Android device manufacturers have jumped on the notched display bandwagon in droves. The Essential Phone was one of the first to feature a notch before it was popularized by the iPhone X and then everyone started doing it. Most smartphones that we have seen so far don’t have more than one notch but Google is hedging its bets against a potential problem in the future by laying down the law with regards to the maximum number of notches allowed on an Android device.
Google has informed device manufacturers that their devices can only have a notch at the top and/or at the bottom of the display. There can only be a single notch on each edge of the display.
Given Android’s open source nature, it’s not like Google can actually stop a manufacturer from making a smartphone that has three notches on the display for some odd reason. They could make such a device but Google would likely reprimand them for it.
It’s unlikely that will happen, though. The devices we have seen with notched displays so far only have one and some manufacturers have now started pushing the envelope on smartphone design to get rid of the notch altogether.
Still, it’s good to know that Google will not allow this notch situation to get out of hand, even though many users still can’t stand just a single notch on their smartphones.
Filed in . Read more about Android and Google. Source: android-developers.googleblog