the iPad it doesn’t matter one bit. People will complain and act like it’s the end of the world and then buy it anyway because it’s still a technological product they want in their lives.

So people here might comment “ew no buy for me if it has one” but ya know what? A good percentage of them will buy buy buy anyway and then find the next thing to complain about. And this is exactly why Apple as a company doesn’t listen to consumers

Sorry for the rant. I’m in a mood today
 
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CrazyForCashews said:
iPads are big enough that their bezels should be able to keep the Face-ID tech flush and hidden, but you know Apple, what makes sense to us doesn't make sense to them.
Click to expand...
This is true given current bezel widths, but the rumor situation allows for the possibility of a different story.

From the iPhone X tech specs, the iFixit teardown of the iPhone X, and some measurements and calculations,
  • iPhone X: 0.17" bezels on all sides,
  • The iPhone X "notch" extends to about 0.37" below the top of the iPhone X. (The TrueDepth mechanism extends to about 0.42" below the top.)
From the iPad Pro tech specs and some measurements and calculations,
  • iPad Pro 10.5": 0.27" long side (left/right) bezels, 0.72" short side (top/bottom) bezels,
  • iPad Pro 12.9": 0.46" long side (left/right) bezels, 0.84" short side (top/bottom) bezels.
According to a Bloomberg rumor,
Mark Gurman and Alex Webb said:
By removing the home button, Apple plans to noticeably reduce the size of the edges on the top and bottom of the device for the first time since its introduction in 2010, bringing the design closer to that of the recently released flagship iPhone X.
Click to expand...
So assuming that the bezels do not increase in any direction from the 2017 iPad Pros to the 2018 TrueDepth iPad Pros, there are various possibilities (neither exhaustive nor mutually exclusive, but I think these are the main ones).
  • An iPad Pro 12.9" successor can have equal bezels on all sides (0.46") while not having a notch.
  • For an iPad Pro 10.5" successor, here are four possibilities:
    1. Equal bezels on all sides (0.27") and a notch. This notch would appear half as tall as the one on the iPhone X.
    2. Unequal bezels (0.27" long side and ≥ 0.37" short side) and no notch.
    3. Any notch on the long side (e.g. if "landscape" is the default orientation) will result in a notch.
    4. A smaller TrueDepth mechanism for a possibly smaller notch, according to a Barclays rumor (although the rumor doesn't say which direction(s)).
 
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I guess it depends on what I am getting in exchange for the notch.

As a teacher who uses an iPad in the classroom, I am all about portability, especially since there are times when I do walk around the room with iPad in hand. All other things equal, a notch implies a larger display than what its form factor would otherwise indicate, and I suppose I could live with that. Feels like an acceptable trade off, especially if it meant say a 12.9 iPad Pro in a smaller design.

Only issue is that I typically use my iPad in landscape mode, unlike the iPhone X which is generally used in portrait mode. A cutout would look quite distracting when projecting my iPad display to the projector. And does Face ID even woke in non-standard orientation? I know it doesn’t work in landscape mode on the iPhone X.
 
If it'll have a notch, it means the bezels are thinner and the screen is bigger. One of the complaints of the notch when the iPhone X was the market's disappointment that the notch actually eats up part of the screen which makes the flagship phone not being trully honest about it being a 5.8 screen as advertised by Apple. The iPhone 8 Plus advertised screen size is 5.5 inches yet it has a BIGGER usable screen than the X (see attached pic) if you need to cut off the notch. The screen real estate gets slightly bigger if the notch is included but yep, its freakin UGLY watching a vid or pic with the notch there getting in the way of what you're looking at.:D

The iPad will be a different story. We could have a bigger screen with redesigned iPad either way. There are two possibilities, we will have a notch that eats up a bit of the screen or we will have a notch that is totally ABOVE the screen because the bigger device has enough real estate compared to a phone. Wether the notch will be on the screen or not, the real usuable screen size will still be bigger than the previous generations. If I'm wrong and Apple decides keep the original screen size yet reducing the size of the bezels and the overall size of the device, it's still fine as long as the notch is an extension and not eating up the original usable screen real estate we are currently enjoying.

Personally, I hope Apple keeps the TouchID wether they decide to include FaceID or not.

