Do you remember how it feels when you’re at the theater and there’s people in front of you where their head is blocking part of your view? It’s a packed theater and you have no option but to deal with it so you’re constantly shifting left and right but that head in front is always blocking part of the screen. Grrrr!
Well, that’s how I feel about the Notch-And-Ears design in the iPhone X display.
Why would Apple do something like this? What does this Notch design accomplish? Nothing. Apple knew that the iPhone 8 had nothing spectacular to compete against the Samsung Galaxy S8 so they created this crazy, out there, iPhone X.
I know they want to say that the entire front of the iPhone X is the display, but it’s NOT! You still have that notch area that looks like it is blocking part of the screen! And their own marketing images show that it’s blocking part of the screen!
The next picture is from Apple’s own website and you’ve got 3 characters looking up at something. You see a swirl of clouds and a light beam shining straight up. BUT THAT NOTCH IS IN THE WAY! Doesn’t it seem like there might be something there that the 3 characters are looking at since the image does extend up around the notch?
This feels like a jab from Apple’s marketing team to the product team on their dumb notch design. Even though Apple marketing is trying to spin this as their defining feature, it’s tough when you know it’s a dumb design.
Here’s another image from Apple’s website with a mobile game. That notch again blocks part of the view. Luckily for this game, the game elements don’t extend all the way to the end. But after reading some online app design forums, this notch is creating a headache for everybody.
It’s not just games for movies where the notch gets in the way. Many users have reported that when they just look at photos in their gallery that the notch again is in the way. Most apps that people currently use will need to be redesigned to display correctly.
In all seriousness though, the sensors and other features in the notch area is necessary. It just wasn’t necessary to extend the display up and around that area.
In my opinion, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has the best design when it comes to having a large display. You don’t have to deal with the annoying head in front of you with any other phone. You still have a small bezel above and below the display but at least the display doesn’t have any blocked out areas. Isn’t the image below just beautiful!
