LG has denied copying the iPhone X's notched design with its latest G7 ThinQ smartphone, unveiled on Wednesday, according to The Korea Herald.
"We planned the notch design before Apple," said Hwang Jeong-hwan, chief of LG's mobile division, in an interview. "The display design may look similar to that of other smartphones, but boasts differentiated features."
LG is one of several Android smartphone makers that have unveiled iPhone X lookalikes in the months following the debut of Apple's flagship handset, alongside the likes of Asus, Huawei, and others. One notable holdout is Samsung, with its latest Galaxy S9 devices retaining uniform top and bottom bezels.
Google introduced support for "the latest edge-to-edge screens" with a "display cutout for camera and speaker" in Android P, the next major version of its mobile operating system that will be seeded to devices like the G7 ThinQ.
Apple has previously said the iPhone X reflects the next decade of smartphones, suggesting the controversial notch will remain for the foreseeable future. However, a questionable report from Korean website ET News recently suggested that Apple may remove the notch from iPhones starting with 2019 models.
Top Rated Comments
And sure enough, Android folks will buy this, in their processing of mourning that started with “ROTFL” and will end up with ”it’s the obvious design, Apple invented nothing”.
However if you’ve got a notch on your phone but only 2D facial recognition and still have a bezel on the bottom, you’re probably doing it wrong.
LG boast they “planned the notch first”, yet Apple put the notch in for the purpose of Face ID and it was a necessary compromise to make the technology work. LG have put it in for different reasons. They had it on the drawing board in the rejected pile and it’s now acceptable design as Apple have shipped a phone with it.