Why this Notch

NOTCH

Why do Android Mobile Phones with Notch have Chin?

When Apple launched iPhone X mobile on their 10th anniversary, everyone criticized the company for putting the notch on the top of the mobile phone. Apple used the notch to provide full view display (also known as infinity display, bezel-less display or edge-to-edge display) with 18:9 aspect ratio similar to Samsung Galaxy S8 and later mobile phones.

Samsung used some tiny bezels on top and bottom to put the camera, sensors, etc but Apple went one step further and they completely removed the bezels from top and bottom. But to put the front-camera and other sensors, they had to use the infamous notch at the top of the display.

But as most of the people say, everything Apple does, becomes a trend in mobile field. That's what happened with the notch. Now many Android mobile phone manufacturer companies are trying to copy Apple's design and putting notch at the top of their mobile phones.

We have seen many Android mobile phones with full view display and a notch such as Essential Phone, Vivo V9, Oppo F7, Asus Zenfone 5, Huawei P20 and OnePlus 6. There are also rumors that LG, Nokia and Sony are also going to launch their new flagship phones with notch very soon.

Now the notch has become a trend and every mobile phone company is trying to put bezel-less display with a notch in their upcoming phone models.

But there is a slight issue which many people are complaining! When Apple launched iPhone X with notch, the phone didn't contain any bezel at the bottom i.e. chin. iPhone X was a completely bezel-less phone. Now when many Android mobile phone companies are trying to provide bezel-less display, they are successful in making the notch smaller than iPhone X but all Android phones are coming with a chin at the bottom which looks very odd.

People complain that if a mobile phone contains a notch, there is absolutely no need to put a chin in the phone. Having a chin at the bottom completely ruins the purpose of the notch as the notch is used to provide maximum possible viewing area on screen.

People can't understand why mobile phones with notch have a chin?

In this article, I'll try to answer this frequently asked question and will share the reason behind keeping the chin in Android mobile phones.

There are many guesses and incorrect reasons provided by various people such as due to charging port (USB cable port), speakers, headphone jack, etc the bottom chin is kept. But its not the actual reason.

Many people also think that the bottom chin is used for ergonomic reasons so that users can easily hold the mobile phone and don't touch on screen area accidentally which is also not a valid reason.

The actual reason which is also the most important reason behind keeping the chin in Android mobile phones is actually a hardware limitation of Android phones.

The bottom screen area i.e. chin is the place which is used by display (touch-screen) controller. All Android mobile phones require a ribbon at the bottom to connect the mobile display to the main board. That's why all Android phone companies are forced to keep the chin at the bottom.

Now you can ask why iPhone X doesn't contain any bezel or chin at bottom? The answer is that iPhone X uses a flexible/bendable display screen which folds towards the back thus moves the ribbon connection to the back and removes the limitation to have a chin.

Now you may ask again if iPhone X can use the flexible display to remove the chin, why Android mobile phones don't follow the same strategy? The reason is the price! Using flexible display will increase the overall cost of the mobile phone and not all mobile phone companies can use flexible display in their low-cost mobile phones. That's why iPhone X costs so much, now you know it.

So the bottom line is that Android mobile phones are going to have a chin in future unless some companies come with an affordable way to ditch the chin.

Now you know why Android mobile phones with notch have chin. Enjoy bezel-less mobile phones...

Posted in: SmartFhones

About the author: Rohit AnanD (also known as rtad1428) has been awarded  MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award.