Looks like HMD Global’s next-generation flagship smartphone will have the notch design, similar to the iPhone X, (Image of Nokia 8 Sirocco for representation)
More smartphone manufacturers are embracing the notch, the design trend started by the Essential Phone and later popularised by Apple with the iPhone X. It not only helped Apple make the iPhone X a distinctive looking device, but also inspired other companies to follow the design language for their future phones. Even though HMD Global is yet to offer a Nokia-branded phone with the “notch”, the company’s CMO does find this aspect of the design language “interesting”.
In an interview with Indianexpress.com, HMD Global’s Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing officer Pekka Rantala has admitted that the notch design is an interesting element to add to the smartphone. Could this mean the company’s next flagship will have the controversial design element? Well, we are not hazarding a guess. “Some people may like the notch and some may not like it. We don’t have a phone with the notch, but it is one interesting phenomenon in the market,” Pekka said after the India launch of the company’s new line of Android smartphones.
When Apple launched the iPhone in September, the company chose to add the controversial notch on the top of the display. The idea behind the notch was to accommodate Apple’s sophisticated TrueDepth camera that is used to unlock the phone through advanced face-unlocking technology. But, now every other smartphone manufacturer has adopted the notch, the feature that was initially perceived as uncool.
Asus, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and OnePlus are some of the companies that have wholeheartedly accepted that the notch design is here to stay. OnePlus’ next flagship Android smartphone, the OnePlus 6, will come with a notch. The company’s co-founder Carl Pei insists the notch will give more real estate to the user. Even Google agrees that notches will be integral to the smartphone design. Android P, Googe’s next version of mobile operating system, will introduce display cutout support for Android apps, letting developers “take full advantage of the latest device screens with fullscreen content.”
Also read: Nokia 6 (2018), Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 8 Sirocco launched in India: Price, sale date, specifications
HMD Global, the company formed by ex-Nokia employees which owns the rights to manufacture Nokia-branded phones, has launched three Android One-branded smartphones in India today – New Nokia 6, Nokia 7 Plus, and Nokia 8 Sirocco. All three smartphones were initially announced at the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February. Nokia 8110 4G feature phone didn’t get a mention at the press event held in Delhi, but it will be launched in India in the coming days.