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THE PHONE THAT ‘MADE’ THE NOTCH.

The Phone That “Made” The Notch

We begin our deep dive into the history of smartphone design by examining the singular device that polarized the industry, defined a new aesthetic era, and sparked a global debate on aesthetics versus utility. To understand the modern smartphone landscape, one must first understand the controversy and engineering triumph encapsulated by the device known as the iPhone X. While the market had seen cutouts and bezels before, it was this specific device that codified the “notch” as the dominant design language for nearly a decade. This article explores the engineering challenges, the software integration, and the market reaction that allowed Apple to dictate the future of mobile hardware.

The Precursor: The Market Before the Notch

Before we dissect the specific device that “made” the notch, we must contextualize the market conditions of the mid-2010s. In 2017, the smartphone industry was facing a stagnation in innovation. Bezels were shrinking, but the forehead and chin of devices like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Google Pixel 2 still occupied significant screen real estate. The race for the “all-screen” display was underway, but manufacturers were constrained by the physical necessities of component placement. Front-facing cameras, earpieces, proximity sensors, and ambient light sensors required a home.

The “Bezel-Less” Illusion

Manufacturers attempted to achieve the “bezel-less” dream by curving the display edges (as seen in Samsung’s Edge series) or by moving the fingerprint sensor to the back of the device. However, the top bezel remained a stubborn relic. We saw early experiments like the “Essential Phone” which introduced a small, teardrop-style cutout for the camera. Yet, this device failed to capture the mass market’s imagination or respect due to software bugs and a lack of ecosystem integration. It was a hardware novelty without a cohesive software vision.

Introducing The iPhone X: The Pivot Point

In September 2017, Apple unveiled the iPhone X (pronounced “ten”) at the Steve Jobs Theater. It was a radical departure from the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus announced alongside it. The device eliminated the home button, removed the Touch ID, and introduced a slab of glass and steel that was nearly 80% screen-to-body ratio. The central feature of this design was the cutout at the top—colloquially known as the “notch.”

The Philosophy Behind the Design

We can argue that the notch was not born of aesthetic preference but of engineering necessity. Apple’s design goal was to maximize the active display area while housing the complex technology required for Face ID (TrueDepth camera system). Unlike competitors who opted for a teardrop notch or a small bezel to house the camera, Apple chose a wider cutout to accommodate an array of sensors:

This arrangement dictated the shape of the notch. It was a physical manifestation of the hardware required to move biometric security from a fingerprint to facial recognition.

The Marketing Genius: “The Screen is the Phone”

Apple’s marketing surrounding the iPhone X was masterful. By removing the home button, they forced a complete rethinking of user interaction (swipe to go home, swipe to multitask). They marketed the notch not as a missing piece of the screen, but as the “active area” where the UI lived. The corners of the screen were rounded, and the status bar icons were split around the cutout. This created an illusion of continuity. Apple effectively taught the market to ignore the gap and focus on the immersive display.

The Engineering Triumph: TrueDepth and 3D Mapping

To understand why the notch was necessary, we must look at the TrueDepth camera system. This technology was the primary driver behind the iPhone X’s design. While Android manufacturers were content with 2D facial recognition (which could be easily spoofed by a photograph), Apple invested heavily in 3D depth mapping.

How the Notch Sensors Worked

The notch housed a complex assembly that projected over 30,000 invisible infrared dots onto the user’s face. The infrared camera captured the pattern of these dots, creating a precise 3D depth map of the facial structure. This data was processed by the Secure Enclave on the A11 Bionic chip. The result was a biometric security system that was exponentially more secure than Touch ID (1 in 1,000,000 false acceptance rate vs. 1 in 50,000 for fingerprints).

The inclusion of these sensors meant that a bezel was physically impossible if Apple wanted to maintain the large screen size. The notch became the necessary housing for this cutting-edge security architecture. It was a trade-off: a small intrusion into the screen for a massive leap in usability and security.

