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.
Advertisement
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?
Advertisement
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…
I always used to feel the same. Your article was very informative. Keep sharing such articles.
Very informative and lucid explanation.. Thanks VG !
Yes. Truly your article is informative.
But be careful with stating a fact. The Essential phone came first before the Apple iPhone X. Only the Apple’s iPhone X got the idea and started the trend.
Apple was not the first to implement the notch, essential was. Apple copied essential
But Samsung also uses flexible displays, why haven’t they gotten rid of the chin?
Is there any patents prohibiting android manufacturers from using apples curved display technology.
This is super 🙂
The essential phone released the notch before the iPhone
Copy right problems only there is no any technicalities.
Your explication is close, but not % right. Apple uses Samsung displays.(Apple doesn’t make displays, or anything for that matter.) That’s why Samsung always has the newest display tech first, and why their displays look the best. (A la the S7 edge from 2½ years ago, the S8/S8+, and S9/S9+. All had curved displays before the iPhone X.) Then after they’ve had the tech for a couple years, Apple gets it. It’s also not about price, since the iPhone X cost the same price as the S9+. (At least in the states, with Sprint.) No one wants a edge to edge display. It’s something that no one asked for. It renders the phone unusable. You end up holding the phone awkwardly, drop it more often because of that, and errant screen presses are also much more of a pain in the butt since they happen so much more frequently. It makes you HAVE to have an Otter Box to even be able to hold three phone. Plus the “zero bezel” means one drop guarantees the screen/back glass will shatter. Or the aluminum frame will have a huge dent. Every person who doesn’t use an Otter Box (or similar), or who use those super thin silicone cases, has a perpetually cracked screen. So what’s the point of all the design and zero bezel, of the smart ones among us are going to put a case on it. Millions spent of design, and you’ll never see it.
That doesn’t make sense coz u can have your screen covered to the end and have the extended ribbon piece fold
Well, Bphone 3 or Bphone 2018 is the frist Android phone have thin bottom and this is challege to orther Android phone
This is not correct information all the way through. The iPhone X does NOT use a “bendable” or “flexible” display. This is merely a marketing term that Apple uses to make it sound more complex than it actually is. In fact, whats bent is the display controller’s ribon cable and part of the display controller. It has nothing to do with the display itself.
Did you really put the essential phone as an example for Android phones that copied the iPhone x notch? Because the essential phone did it first that means apple copied them
Apple don’t give a shit about Essential Phone (like everybody else), so they didn’t copy anything. I hate notch, but i can understand a reason for its existence. From years Ive was dreaming about “bezel-less iPhone from one piece of glass”. iPhone X design probably came many months before (or even years) actual announcement. More likely both companies came with the same idea, but as we know – no one give a shit about Essential, so other companies didn’t copied Apple – they used the same idea BECAUSE Apple did it.
Sorry but I just read an article that worshipped apple’s iphone like a God. This whole thing could be shorten to just one paragraph or few sentences “Apple folds the ribbon that connects the display under the display so there’s no chin, unlike other phones the quality of the display is high enough to do so”. And like many others said, the essential phone came out first with a notch. Most android didnt copy iphone for notches but it was one of the only solution at the time to achieve a near full screen display. This is evidence as most android phone’s notch are not as big and ugly as iphone’s notch.
sigh… Apple (Thankfully) did not copy The Essential ‘Phone’ these things are years in development and if you think a few months after Essential released their luke warm device… Apple then decided to add one?. Hardly.