Whether you love it or love to hate it, the notch is here to stay in 2018. Notched displays are all the rage right now and basically, everyone is jumping on board the train.
Months after the iPhone X came out in September 2017, the notch started to crop up in smartphone launches by some Android vendors, keen to lure users who may desire the unique iPhone X aesthetic but at a cheaper price.
So what iPhone X-inspired Android smartphones can you get right now? Below you’ll find a list of models from key Android OEMs that have joined the trend.
LG G7 ThinQ
Announced last month, LG’s G7 flagship has a notch and an LCD display. But if you’re not a big fan don’t fret. You have options. You can either black out the bars on each side of the notch for a more traditional look. Or you can opt for LG’s other recent flagship, the V35 ThinQ. It’s notch-less and on top of that, it features an OLED display instead of LCD.
Anyway, going back to the notchy LG, the phone offers a 6.1-inch screen with 19:5:8 aspect ratio and 3120 x 1440 resolution. Like most flagships launching today, the G7 ThinQ includes a powerful Snapdragon 845 processor. Coupled with 4 or 6GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB of storage, the phone should be among the fastest on the market.
On the new handset, LG leverages AI capabilities which it hopes will make the phone stand out. For example, the device comes bundled with a series of AI-powered camera features like being capable of analyzing the scene and automatically serving up the filters that make the phone look better.
LG G7 ThinQ purchase links: Verizon | T-Mobile | Sprint | Best Buy | B&H Photo
Huawei P20 and P20 Pro
Huawei’s P20 and P20 Pro are some of the most eye-catching devices we’ve seen this year. Both are available in a variety of colors, but the P20 Pro stands out due to its unique Twilight back. It features an eye-watering blue-to-purple gradient that changes tone depending on how the light hits it.
But that’s not the only reason you might want the P20 Pro. The phone comes with a three rear-camera assembly comprised of 20, 8 and 40-megapixel sensors. And like always, the cameras are Leica-optimized, so the phone should be able to take some stunning pictures.
As you’d expect the rest of the specs are pretty impressive too. The P20 Pro sports a 6.1-inch FullHD+ OLED display, 6GB of RAM and 4,000 mAh battery. As for the standard P20, it ships with a 5.8-inch FullHD+ LCD display, 4GB of RAM and 3,400 mAh battery.
Both are powered by Huawei’s Kirin 970, which is one of the first SoCs to come with dedicated hardware for AI, in the form of an NPU. The unit can do things like automatic scene recognition when taking photos.
Huawei P20 Pro purchase links: Amazon
OnePlus 6
The OnePlus 6 is the Chinese company’s biggest and most ambitious phone to date. It makes the jump to an all-glass design that gives the still-affordable flagship an even more high-end vibe. Even so, the handset still doesn’t come with wireless charging. On the bright side, it has Dash charging which fully juices up the phone in one hour.
The phone also features a gorgeous 6.3-inch AMOLED display, notch and all. If don’t think you can learn to live with the display cutout, you can easily hide the notch area from Settings.
When it comes to performance, the OnePlus 6 is a beast coming with a Snapdragon 845 and up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Yes, there’s no microSD, but you get plenty of storage by default.
On the back of the phone, there’s a 16+20-megapixel camera setup with f/1.7 which should be able to deliver some great shots. The front-facing selfie camera is of 16-megapixel variety, so users won’t be disappointed when taking self-portraits either.
OnePlus 6 purchase links: OnePlus
Xiaomi Mi 8
Launched to celebrate Xiaomi’s 8th Anniversary (8 is a big deal in China), the Xiaomi Mi 8 packs great specs and a face reminiscent of the iPhone X.
The phone comes with a 6.21-inch AMOLED FullHD+ display and a great 88.5% screen-to-body ratio.
Much like the OnePlus 6, the Mi 8 relies on a Snapdragon 845 and ships with 6GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. There’s also the Mi 8 Explorer edition that packs 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It also comes with a few other perks like the see-through glass back and pressure-sensitive in-display fingerprint scanner.
Returning to the standard Mi 8, on the back you get dual cameras with twin 12-megapixel sensors. The phone also uses AI to identify scenes and apply the best settings, as well as for “Studio Lightning” portrait photography. What’s more, Xiaomi’s new flagships caters to selfie lovers by putting a 20-megapixel sensor on the front.
Xiaomi Mi 8 purchase links: Oppomart
ASUS ZenFone 5Z
The ASUS ZenFone 5Z is perhaps the most affordable notchy phone in the list. Pity, it has yet to go on sale yet. But we expect it to drop this summer with a $499 price tag.
In return for this sum, customers will get a phone with a 6.2-inch display with 90% screen-to-body ratio and FHD+ resolution. The Snapdragon 845 processor makes a return here once again. The phone will be offered with 6 or 8GB of RAM and 64/128 or 256GB of storage.
As for cameras, the ZenFone 5Z has a 12-megapixel camera with f/1.8 and an 8-megapixel sensor with 120-degree wide-angle lens on the back. On the back, there’s a rather standard 8-megapixel camera.
Essential Phone
In case you weren’t aware, it was actually the Essential Phone and not the iPhone X which first brought the notch to the Western market. Since its release, many other notchy phones with updated hardware have made their way onto retail shelves.
But even so, the Essential Phone remains a pretty decent handset. Especially since it’s currently priced at $499.
The device boasts a 5.71-inch LCD display with 2560 x 1312 resolution and relies on last year’s Snapdragon 835. It ships with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and runs stock Android. On top of that, it gets frequent updates, even before other flagships from major OEMs like Samsung and LG.
Essential Phone purchase links: Essential | Sprint | Amazon | Best Buy
