Nathan's Blog

It’s there with the latest iPhone. It’s there in the leaks. It’s there in the news. It’s there at Mobile World Congress 2018. The Notch is everywhere, whether you want it or not. And it’s coming soon to a phone near you.

Yes, the notch. The Notch, because I’m referring to the notch blatantly copied from the iPhone X.

I personally have no problem with the notch on the iPhone X. What I do have a problem with is the notch on the “Android iPhone X”. You get it? Those clones, ripoffs of the iPhone X.

It’s sad that many phone makers this year are copying Apple for the iPhone X’s design. And it’s sad that some brands have sacrificed their original design language for this notchy, iPhone X look with that left-aligned vertical rear camera. This is really sad. REALLY SAD! I’m a huge Android fan and I can’t stand watching my beloved, innovative mobile world turn into copycats.

Your design was already improving and coming in the right direction. Please, don’t sacrifice your uniqueness for this cheap decision, for the iPhone X look, for the sake to be a clone. Don’t jump onto the hype train. I don’t want to hold a copycat phone in my hands and let others think that I’m a silly guy buying a cloned phone.

Urgh… that’s so harsh.

Let’s look at the photo below. It’s not only the notch that’s been copied—it’s the whole design that’s been taken an inspiration!

What a mess! Huawei has sacrificed its iconic rear camera bar for this vertical camera, and the front is just an iPhone X clone. Asus has also sacrificed its curvy back with a unique button placement for the iPhone X design. (They said they knew what they were doing, and that customers wanted this. WTF?! OMFG!!)

“Some people will say it’s copying Apple, but we cannot get away from what users want” — Marcel Campos, Asus’ global head of marketing

Oh, no! I’m not in those users though. And please see this poll:

https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/971790611048271877

Now see how other smart phones tackle with the notch the smart ways.

The Essential Phone was the first to introduce a notch. It’s small, though. Moreover, it also sports a unique, classy design of its own. The Mi Mix 2 (and 1) has no notch at all by moving the camera into its bottom bar. And the Vivo APEX, although still a concept, has no notch and bar at all by moving the camera into a pop-up thing.

So…

Dear phone makers. Hope you are reading this and the many pieces of stories available online. We don’t need another iPhone X. We just need our unique Android phones back! Please bring back your design. Stop this notchy, iPhone X design trend because we don’t want to look like iPhone.

Enough is enough. I’ve had enough notches on my news feeds almost every day. Let this stop today. Today. Just stop. ✋ 🛑

Thanks.

P.S. iPhone is good though, but I’m still with the droids 😉

If I am wrong in any way, please comment!

What I wanted to be a trend in 2018 smartphones: Big batteries

What is actually a trend: Adding a notch

— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) March 1, 2018