Written by Beatriz Alcántara on Android
Yes or Notch? Besides the pun, this question includes the most controversial element added to smartphones in recent years: the loved and hated notch. It should be noted that, despite its recent popularity, this eyebrow first appeared in 2006 on the Motorola Motofone F3, the real first notch phone.
Although several phones have avoided the notch through mechanical systems, this eyebrow has been a common feature in mobile phones from Xiaomi, Samsung, Huawei, Apple and many other companies. There have been great designs, we recognize that, but it’s time to look back to be okay with the ‘haters’ collecting the horror notch.
The ugliest notches in recent Android history
The side notch of the ZTE Axon V
“Who does not risk does not win”, they thought of ZTE when designing this notch so … especially in their ZTE Axon V. In order not to spoil the beautiful screen it had designed, the company thought bet on a side front to include both front cameras.
The final design of the ZTE Axon V remains in something very strange that we hadn’t seen until now. By including this side notch, one of the ends is wider, limiting the comfort of the terminal. Without a doubt, this eyebrow thought up by ZTE deserves its corresponding place in this horror anthology.
Archos Oxygen 68XL, or how to put a notch in a corner
Each phone maker has brought a different perspective when it comes to creating their own notch. We have them in the shape of a drop, with square or rounded edges, some wider or longer, centered on the screen or also located in the corner. Yes, this is how the French company Archos decided for its Oxygen 68XL.
With its presentation at MWC 2019, the Archos Oxygen 68XL became the first mobile in the world to have a side notch. As you can see in the image above, the eyebrow is in the upper right corner and it has the terminal’s only front camera. Archos’ risky gamble of creating something different from the competition is to be recognized, although his attempt was left in a gash of questionable taste whose appearance we now want to forget.
Party of guts in the Sharp Aquos R2 Compact
When one is insufficient, it is better to introduce another to start the feast of the notch. This is what Sharp did with its Aquos R2 Compact, a mobile in which we can see an eyebrow at the top of the phone and another at the bottom. Trying to maintain the fingerprint reader by reducing the bottom frame to the maximum, the company was forced to introduce this second notch which damages the visual appearance of the model.
It seems that Sharp did not regret much for having created this double notch, since you used it again for your Aquos R3. Despite the manufacturer’s insistence, we think this design should be part of the notch horror anthology on Android. One eyebrow is more than enough.
Other crazy concepts for the notch
The notches mentioned above have become a reality, but there are other crazy concepts which, fortunately, have only remained. We’re talking about the ZTE Iceberg, which aspires to be the world’s first dual-notch terminal. We leave an image for you to judge for yourself.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi was thinking of mobile designs with the inverted notch for keep as much space as possible for the panel. Samsung has also studied in depth the possibilities of the notch, and came to present four variants of the eyebrow with their respective names: Infinity U, Infinity V, Infinity O and New Infinity.
You have already verified that the ugliest notches in recent Android history are very varied, they appear sideways twice. We hope that these horror models remain in the past, and that manufacturers think it better before including this type of eyebrow so this anthology does not have a second part.
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