LG's next flagship could ditch the notch in favor of a punch hole

The notch first arrived on LG’s smartphones last year with the launch of the G7 ThinQ. Since then, the controversial design feature has tricked down to a number of the brand’s mid-range devices. But a new patent suggests the South Korean company could be ready to ditch it.

Spotted by the folks over at LetsGoDigital, LG filed a patent on March 15, 2019 for a smartphone with a punch hole that’d essentially replace the notch on its existing devices. The application was subsequently granted on April 20, therefore giving LG the go ahead to use the design on future smartphones if it wishes to.