2018 has been the year of Android phones with iPhone X-style top-notch and for many obvious reasons, there has been a negative fuss surrounding it claiming to be a blunt rip off of the iPhone X. Truth be spoken, there is no better alternative to bring in more screen real-estate without including a top notch. Yes, Apple has included a bunch of sensors including the Face ID in the top notch, and, Android-powered smartphones just have the regular sensor and front camera, but there is no better way to bring in an impressive screen-to-body ratio without designing it with a notch.
Cut to the chase, the upcoming OnePlus flagship (for now dubbed as the OnePlus 6) is also said to feature the notch. However, the company says that it will be more than just another iPhone copycat. Following the negativity, Android phones with notch-designs have been receiving since the MWC 2018 launches, OnePlus has reached out to The Verge to make its point and why it thinks the change in design is a good thing.
The company is far from backing out with the notch design at this stage and OnePlus like every other phone maker is opting to go this design route and is seeing it as a move to bring more screen real estate instead of taking anything away. Carl Pei quotes: “What you are essentially doing is moving the entire notification bar up, giving users more content on their screen.”
While there is the Essential PH-1 with a notch design before the iPhone X, the latter marked the first major smartphone that will remain as a phone with a notch on top. Would Android markets went the notch route had Apple not launched the iPhone X? Yes, but the timing of that is not certain. As for OnePlus, Carl Pei talking to The Verge said that ‘OnePlus notch is different, implemented with more thought and care’ He further said that the notch on the upcoming flagship is bigger than the Essential Phone and smaller than the iPhone. Dimensions of the notch; 19.616mm x 7.687mm.
OnePlus also said that their team manually tested the top 1,000 Play Store apps to determine which would need a compatibility mode with the notch. The company clarified that it is shifting its clock to the left side of the screen to allow more room for status icons, and it’s going to disguise the notch anytime a user is playing a video.
The company is, however, not talking about more about the flagship, but we do know it will retain the 3.5mm audio jack, will have OnePlus’ biggest screen to date, with a notch-assisted screen-to-body ratio of 90 percent.