4 ms·

Let me tell you how this design is dysfunctional: It puts a piece of hardware that many people don't even use regularly in a very prominent place, in a way that

Let me tell you how this design is dysfunctional: It puts a piece of hardware that many people don't even use regularly in a very prominent place, in a way that many people find disturbing and unappealing. The UI needs to accommodate for this ("looks great in dark mode") to lessen the impact. The best thing you can say about it is "it's not that noticable" and "you'll get used to it". There's another foolproof way to tell that the notch (on the iPhone) is a bad design: Nobody is copying it.

Fezzik 5y ago
Maybe everyone has stopped copying the notch (I’m honestly not sure), but numerous manufacturers were copying it soonafter the iPhone X release. See: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/2/28/17062030/iphone-x-clones-android-mwc-2018 https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/2/28/17062030/i... Edit, to finish the thought: so it remains to be seen if other manufacturers will follow-suit this time.
stouset 5y ago
> It puts a piece of hardware that many people don't even use regularly in a very prominent place… Perhaps you’ve heard of this “pandemic” thing where an absurd number of professionals are working remotely and participating in virtual meetings? > …in a way that many people find disturbing and unappealing. But that the clearly overwhelming majority—if the iPhone is any evidence—simply do not notice enough to care about. iPhones with the notch have continued to sell in record-setting numbers, despite your own personal sensibilities. > The best thing you can say about it is "it's not that noticable" and "you'll get used to it". The best thing I can say about it is that it’s a phenomenally well-executed compromise that leaves a frequently-needed piece of hardware in an ideal place while reducing useless bezels, adding screen real estate, and cleverly occupying an area of the screen that is almost certainly the most underutilized in all of macOS. Compared to the alternatives (a thicker bezel with lost screen real-estate, a thicker lid with a worse-quality camera, or a camera placed elsewhere) it is quite literally the optimal technical choice. That it’s aesthetically unpleasant to some people is actually the worst thing you can say about it, and if it’s anything like the one on my phone, I literally won’t notice it unless someone is actively pointing it out. > There's another foolproof way to tell that the notch (on the iPhone) is a bad design: Nobody is copying it. You are one quick Google search away from enlightenment, friend.
- incrudible 5y ago
  > Perhaps you’ve heard of this “pandemic” thing where an absurd number of professionals are working remotely and participating in virtual meetings? Perhaps, but having cameras on during a teleconference is counter-productive. > But that the clearly overwhelming majority—if the iPhone is any evidence—simply do not notice enough to care about. iPhones with the notch have continued to sell in record-setting numbers, despite your own personal sensibilities. I use an iPhone. I hate the notch. It doesn't bother me enough to switch platforms after a decade of iPhone usage, or getting an outdated iPhone, but it does bother me. With every new iPhone release, people like me are awaiting the end of the notch. Apple doubling down on this nonsense tells me: The notch is here to stay. They're trying to turn a flaw into brand identity. It's working, at least on people like you. > The best thing I can say about it is that it’s a phenomenally well-executed compromise... The reality distortion field at work. They could have made the notch massively smaller. They didn't because that notch is part of the brand. They could have just shrunk the bezel a tiny bit less to accomodate for a camera. They didn't, because again, they'd rather make it about the brand. The screen real estate argument is bogus. If that screen estate made a difference, they could've made the thing just a tiny bit larger. > You are one quick Google search away from enlightenment, friend. I'm not saying nobody ever copied it. I'm saying nobody is (still) copying it. It has been tested on the market, and the market said: No. Nobody wants a notch.

Fezzik 5y ago

Maybe everyone has stopped copying the notch (I’m honestly not sure), but numerous manufacturers were copying it soonafter the iPhone X release. See: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/2/28/17062030/iphone-x-clones-android-mwc-2018 https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/2/28/17062030/i... Edit, to finish the thought: so it remains to be seen if other manufacturers will follow-suit this time.

stouset 5y ago

> It puts a piece of hardware that many people don't even use regularly in a very prominent place… Perhaps you’ve heard of this “pandemic” thing where an absurd number of professionals are working remotely and participating in virtual meetings? > …in a way that many people find disturbing and unappealing. But that the clearly overwhelming majority—if the iPhone is any evidence—simply do not notice enough to care about. iPhones with the notch have continued to sell in record-setting numbers, despite your own personal sensibilities. > The best thing you can say about it is "it's not that noticable" and "you'll get used to it". The best thing I can say about it is that it’s a phenomenally well-executed compromise that leaves a frequently-needed piece of hardware in an ideal place while reducing useless bezels, adding screen real estate, and cleverly occupying an area of the screen that is almost certainly the most underutilized in all of macOS. Compared to the alternatives (a thicker bezel with lost screen real-estate, a thicker lid with a worse-quality camera, or a camera placed elsewhere) it is quite literally the optimal technical choice. That it’s aesthetically unpleasant to some people is actually the worst thing you can say about it, and if it’s anything like the one on my phone, I literally won’t notice it unless someone is actively pointing it out. > There's another foolproof way to tell that the notch (on the iPhone) is a bad design: Nobody is copying it. You are one quick Google search away from enlightenment, friend.

incrudible 5y ago
> Perhaps you’ve heard of this “pandemic” thing where an absurd number of professionals are working remotely and participating in virtual meetings? Perhaps, but having cameras on during a teleconference is counter-productive. > But that the clearly overwhelming majority—if the iPhone is any evidence—simply do not notice enough to care about. iPhones with the notch have continued to sell in record-setting numbers, despite your own personal sensibilities. I use an iPhone. I hate the notch. It doesn't bother me enough to switch platforms after a decade of iPhone usage, or getting an outdated iPhone, but it does bother me. With every new iPhone release, people like me are awaiting the end of the notch. Apple doubling down on this nonsense tells me: The notch is here to stay. They're trying to turn a flaw into brand identity. It's working, at least on people like you. > The best thing I can say about it is that it’s a phenomenally well-executed compromise... The reality distortion field at work. They could have made the notch massively smaller. They didn't because that notch is part of the brand. They could have just shrunk the bezel a tiny bit less to accomodate for a camera. They didn't, because again, they'd rather make it about the brand. The screen real estate argument is bogus. If that screen estate made a difference, they could've made the thing just a tiny bit larger. > You are one quick Google search away from enlightenment, friend. I'm not saying nobody ever copied it. I'm saying nobody is (still) copying it. It has been tested on the market, and the market said: No. Nobody wants a notch.