There’s big hoopla going on about the iPhone X’s ‘notch’, the small peninsular area at the top of the OLED display that houses the front camera system and mic. For a phone that promises to be ‘all screen’ and ‘bezel-free’, the notch is a jarring design flaw that upends those stated facts.
For sure Apple could’ve emulated others in the industry and provide just enough bezel space on top to house those critical elements. In a hyper competitive yet matured smartphone market where devices looks largely the same - there’s only so many variations of screen on a slab of alloy - Apple needed a differentiator. With iPhone X eschewing the iconic home button, the ‘notch’ is the replacement.
It’s a genius marketing move, though I would hope over the protest of Jony Ive. I’d imagine the ‘notch’ and the camera ‘bump’ continues to annoy the heck out of him.
It’s a brilliant PR move because with the ‘notch’ will become the defining symbol of a frontal area that otherwise lacks any other details - indeed it’s all screen. For the past decade the home button alone differentiated the iPhone out of a sea of copycats. From now on, the notch on the top of the display will do the same. Apple has already done so in it’s own materials:
Personally, the notch bothers me because I’m a bit of perfectionist and anything askew isn’t my cup of tea. However, like most other consumers, I’ll buy an iPhone X and get accustomed to it in no time.