OPINION: Android and Notches

After MWC, there were plenty of phones that were announced featuring the infamous notch. Now with the developer preview of Android P out and about making the rounds in the tech news sites, it's time to think about the direction Android phones will be going in to counter what looks to be 3 different iPhones coming in the fall.

It's ugly, but it isn't a copycat

While the iPhone X certainly put the notch in the spotlight, arguably the Essential did that before the new iPhone release (Correct me if I'm forgetting another player here). With the impending One Plus 6 and LG's new flagship renders showing the notch making its way beyond Chinese manufacturers, it's time to ask why are companies even bothering?

Vivo, Samsung, and 18:9

2018 has seen the wide adoption of the 18:9 aspect ratio on smartphones with some YouTubers even optimizing their content for the new ratio. The problem with the notch is that it can either be an interruption in your landscape viewing experience, or it turns into a strip should the OS be optimized in that way. So if it was going to turn into a strip anyway, why bother to include it just for those few extra millimeters of screen real estate? Vivo's new Apex concept (while will now begin mass-production in Q2 of 2018) shows that there's no need for a notch and that it is possible to have a nearly 98% screen-to-body ratio without any interruptions.

 What do y'all think?

Do you think the notch is an interesting stylistic choice or a design option that should have been dead on arrival? After seeing more and more iPhone X's in the wild, I can certainly see how some people could be envious of all that display, but after going hands on with the Mi Mix 2 and drooling over videos of the Vivo Apex,  I'm interested to know my fellow steemers feel! Sound off below!