Even before Android P was officially announced, we knew that Google was planning on including notch support for Android devices this year. And sure enough, that is indeed the case.
We’ve seen quite a few different Android-based smartphones with a notch design up to this point, and it stands to reason that we will more than likely see quite a few more in the future. But before things get too out of hand, Google is laying down some ground rules.
In an effort to make sure that Android apps work across a variety of different devices, especially those that are starting to toy with design a bit more, the system is designed to handle things automatically. By default, Android apps should function so that the status bar should be resized to be as tall as the notch, and app content should be display below that. Put the device in landscape mode and the notch should get blacked out so the content is letterboxed but so that the notch doesn’t interfere with the content.
The interesting part of Google’s discussion about notches is that it it is putting the limit on two. Only two notches on smartphones, with support for one at the top and one at the bottom. That means no notch support on the side of the display. Thankfully we haven’t seen that actually happen yet.
Keep in mind these rules are for the Android manufacturers that want Google’s support with the Play Store and services, which is obviously the lion’s share of Android devices out there in the wild. But it’s always possible we see some crazy designs with a lot of different notches from a manufacturer that doesn’t have to follow those rules.
Are you happy with Google’s rule for limiting notches?
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