The Software Integration: iOS 11 and the “Notch UI”

We often judge hardware in isolation, but the success of the iPhone X’s notch was heavily reliant on software. Apple released iOS 11 alongside the device, which introduced specific design guidelines to accommodate the cutout.

The Blackened Status Bar

Initially, many developers criticized the notch because it split the status bar. Apple’s solution was to blacken the area surrounding the notch, effectively blending the hardware cutout with the software interface. When watching videos or using full-screen apps, the notch remained visible, but the software masked it by rounding the corners. This integration created a seamless visual experience that competitors struggled to replicate. Android OEMs, lacking control over the OS, often produced disjointed experiences where the notch cut into active content.

Adaptive UI Elements

Apple provided developers with APIs to detect “safe areas.” This meant that content could automatically adjust to avoid the notch, ensuring that text and buttons were never obscured. This level of polish convinced developers to adopt the new aspect ratio quickly, cementing the notch as a standard design element in the app ecosystem.

The “Copycat” Era: How Android OEMs Reacted

The release of the iPhone X sent shockwaves through the Android ecosystem. Within months, Chinese manufacturers began producing devices with notches of varying sizes and shapes. The industry consensus shifted rapidly: the notch became the shorthand for a “modern” smartphone.

The Android Notch Invasion

In 2018, the notch became ubiquitous. We saw the Huawei P20 Pro, the OnePlus 6, and the Google Pixel 3 XL adopt the cutout. However, the implementation varied widely. The Pixel 3 XL, for instance, featured a deep and wide notch that was widely ridiculed, proving that simply copying the hardware without the accompanying software elegance resulted in poor reception. Meanwhile, manufacturers like Xiaomi and ASUS experimented with “notch styles” in Android settings, allowing users to hide the notch with software black bars—effectively admitting that the design was intrusive without Apple’s UI cohesion.

The Waterfall Effect: Notch Proliferation

The iPhone X did not just influence flagship phones; it trickled down to budget devices. To meet consumer expectations of a “full-screen” display, manufacturers added notches to phones costing under $200. The “waterdrop” notch became a popular compromise—a smaller teardrop shape that housed only the camera, sacrificing advanced sensors for aesthetics. This widespread adoption validated the iPhone X’s design risk. The market had spoken: the screen real estate gained by shrinking bezels was worth the cutout.

Debate and Controversy: Form vs. Function

We cannot discuss the phone that “made” the notch without addressing the intense controversy it generated. The design sparked a decade-long debate regarding the trade-off between aesthetics and utility.

The Argument Against: Intrusive and Obtrusive

Critics argued that the notch interrupted the continuity of the display. It broke the immersion of watching videos and playing games. Articles proliferated detailing how to “hide” the notch, and third-party apps emerged to blacken the top of the screen. The core criticism was that the notch represented an incomplete vision of an all-screen device. Purists argued that true innovation would have been a display that housed sensors invisibly (under-display sensors), a technology that took years to mature.

The Argument For: Necessary Innovation

Conversely, proponents argued that the notch was the only viable solution for 2017 technology. It allowed for a larger display in a form factor that was still pocketable. Without the notch, the iPhone X would have required a significant bezel at the top (the “forehead”), reducing screen size by a significant margin. The notch was viewed by supporters as the “bridge” technology that enabled the transition from the home-button era to the all-screen era. It was a visible compromise for invisible power.

The Legacy of the Notch: From Adaptation to Obsolescence

The iPhone X’s notch remained the dominant design language for roughly five years. However, its legacy is complex. It pushed the industry toward edge-to-edge displays, but it also sparked a hunt for the ultimate solution: the under-display camera.

