14 DAY TRIAL // Despite promising not to offer a notch on its phones because, you know, Apple does it and Samsung’s not Apple, the South Korean-based smartphone manufacturer is getting ready to announce its first device with this controversial design element.
Called Samsung Galaxy M20, the phone’s notch can be spotted in a recent leak published by 91mobiles and which confirms that the only good thing about it is that Samsung at least isn’t going for a notch the size of the one on the iPhone X. Or worse, as large as Google Pixel 3 XL’s.
In fact, Samsung is trying to make the notch as discrete as possible on the M20, so it’s using a waterdrop style a la OnePlus 6T. Certainly, if Samsung really needs a notch on its smartphones, this is pretty much the best way to go, as it wouldn’t make it too intrusive.
Tiny notch
As for the purpose of the notch, it would hide the front-facing camera, as you can see in the leaked photo. Furthermore, it allows Samsung to shrink the top and bottom bezels, so overall, the design of the phone is significantly improved thanks to the bigger screen estate.
Full details about the Galaxy M20 are expected to make the rounds in the coming weeks as we approach the release date. According to previous leaks, the M20 should see daylight in early 2019, possibly in January, just ahead of the public unveiling of the Galaxy S10.
If you’re wondering, Samsung won’t use an Infinity O screen on this device. This particular display comes with holes in the panel in order to allow for front-facing parts to work without a notch and with maximum screen estate, but this approach would be retained for flagships like the Galaxy S10.
Samsung appears to be working on making all of its phones as modern as possible, so the thin line between budget phones, mid-rangers, and flagships is about to get even more blurry.