iPhone 13 What's the design point of a notch?

[Boyd01]

It allows my shows to be a lot bigger. Yes, you have the notch. but otherwise full screen.

When I first got my iPhone 12 Pro Max I watched a bit of the movie 2001 from my iTunes library. I guess I double-tapped the screen inadvertently, because I don't think full screen is the default. Anyway, was thinking it was cool to use the full screen on a phone with a "Cinemascope" aspect ratio. Then a scene with lighter colors came and I became painfully aware of "the notch". I actually laughed out loud, thinking "Kubrick would be rolling in his grave to see that happen to his composition"! 🤣

So, no thanks, I prefer the smaller "notchless" view.

 

[compwiz1202]

But it will have the same limitations.




Probably not. It was a selling point when "Plus" iPhones were released (as an extra feature). And now their main selling point are cameras. But it would be great to see them bringing it back. Especially with these large displays on "Plus" iPhones.

It would also go along with the Apple design language.

"The face of a product is pretty much defined by a single piece of multitouch glass. And that's it. There's no pointing device. There isn't even a single orientation. There's no up, there's no down. There's no right or wrong way of holding it. I don't have to change myself to fit the product. It fits me."

Exactly i don't understand what's any better about the pill. It still blocks content

 

[compwiz1202]

It was really only bad for me when the first notch iPhone. At least for the devs that took forever to code around the notch. And I don't understand the status symbols. Yea that non subsidized original or even the ones where you still paid hundreds with a contract, but now you can do installments on your bill. That $1k app that just shows a diamond is more of a status symbol anymore.

 

[Andrew73875]

It was really only bad for me when the first notch iPhone. At least for the devs that took forever to code around the notch.

Generally, the more uniform the product line, the easier it's for developers to provide high quality applications.

One of the advantages of the iPhones (up to iPhone 4s) was the fact that all of them had the same screen size. And Apple was always advertising it as a competitive advantage.

Currently, there are iPhones with the notch and without it (iPhone SE and all others). Some menus and gestures are different for these devices, such as control centre gesture.

On top of that, there's a huge variety of screen sizes: iPhone SE, iPhone mini, iPhone, iPhone Pro, iPhone Pro Max. And these are just the newest models.

There's nothing wrong with having different screen sizes, people have different use cases and needs. But the notch just adds another level of unnecessary complexity.

 

[adamski.ab]

Yes, I agree with you. But I much more prefer this notch from 13 Pro series than two wholes from 14 Pro series. It will be something new for developers off apps. I have also duty one iPhone 8 Plus without notch, and it is easy to see differences of UI apss comparing these phones.

 

[ThatsMeRight]

Absolutely don’t buy this for one second. If Apple could offer a full screen phone with no notch, no cut outs at all, with everything under the screen I guarantee you they would.

They already can. Just not in the numbers they want.

But seriously though, the notch is there largely because of brand recognizition. Look at their latest notebooks. They could have easily incorporated a camera inside the regular bezel. Instead, they opted for a notch - and they don't even have Face ID!

It's all about brand recognizition.

Same story for the iPhone 14 Pro: a pill, hole or drop is not unique and many manufacturers are doing that. A combined pill-hole is unique, though. Starting with iPhone 14 Pro, for years to come, if you only see the front of a phone and it has a pill-hole design, you know it's an iPhone.

 

[Mark Stone]

Wish I could "like" this twice.

I “liked” it for ya. Yer welcome.

 

[Mark Stone]

The notch is irrelevant. When I switched from my 8 Plus to the 13 in March, I stopped noticing the notch after the first five minutes of use.

 

[tarsins]

Just has my new MacBook Air M2 a few days ago and I only noticed the notch yesterday. Must be used to it from my iPhone 13 Pro Max.

 

[Andrew73875]

Yeah people get used to everything. We were used to browse the web with phones like this before an iPhone was released:

The point here is that the notch is not necessary. It doesn't provide additional space for information, it actually decreases it (no space for battery percentage etc). It's also a visual interruption and distraction.

Some people here made a suggestion that the notch was an idea from marketing department to increase brand recognition.

 

[StumpyBloke]

Yeah people get used to everything. We were used to browse the web with phones like this before an iPhone was released:

The point here is that the notch is not necessary. It doesn't provide additional space for information, it actually decreases it (no space for battery percentage etc). It's also a visual interruption and distraction.

Some people here made a suggestion that the notch was an idea from marketing department to increase brand recognition.

The notch is necessary to house the camera, sensor etc.

 

[1557750]

From day one with the X (all the way up to my 13P), I have never had an issue with the notch. IMO it’s better than having a big forehead on a phone in order to get a screen that looks ‘full’. I’m a nitpicking, OCD artist who is obsessed with detail, and I don’t even notice it.

Apple added the notch to house all the tech for Face ID and forward facing camera. Because of this, their Face ID tech is still the best. It will eventually be gone, I’m assuming. And those that can’t stand it should probably go elsewhere or stick with an SE model or earlier models of the same style.

