Just a week ago, Apple announced on its developer page that “Starting July 2018, all iOS app updates submitted to the App Store must be built with the iOS 11 SDK and must support the Super Retina display of iPhone X.” This means that iOS developers won’t be able to update their apps after July if they don’t play nicely with the iPhone X’s notch.
This is good news for those owning iPhone X as they will have more apps that support their phone’s notched display. Along with this, it also sets up a support for the future of next notched iPhones – which Apple is rumored to be planning for.
Why Apple made the iPhone X Notch
There is still a lot of fascination with the iPhone X notch – the small portion of bezel on the top of the display casing the microphone, camera and the facial recognition system- Face ID.
The latest round of interest came when Apple announced its plan for every iOS update with the notch in mind as well as the numerous Android manufacturers announced new devices that will incorporate the notch. It is evident that the advent of the edge to edge OLED displays on smartphones have made the notch design inevitable.
In order to support the future of smartphones that is the edge-to-edge display and proffer a place for the front-facing camera and other components – the smartphone designers have to make two critical decisions – 1) leave a strip of bezel on the top of the phone 2) carve out the wasted bezel space out of display- i.e. the section in the middle- hence the notch.
The advantage of the full strip of bezel is the cleaner look, meanwhile, on the flip side- the downside is the wasted bezel space, loss of space, not to mention there is nothing new to look at.
So, why notch?
Many manufacturers including the LG have conducted various surveys to understand whether people prefer the notch feature. Turns out, while initially people didn’t favor the notch but gradually it has become some kind of a status symbol and more people are liking the feature – thus, prompting several phone makers to adapt to the notch.
The advantage of the notch is the ability to reserve the space on the display on both sides at the top, as Patrick Moorhead, Moor Insights and Strategy Analyst explains –
“With a notch, manufacturers can claim a larger diagonal display size as Apple does”.
How can you embrace the iPhone X notch?
The notch may be a controversial solution that intended to place all the sensors, but the added useful space on the screen is a good reason to embrace it.
And Apple wants just that- it wants you to preserve the notch the way it looks on your app design for the iPhone X and all the future models. This means that you shouldn’t mask the notch by coloring the navigation bar black or trying to hide it in other ways. Another reason not to believe those iPhone X notch remover ads.
Apple says that the space at the sides of the notch provides some additional space for the status bar and the content- therefore if you hide it- your app will feel smaller.
There is nothing to be worried about in regard to background elements like colors and maps- they will be gently clipped as the smartphone has rounded corners and the notch – therefore your iPhone X application design will not be spoiled by these elements.
Want your iOS apps updated up to iPhone X standards before the July deadline? Contact us on contactus@intelegain.com right now!!
