New Android P signals a Pixel with an iPhone X-like notch
BusinessToday.In Last Updated: March 9, 2018 | 16:16 IST 
Apple is often credited with being a trendsetter in the world of smartphones. Many a time, small OEMs blatantly copy designs and features in order to cash-in the growing trends. In fact, iPhone clones are extremely popular in developing markets like India and China.
The iPhone X had triggered something similar in the Android ecosystem. The operating system has formally introduced the notch by adding a provision for OEMs to opt for different notch sizes.
The Essential phone was the first Android phone that came with a small notch on the top of the screen in August last year. The design was well-received but it only gained popularity when Apple launched the iPhone X on their tenth iPhone anniversary.
Asus launched the Zenfone 5 at the MWC 2018 with a notch-design, uncannily similar to the iPhone X. Reports suggest that OnePlus 6 and Huawei P20 will also go with a similar design. With the official support from Google, we can expect more phones to adopt this peculiar design language.
The Developer Preview of Android P is finally out and the operating system now has the provision to add a notch at the top of the screen. The support ranges from an iPhone X-like broad notch to an Essential-phone like small notch.
To accommodate the notch Google has repositioned the status bar in a way that will use the space on both sides of the notch. The inclusion of this support also signifies that Google might try the new notch design with the next generation of Pixels.
Other changes in the new operating system include a new notification shade that displays a lot more information. The user can not only interact with the notification but also view the contents including images.
The colour scheme of the notification has also been tweaked to make it look more vibrant in comparison to Android Oreo.
As is common with beta ROMs, few of the new features might not make it to the stable build. We will get a better look at the new Android P during the Google I/O that is scheduled to begin on May 8.