The Evolution of the Cutout

As we moved past the iPhone X, Apple refined the notch rather than removing it immediately. The iPhone 13 and 14 featured a “smaller” notch (or Dynamic Island on the Pro models), proving that the housing could shrink as sensor technology miniaturized. Android manufacturers, meanwhile, moved toward punch-hole cameras and under-display sensors. The “hole-punch” design is essentially a derivative of the notch philosophy—minimizing the intrusion while maintaining the necessary hardware placement.

The “Dynamic Island” and the Future

In 2022, Apple introduced the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro, effectively ending the era of the static notch on flagship iPhones. This design moved the cutout from a static piece of black glass to an interactive software UI that pill-shaped hardware surrounding the sensors. This evolution highlights the journey that started with the iPhone X. The hardware requirement (sensors in the top area) remained, but the software evolved to make it useful rather than just intrusive.

Technological Impact: The Democratization of 3D Sensing

The phone that “made” the notch did more than change how phones looked; it accelerated the development of 3D sensing technology. Because Apple committed to Face ID, they invested billions into supply chains for infrared sensors and dot projectors.

Supply Chain Ripples

This investment lowered the cost of these components for the entire industry. While Android flagships initially stuck with fingerprint sensors, the technology behind the notch allowed for the eventual adoption of 3D facial recognition in other devices. Even if other manufacturers did not use the exact shape of the notch, they utilized the proximity of sensors to the display to enable features like “Always-On Display” activation when the user looks at the phone.

The Magisk Module Connection: Customizing the Notch

For the enthusiast community, the notch presented both challenges and opportunities for customization. At Magisk Modules, we understand that user experience is paramount. While the hardware design is fixed by the manufacturer, the software presentation is highly mutable through the Android ecosystem.

Hiding the Notch with System Modifications

For users running Android devices with prominent notches (especially those emulating the iPhone X design), the ability to customize the status bar is crucial. Through Magisk, users can utilize modules that force full-screen immersion or alter the status bar behavior to minimize the visual disruption of the notch.

We provide modules that allow users to:

Our Magisk Module Repository is designed to give users control over their device’s visual presentation. If the manufacturer’s default implementation of the notch interferes with your usage, our community-driven modules offer the flexibility to reclaim that screen real estate or adapt the UI to your personal preference.

Aesthetic Shifts: How the Notch Redefined App Design

The influence of the iPhone X extended deeply into software development methodologies. App developers had to learn new constraints. The “safe area” layout guides became mandatory in iOS development, and similar concepts appeared in Android’s ConstraintLayout.

The Death of the “Header”

Before the notch, apps often used a “header” bar at the top of the screen with navigation controls. The notch forced a redesign of this paradigm. Developers moved navigation to the bottom (tab bars) or into hamburger menus, reserving the top area for static information or leaving it blank to accommodate the hardware. This shift actually improved usability, as the bottom of the screen became more accessible to the thumb, a concept now known as “thumb-friendly UI.”

The Psychological Impact: The “Apple Tax” and Design Leadership

The iPhone X commanded a premium price ($999 at launch), which was controversial at the time. However, this pricing strategy solidified the notch as a status symbol. Despite the ridicule, the “notch” became a recognizable silhouette of a premium smartphone.

The “X” Factor

We observed that consumers were willing to overlook the aesthetic intrusion of the notch because it signified high-end technology. The “cutout” became synonymous with Face ID, which consumers perceived as more secure than the Touch ID found on cheaper devices. This psychological association—Notch = Advanced Technology—was perhaps Apple’s greatest marketing achievement. It turned a hardware compromise into a badge of honor.

Comparative Analysis: iPhone X vs. Competitor Designs

To fully appreciate the iPhone X’s impact, we must compare it to its contemporaries.

Samsung Galaxy S9: The Traditionalist

In 2018, Samsung released the Galaxy S9, sticking to the “Infinity Display” with minimal top and bottom bezels but no notch. While aesthetically cleaner to some, it offered a lower screen-to-body ratio than the iPhone X. The lack of 3D facial recognition meant Samsung had to rely on the iris scanner and rear fingerprint sensor, which were less convenient for many users. The iPhone X’s notch allowed for a larger battery and a more compact chassis by removing the bottom bezel (home button).

