Polls

Is a camera hole better or worse than a notch?

by Preslav Kateliev / Nov 19, 2018, 9:28 AM

Is a camera hole better or worse than a notch?

Lately, we've been seeing a lot of leaks of the supposed Samsung Infinity-O screen — the display that is supposedly going to be on the Galaxy S10. According to patents and leaksters, Samsung will keep making phones that have no cutout notch at the top of the screen. Cool, right?

Well... according to the leaks, the company still insists on reducing its future phones' bezels, though. And that selfie camera needs to go somewhere... And this is what puts the O in Infinity-O. It seems Samsung is going to have a teeny, tiny hole in the top-left of its display, which will house the vital front-facing camera.

Now... a lot of people out there hate “The Notch” — the display cutout that some manufacturers put at the top of the phone in ourder to house a speaker and the front-facing phone sensors. But... is a hole in the screen better than a notch?

Well, it's all up to personal taste. So, let us know — what do you think?

Is an O-cutout better than a notch?

The O is worse than the Notch

14.85%

The Notch is worse than the O

72.36%

Neither of them bothers me at all

12.79%

Options

40 Comments

1. S4NDY

Posts: 245; Member since: Mar 14, 2016

If options are iPhone like big notch and O infinity display, then the o is way better option but if notch is like essential or Chinese used drop style notch its little pointless use O Infinity display because area for both are very similar size.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 9:34 AM 21

4. shaineql

Posts: 522; Member since: Apr 28, 2014

Don't forget that we don't have any idea how O will actualy look like , these are all concept renders.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 9:35 AM 15

14. Atechguy0

Posts: 918; Member since: Aug 03, 2018

There should have been another option. Don't like a hole, notch, or bite mark out of my smartphone display.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 10:04 AM 14

20. lyndon420

Posts: 6793; Member since: Jul 11, 2012

Yeah another option like "Just make them like they used to...no notches or holes".

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 11:34 AM 3

35. mixedfish

Posts: 1556; Member since: Nov 17, 2013

That is the correct answer. I can't believe people are paying $1000+ for this crap designs.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 9:32 PM 1

11. Dr.Phil

Posts: 2386; Member since: Feb 14, 2011

The problem I’ve found with the renders and even the patent drawings is that you don’t see the earpiece. Now, obviously, Samsung could replicate Sharp with how they did the Aquos phone without an earpiece and had vibrating glass instead. I honestly don’t see the problem with having a slide up camera and earpiece instead.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 9:58 AM 1

29. UglyFrank

Posts: 2194; Member since: Jan 23, 2014

Waterproofing and guaranteed durability are reasons against a slide up camera. I reckon they'll be models with the O, possibly even models which hide the O behind the screen.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 3:28 PM 2

2. shaineql

Honestly O looks good, beautiful, but I guess Apple fanboys are butthurt.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 9:34 AM 24

3. Sakeem

Posts: 859; Member since: Sep 05, 2012

I think I will wait to see the implementation of the Infinity-O before I form an opinion. So far we only have schematic leaks.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 9:34 AM 1

5. almostdone

Posts: 448; Member since: Sep 25, 2012

Clean look is always better but if you must have a cut out then the smaller the better and not those huge ugly notches.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 9:42 AM 3

6. cmdacos

Posts: 4218; Member since: Nov 01, 2016

Both are horrible transitional solutions. That said if your asking if I prefer to see 95% of my screen or 98% of course I would take the o. So far Nubia has the best solution imo.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 9:51 AM 6

7. ShadowWarrior

Posts: 165; Member since: Aug 08, 2017

I prefer neither. But for arguments sake, I think the O looks worse because it disrupts the uniformity of the entire canvas. Like having a random black dot on a white paper. At least with the notch you get the notifications at the top separated then at the bottom by the display. And over time you don't notice it, but the O you can't seem to not notice it

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 9:54 AM 5

8. bucknassty

Posts: 1345; Member since: Mar 24, 2017

wheres the option of they both suck!

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 9:56 AM 5

10. cmdacos

Doesn't fit the narrative here...

