Google won't let Android phonemakers put more than two notches in their devices

[Polycount]

To say the smartphone industry's decision to begin adding "notches" to its flagship devices has been a controversial move would be a massive understatement. Apple was the first to try the concept out in its phones, but the rest of the industry, barring a few holdouts, has been quick to follow suit.

Given the explosive growth of the notch, it's no surprise to see some major industry players express an interest in reigning in the trend. In a developer-oriented blog post published Tuesday, Google revealed a few new guidelines for Android phonemakers to follow in the future.

While the majority of the blog post aims to help developers make their apps compatible with notched phone designs, Google briefly mentions a few restrictions Android P will place on device makers themselves.

"...devices may only have up to one cutout on each short edge of the device," the blog post reads. "This [means that you] won't see multiple cutouts on a single edge, or more than two cutouts on a device."

Google adds that device makers will not be able to place cutouts on the left or right "long edges" of their devices. This is a logical restriction, given that one of the central promises of notched phone designs is additional uninterrupted screen real estate.

To be clear, there aren't any mainstream devices with more than one notch available at the moment. As such, these restrictions are mostly moot for now.

However, Google's decision sets an important precedent for the future of Android, simultaneously reigning in device makers' while also making it easier for app developers to create more consistent user experiences.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/75747-google-wont-android-phonemakers-put-more-than-two.html

 

[ForgottenLegion]

Add making notches ubiquitous to the list of things I hate about apple.

 

[Nobina]

Crap. I wanted to start my own smartphone company where I would make phones with 2 notches on each side of the screen.

 

[PinothyJ]

Okay here goes… What the hell is a notch?

 

[Slappy McPhee]

Okay here goes… What the hell is a notch?

They show it in the picture. Manufacturers are trying to sell more devices with this gimick of edge to edge screens with minimal bezels. One of the ways they give the false sense that this is the case is that they bring the screen edge to edge top to bottom yet have to implement a "notch" for the front facing cameras and depending other sensors or tech that needs to be exposed. Make sense?

 

[PinothyJ]

O

They show it in the picture. Manufacturers are trying to sell more devices with this gimick of edge to edge screens with minimal bezels. One of the ways they give the false sense that this is the case is that they bring the screen edge to edge top to bottom yet have to implement a "notch" for the front facing cameras and depending other sensors or tech that needs to be exposed. Make sense?

Ohh, I was confused as to what I was looking at in that picture. I thought it was the frosted looking line on the side of the phone and was confused at why that was important.

 

[pawel04]

Yer I wont be buying a phone as long as it has a notch..

 

[Lounds]

Okay here goes… What the hell is a notch?

The creator of Minecraft...

 

[Faplyboy]

Why would you add more notches anyway? looks ugly, bulky. I think that since we don't have the knowledge on how to put camera, speaker under glass they shouldn't be making those notches. but it has to start somewhere and eventually notches will be removed, with it's components under the glass.
the last thing we wanna see is Iphone XY with 2 notches on left and right side with a price tag of 2k