Forget unconfirmed reports, there’s already a smartphone or two (Asus Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 5Z) that look like an exact replica of the iPhone X – at least from the front. The notch – which was much derided at the time of the launch of iPhone X – is expected to widely feature in Android smartphones of 2018. Leaks have suggested that the OnePlus 6 is rumoured to get a notch.
As will Huawei’s next flagship smartphone, the P20. It’s expected that Xiaomi too will launch a smartphone that will boast of the notch. If that’s not enough then Android’s next OS update – called the Android P – is integrating the feature as well. It’s not a case of tipping the hat to Apple by Android or maybe it is. When the iPhone X was launched the notch was supposed to be an “eyesore” and experts were loudly wondering whether it will backfire or not.
Less than six months later, the notch is set to be a feature that will be aped, integrated in smartphones across price segments. As is the case with Apple, the notch wasn’t really its original innovation. It was the Essential smartphone that got a notch first albeit it was much smaller than what we saw on the iPhone X. Of course, the notch on Android smartphones won’t be exactly like the iPhone X.
As Asus revealed the notch on its Zenfone 5 series is “26 per cent smaller” than the one on iPhone X. It won’t be the first time that other brands have gotten “inspired” by an iPhone feature. Remember when the fingerprint sensor was introduced much before Apple did yet it became popular when it was integrated with the iPhone 5S.
Or the headphone jack which Apple ditched and soon others followed suit. It looks like it’s the turn of the notch now. Ridiculed and derided at first, it’s now a feature that we expect to see in almost every brand’s portfolio. What do they say about imitation being the best form of flattery? Flattered or not, Apple is having the last laugh on the ‘notch-notch’ joke.
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