(ThyBlackMan.com) To support edge-to-edge display on smartphones, companies are trying everything they can to get rid of the notch. No matter if you call it “iPhone X’s notch” or “Essential Phone’s notch,” the interesting thing is smartphone makers are now experimenting with the punch hole display and Apple is no exception. The punch hole is a small cutout in a phone’s screen to accommodate a front camera.
Apple’s next iPhones will be heavily redesigned and if reports are correct, the punch hole display is the next thing you will see on an iPhone. Samsung and Huawei are already doing it and surprisingly, a Chinese smartphone company Meizu is way ahead than these tech giants. Meizu is teasing an in-display camera phone, probably the world’s first smartphone without a hole in the display.
The punch hole on a mobile screen gives users more space, but it is not a solution if smartphone companies are trying to ditch the display notch. With punch hole, they can only move the camera and other sensors either on the right or left side. In Apple’s case, this approach will be more challenging as the iPhone designers need more space on the screen so that they can put the camera and Face ID sensor at the top. That said, Samsung is the biggest display provider for Apple phones and it is a well-known fact that Samsung’s in-display sensors are not ready.
People already hate the iPhone X’s notch and Apple knows this. The next thing Apple could do is to buy punch hole display panels from Samsung and use it in next year’s iPhones because, by that time, Samsung will start selling phones with under panel camera sensors. The Samsung Galaxy S10 launch is set for February 20, and the phone will sport punch hole display. If you haven’t checked the details yet, you can read about the S10 here. In 2019, many smartphones are going to sport this new display design.
In the last three years, we’ve seen a lot of ways smartphone makers are trying to cut the size of bezels. From edge-to-edge display to traditional and waterdrop notches, companies have started the trend and now smartphone users want to see the perfect all-screen phone. All the mechanisms used by companies were aimed to serve the same goal, but they don’t fix the thing they claim to fix, and hole punches are no exception.
Looking at the current hole punch display trend, smartphone users have different opinions. Some people feel that this new display trend is pointless and a hole punch is even worse than the notch. On the other hand, some are defending the use of a punch hole display in smartphones. Hole punches can be positioned in the right or left corner of the screen rather than the middle and this new display will give their smartphones a new look.
It will be interesting to see if any of these companies will keep the punch holes after 2019 because their goal is to achieve a flawless display and that’s what consumers are waiting for. Some people believe that OEMs will bring a completely new solution soon and this trend will fade away after 2019. If we look at the current scenario, nothing new is coming except Samsung’s in-display panels which will likely be available in 2020.
If it happens, we may not see many people upgrading their phones to new punch hole models in 2019 as there’s a strong wave of discussion in the tech industry about the notchless display. Many people would want to wait for the new tech as hole punches are going to be a temporary thing. In simple terms, it is just a transitional pain and sadly, it’s pointless.
People don’t want to buy a smartphone because it has a new type of notch, all they want is the edge-to-edge display which is still not available on any smartphone. Those who want to get close to that design idea, punch holes are a good alternative.
Staff Writer; Corey Shaw
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