2F60885A-E9F7-4432-8590-EB5D656322BA.jpeg
 
Last edited:
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For me I want bezels large enough to grip the tablet along the edges comfortably yet securely with one hand. I think the bezels on the 12.9 inch IPP could be reduced a bit (at least 50%) but I wouldn’t want to lose Touch ID at all. I have absolutely no desire for Face ID in any device, especially a tablet. Lifting a 12.9 inch tablet off the table every time just to point the front facing camera at myself to unlock it just because everyone else wanted ultra thin bezels would piss me off.
 
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I have a feeling FaceID won’t be ready for iPad this year.

It’ll have to work in different orientations beside portrait and will have to be able to scan the face from a greater distance and at a greater angle.

I’m no expert, but that’s my guess.

I’d first invest in generation 2 of FaceID to get it to be quicker and more reliable too. That version could include adjustments for iPad and other devices like the Mac. It could come down in price as well at that point.
 
The notch on an iPad won't bother me, but rather lack of bezels would. The only reason for a notch is because the screen will be edge to edge, and while that's great for phones, tablets are different. You hold phones from the back, but tablets are typically held by the side so your palm will be obscurring the screen.
 
walkthruwalls said:
Personally, I hope Apple keeps the TouchID wether they decide to include FaceID or not.
Click to expand...
I think that Touch-ID from now on will only be used for Apple's cheaper products, like the 2018 iPad (hopefully the SE 2?). Face-ID on the other hand will be reserved for their more expensive, premium products like the new iPad Pros and newer iPhones. I greatly doubt Apple would use both on any of their products, it's either one or the other.

If any iPad does get the Face-ID tech, it would be annoying and cumbersome to use. iPads are heavy in comparison to iPhones and having to constantly pick up the iPad and make sure it's at the right orientation just to unlock it would seem like a chore.

Newtons Apple said:
I do not think it would be a deal,breaker for me but hoping they can put the Face ID hardware in the bezel.
Click to expand...
This is the logical thing to do. Keep the Face-ID tech hidden and flush with the bezel. There's enough bezel on iPads that it could easily be done, while at the same time you could still reduce the size of the bezels.
 
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I don’t think the ipads will go completely bezel-less. I believe Apple will lose the home button, but keep a thin bezel all the way around the ipad. Thick enough to contain the face id cameras without the need for a “notch”. Well, thats my guess anyway.
 
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I personally already dislike the super slim bezels of the 10.5" iPad Pro (and I LOVE my iPad Pro in every other way). I needed to use a case just to make it easier to hold. I don't think going bezelless would be good from a usability stand point.

I also think that, unlike the iPhone, the iPad is much more orientation agnostic. Basically you should be able to use it in any orientation. With my phone I'm fine using it in portrait mode with speaker at the top 90% of the time so a notch on the top is more reasonable (I still personally hate it but I can see why others don't).

I think it would make a lot more sense for the dimensions of the new iPad to stay basically the same as the 10.5" iPad Pro (maybe top and bottom can be slightly smaller), and just remove the home button and add FaceId to one side. It will still make the iPad Pro easier to use without a home button. FaceId makes much more sense on a device like an iPad that you don't have nestled in one hand most of the time and that you rarely need to unlock in a situation where you are not looking directly at the screen (unlike a phone).
 
Possibly if they keep the aspect ratio as is so it clips into/ interferes with content in landscape mode. But an 18:9 ipad would look really bizarre :confused: personally I don’t see the need to go that small with bezels on a device the size of an iPad.
 
In my experience, I stopped noticing the notch after a few days on the phone. I imagine it will be the same with the iPad.

Now, I did use an 8 Plus the other day after using the X for a week.

The bezels are hideous.
 
The iPhone X necessitate a notch due to the phone size constraint while going to larger screen space. The iPad doesn’t have that restriction, the fact that it is a larger form factor. We can look the evolution from the 9.7” to 10.5”. No need for notches.
Then again, with the notch being acceptable as the “look” of a modern device, with pretty much all Android OEMs sans Samsung are copying, I have a feeling that it would be inevitable to have a notched iPad. By then, I really do want a new iPad mini.
 
The only way to achieve a high display area to bezel ratio is via the notch.

I fully expect a notch on the new iPad Pro. Face ID will continue to improve and make orientation and angle limitations a thing of the past.
 
It doesn't bother me on my X so it wouldn't bother me on an iPad. I don't see it as a notch, I see it as an extension that moves the status & time out of the main screen.
 
from a design standpoint, it is totally ugly. From a practically standpoint, it seems to make sense.
 
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