Google Pixel 3 XL: The Awkward Copy

Google’s attempt to replicate the iPhone X’s success with the Pixel 3 XL resulted in a design widely panned for its poor proportions. The notch on the Pixel 3 XL was deep and wide but housed only a dual-camera setup and a speaker, lacking the advanced 3D sensing of the iPhone. This highlighted a crucial lesson: the notch only made sense if the technology inside justified the intrusion. The iPhone X’s notch was functional; the Pixel 3 XL’s was largely aesthetic.

The Hardware Breakdown: Inside the iPhone X

Let us dissect the physical construction of the device that defined this era.

The Stainless Steel Frame

The iPhone X featured a surgical-grade stainless steel band, a departure from the aluminum used in previous models. This frame was necessary to support the all-glass front and back, which enabled wireless charging. The notch was integrated into the front glass assembly with extreme precision. The laser cutting required to create the notch opening was a manufacturing feat, ensuring the edges were smooth and the sensors were perfectly aligned.

The OLED Display

The iPhone X utilized a Samsung-manufactured OLED panel (branded as the “Super Retina HD” display). This was Apple’s first OLED iPhone. The deep blacks of the OLED panel were crucial for the “notch” design. When the UI blacked out the status bar to accommodate the notch, the black pixels on the OLED turned off completely, making the notch blend seamlessly into the background. An LCD screen (as used on the iPhone XR and 11) would have resulted in a grayish “bleed” around the notch, making it look like a black bar glued to the screen. The OLED technology was essential to making the notch visually acceptable.

The Sensor Array: A Deep Dive into TrueDepth

The complexity of the notch cannot be overstated. It contained a miniature Kinect sensor. Let’s break down the specific functions:

  1. Dot Projector: This component, no larger than a cubic centimeter, projected a grid of over 30,000 invisible infrared dots onto the user’s face. This is the core of the 3D mapping.
  2. Infrared Camera: This sensor captured the dot pattern, distorting based on the contours of the face. This data was sent to the processor to create a mathematical depth map.
  3. Flood Illuminator: This ensured that the system worked in low-light or total darkness by bathing the face in infrared light invisible to the human eye.
  4. Proximity Sensor: Redesigned to work without a physical bezel, using a floating proximity sensor that relied on the display’s light to detect when the phone was to the ear.

This cluster of hardware is what necessitated the width of the notch. A vertical “thin” notch (like an Essential Phone) could not house this array. Apple prioritized the sensor suite over a cleaner design, a decision that defined the device’s capabilities.

The Cultural Phenomenon: The “Notch” in Pop Culture

The iPhone X’s notch transcended technology blogs and entered pop culture. It became a meme. “Notch hunting” became a thing, where users would screenshot their phones to show the unique shape of their cutout. Mobile accessory manufacturers scrambled to create cases that hid the notch or framed it with color.

We saw the rise of software “pranks” that added fake notches to phones that didn’t have them, proving that the design had become a visual shorthand for a “2018-era smartphone.” It was inescapable.

The Path Forward: Beyond the Notch

While the iPhone X “made” the notch, the industry is now moving past it. The technology that started inside the notch is migrating. Under-display Face ID is the holy grail, allowing sensors to sit behind the active pixels of the screen.

The Dynamic Island: The Notch Evolved

Apple’s latest iteration, the Dynamic Island, represents the end of the notch’s “reign” as a passive eyesore. By utilizing the dead space around the sensors for active notifications and controls, Apple has once again turned a hardware constraint into a software feature. It is the spiritual successor to the notch—acknowledging that sensors still need a home, but making that home useful.

Conclusion: The Defining Feature of an Era

The iPhone X was the phone that “made” the notch. It was a device of contradictions: massive screen in a small body, cutting-edge security obstructed by a visual intrusion,

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