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 9:57 AM 1

17. middlehead

Posts: 457; Member since: May 12, 2014

Yeah, if the question was just supposed to be "which is less bad," then two options would be fine. But if they're going to have "Either is okay," they should've also had "neither is okay."

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 10:44 AM 0

30. strategic_developer

Posts: 1627; Member since: Jul 17, 2018

Tbat isnt the loint of the poll. The poll is, they are here so which one is worse.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 5:38 PM 0

36. bucknassty

i guess the slider or pop up doesnt exist...

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 10:02 PM 0

9. akistz

Posts: 31; Member since: Sep 26, 2018

If it eliminates top and bottom bezels then the o is way better than the notch. However the s10 render in the article has a top chin on top of the o which looks pointless and ugly

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 9:57 AM 2

12. cmdacos

Looks to be about as thick as the bezel all around the iPhone. And a top chin is called a forehead...

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 9:59 AM 1

21. Vokilam

Posts: 1218; Member since: Mar 15, 2018

Yeah but I prefer uniformity and no bent edges (bent edges are worse than the bezel that you would otherwise see if Samsung made a phone without bent edges. The bezel on top of the render is bigger than iPhones bezels. Also iPhone is already second year into this design. Samsung is just now thinking of removing their forehead an chin. That said - I do prefer the O over the notch. But what about other sensors?

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 11:45 AM 1

13. Kaostheory

Posts: 16; Member since: Aug 19, 2013

Looks like a huge dead pixel, would totally annoy me.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 9:59 AM 3

15. sissy246

Posts: 7120; Member since: Mar 04, 2015

Well they both suck azz but, 0 over ugly azz notch.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 10:39 AM 2

16. aries.phills

Posts: 161; Member since: May 17, 2011

Seriously, I like the iphone xsssss but common, there is no poll here. Hole is sexy while notch is bald.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 10:42 AM 1

18. tedkord

Posts: 17362; Member since: Jun 17, 2009

Both are terrible. With the size of the top and bottom bezels on the Note 9/S9, there's no reason to put compromises like a notch or hole in the display.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 10:55 AM 3

19. TechGirl90 unregistered

It all depends on your usage. If you're a user that doesn't consume media on your mobile device (eg: YouTube, Netflix, etc), and just read articles or books and use your phone for the basics, then it's a non issue. But, if you're a user that consumes media, then it'll more than likely be an issue (relatively speaking) because what that user is viewing on his or her device is being slightly obstructed by that hole or notch. Now for me, both will be an issue, because I not only use my mobile device for the basics, I also consume media, read, play games every now and then, I like to see the whole picture, not half of it.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 11:16 AM 0

22. whatev

Posts: 2282; Member since: Oct 28, 2015

I don’t know how Samsung is thinking about implementing something similar to Face ID on the GS10 with just a selfie camera, I’m not sure the S10 is going to be like this with the Infinity-O display

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 12:11 PM 0

38. drunkenjay

Posts: 1678; Member since: Feb 11, 2013

only the selfie camera will be visible. the sensors will be underneath the display like the fingerprint sensor.

posted on Nov 20, 2018, 4:26 AM 0

23. bucky

Posts: 3785; Member since: Sep 30, 2009

no point in asking this question. Iphone x has a notch and this place is full of android users...

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 12:15 PM 2

31. strategic_developer

There are Android phones with notches too. In fact more of them thn iPhones And the majority of them already said they dont like them period. So you are blind to the fact if they dont like notches, then they arent gonna like them on any phone. No one thought Apple would do somerhing so stupid. Android oems do stupid stuff all the time.

posted on Nov 19, 2018, 5:41 PM 2

24. izim1

Posts: 1599; Member since: Feb 04, 2013

For the millionth time: If you cant see the huge hole in the OLED display of the oneplus 6t where the optical camera for the fingerprint scanner is, why would you see it for the camera on the new galaxy phone? Everyone here seems to be completely ignoring the fact that OLEDs are transparent and dont need a backlight. You wont be able to see the hole under normal usage.