Apple is right where they should be at the moment with design to compensate for the hardware needed for things to work. People have the choice to buy other products if something as simple as a notch repulses them. I will never understand the complaining over it 😜

 

[topbin]

When I first got my iPhone 12 Pro Max I watched a bit of the movie 2001 from my iTunes library. I guess I double-tapped the screen inadvertently, because I don't think full screen is the default. Anyway, was thinking it was cool to use the full screen on a phone with a "Cinemascope" aspect ratio. Then a scene with lighter colors came and I became painfully aware of "the notch". I actually laughed out loud, thinking "Kubrick would be rolling in his grave to see that happen to his composition"! 🤣

So, no thanks, I prefer the smaller "notchless" view.

I'm pretty sure Kubrick would already be rolling in his grave with you watching that on a phone...

 

[Feyl]

I hate the notch but I understand why it's present on iPhones. But there's absolutely no reason to put it in MacBooks, other than that Apple is cheap and wants to save money on manufacturing of future MacBooks when Face ID will eventually come to them. And it's especially amusing on MacBooks because the notch on iPhones is shrinking and it'll be almost gone in this or next generation iPhone.

 

[eyoungren]

I look at the notch this way…

Apple took the status bar icons and moved them up, out of the way of the full size screen area that they were occupying before. Instead of leaving dead space and a thicker bezel around the hardware they used that space for icons I don't particularly pay any attention to.

Leaving me with no status bar icons in the area of my screen where they used to be. The icons are now out of the way of my viewing area.

If an app utilizes full screen properly its not displaying content underneath those status icons.

I'm cool with this because the alternative is a thicker bezel and moving the annoying icons back in to my viewable space on the homescreen. Yeah, they'd disappear when playing video or whatnot, but they'd still be occupying usable space on the homescreen. With the notch they are up and out of the way.

And that's the primary reason I have no problem with the notch.

 

[MisterSavage]

The notch is irrelevant. When I switched from my 8 Plus to the 13 in March, I stopped noticing the notch after the first five minutes of use.

Yeppp. The only time I think about it is when people bring it up in threads here.

 

[MrTSolar]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-needs-to-give-us-the-80-max-charge-option-on-the-iphone.2365460/post-31653730

Due to events ^, all I have to say now is:

 

[compwiz1202]

I look at the notch this way…

Apple took the status bar icons and moved them up, out of the way of the full size screen area that they were occupying before. Instead of leaving dead space and a thicker bezel around the hardware they used that space for icons I don't particularly pay any attention to.

Leaving me with no status bar icons in the area of my screen where they used to be. The icons are now out of the way of my viewing area.

If an app utilizes full screen properly its not displaying content underneath those status icons.

I'm cool with this because the alternative is a thicker bezel and moving the GD icons back in to my viewable space on the homescreen. Yeah, they'd disappear when playing video or whatnot, but they'd still be occupying usable space on the homescreen. With the notch they are up and out of the way.

And that's the primary reason I have no problem with the notch.

Yes the only time I noticed was when the very first notch iPhone came out until the devs coded around the notch. And I think it happened again when the next year's iOS came out, but the devs were much quicker at fixing the code again.

 

[eyoungren]

I’m in favor of abolishing the front facing camera entirely, reverting to power button Touch ID, and not having a notch, hole punch, or anything like that. Use the ultra-wide camera on the back for “selfies”. You’ll get a better picture.

Do you also want the headphone jack and 30-pin connector back as well?

 

[Andrew73875]

I'm pretty sure Kubrick would already be rolling in his grave with you watching that on a phone...

Btw I don't think he would mind actually haha

(From 2001: A Space Odyssey)

And notice there's no notch on these things 😂

 

[Tagbert]

But the space is not usable. It shows a bit more wallpaper and that's it. There's no space for many indicators that were always there (battery percentage etc).

It's also a visual interruption and distraction.

It does remove some space from the indicators but it adds more space to the content area. The content area is what Apple has tried to emphasize for the last few years.

 

[Tagbert]

Yes, I agree with you. But I much more prefer this notch from 13 Pro series than two wholes from 14 Pro series. It will be something new for developers off apps. I have also duty one iPhone 8 Plus without notch, and it is easy to see differences of UI apss comparing these phones.

The lozenge + pinhole won’t be any more complicated for developers. The APIs already give them the dimentions of the safe content area below the notch. That will work the same for the new design. For the few apps that place content into the header, the only difference is that they will have a little more space on either side if they decide to use that space. It’s not a tough problem to handle.

 

[Funny Apple Man]

Unpopular opinion: The notch looks better and pleasing to look at than the uglier pill and hole design.

I'll get used to the pill hole shape and stop noticing it after a while, just like most who disliked the notch eventually got used to the notch.

 

[mpavilion]

The notch is necessary to house the camera, sensor etc.

The top bezel always worked fine for that.

 

[tarsins]

Do you also want the headphone jack and 30-pin connector back as well?

I wonder why the latest Airs still have the headphone jack (and am delighted that MagSafe has returned).