Why is Apple so obsessed with this feature?

It was the 3rd of November, 2017, when apple pulled off one of their "One more thing" in the iPhone launch event. They introduced a massive redesign with the then-new iPhone X. Everyone was stunned by the new full-body (sort of) display. Although the screen-to-body ratio was 82.9%, it was still a significant redesign of the iPhone lineup. It was way more than the previous 65.4% ratio of the iPhone 8.

The introduction to the future of notches with the iPhone X (Image: Apple)

Gone was the hideous design with a round home button. The new design also had a significant reduction on the bottom and side bezels. On the top side of the phone, however, things were a little bit different. The iPhone X had a large notch on the top side of the display. 

Why does the notch exist in the first place?

According to Apple, the new chamber housed the Face ID camera arrays. This new feature gave a new biometric authentication system in the palm of your hand. You didn't have to put your finger on authentication and unlock your phone anymore. When the display turned on, the Face ID feature automatically scanned the user's face and unlocked the phone. It had 1,000,000 to 1 anonymous unlocking compared to Touch ID's 50,000 to 1.

The face camera array consists of quite a few components which made the notch wide (Image: The Verge)

The new notch design did come with an improved feature, but Apple cannot improve it even after introducing it four years back. This year they Apple announced the iPhone 13 series with a 20% size reduction of the notch. When other OEM smartphone manufacturers are playing with Under Display Camera technology, The iPhones still have a black bar on top of the display.

The notch on the new M1 Pro and Max MacBook Pros

In the October MacBook Pro event, Apple did it again. They brought the notch displays to the MacBook Pro 14 and 16. Unlike the iPhone, the new indent has no functional purpose for being that significant. There is a single full HD FaceTime camera underneath the new MacBook Pro's notch. Other than that, it serves no specific purpose of being so roomy. Although the new Pro MacBooks came with quite significant component upgrades, the new display design is hideous. 

New notch design of the 2021 MacBook Pro (Image: Apple)

Instead of putting the notch, Apple could introduce a waterdrop display technology. It could be far less intrusive and distracting for the users. They said in their keynote that the new notch blends in with the menu bar. Thanks to mini LED technology, the display shows deep blacks. Users can flawlessly blend the notch in by activating dark mode. 

The new MacBooks can hide the notch in dark mode thanks to mini LED (Image: Apple)

Why is Apple so fond of notches?

Apple is well-known for creating a statement with its products. Look at the previous iPhone design, for example. In the past, anyone could recognize an iPhone with the home button design. Apple didn't back down from using their design as a symbol as well. After the introduction of the iPhone X, the design of their statement changed with a new design. 

Apple's statement with the iPhone's notch icon in iOS (Image: The Verge)

Even though the iPhone 13 series inherits a 20% smaller notch, Apple can still set a notched statement with them. It looks like they are trying to be unique with the new MacBook Pro's notch displays. Their new MacBooks are will surely stand aside from other notebooks with this new design.

The negative impact of notch design

When Apple comes up with something, most other OEM manufacturers do the same. When they got rid of headphones from their iPhones, everyone made fun of them. Samsung and Google mocked the hell their so-called "courage" of removing the 3.5m auxiliary jack. Right after Apple took the step, other manufacturers followed it. They removed the headphone jack from their flagships as well. 

The same thing happened Apple excluded the charging adapter from their smartphone packaging. Like Samsung and Google, every other manufacturer mimicked their initiative or reducing carbon footprint. One year later, almost every major smartphone manufacturer removed the adapter in their flagship packaging.

In the case of the notch display, everyone except Samsung tried copying Apple. Brands like Motorola, Google, Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo did not back down from introducing notches to their smartphone. It's not like they had a functioning facial recognition system underneath either. Nobody could ever forget Google Pixel 3 XL comes with a bathtub notch.

The Bathtub notch from Pixel 3 XL (Image: The Verge)

The notch design trend changed when Samsung unveiled its Infinity-O display technology. They also unveiled their Infinity-U and Infinity-V technology. Those new technologies took the screen-to-body ratio over 90%. This time other Android manufacturers followed Samsung and introduced teardrop and hole-punch displays with their flagships.

Apple's display design upgrade next year

According to Jon Prosser and other reputable leakers, the iPhone 14 Pros will come with hole-punch displays. The vanilla variants will house the same notch design from this year. On the Pro models, the Face ID system will stay behind the screen. The FaceTime front-facing camera will be the only visible module. 

Alleged iPhone 14 pro redesign with a hole-punch display (Image: Jon Prosser & Ian Jelbo)

Conclusion

When other Android manufacturers are offering under-display technology with their flagships, Apple is still one year away from introducing hole-punch camera design with their iPhones. It might not look fruitful for them, but they are known for their perfection. Apple likes to implement technology in its devices after it has matured enough. 

What do you think about Apple's design practice? Does the new MacBook's notch display haunt your OCD? Is it okay for them to shift to new technology at this stage? Are you waiting for them to release the new iPhones Pros?