Bad artists copy, great artists steal—or, how to become a great designer

At Mobile World Congress 2018, something strange and interesting happened. No, I’m not talking about Samsung’s new S9 and S9+ phones (though they are interesting, all right).

I’m referring to the weird phenomenon of Android phone makers copying one of the iPhone X’s worst features—its wildly controversial notch.

To provide some background, the iPhone X, released in late 2017, features an all-screen design except for a notch, a cut-out at the top of the screen, that houses all the sensors required for FaceID, its new facial authentication method.

At its worst, the notch represents a compromise that Apple took in its attempt to push for an all-screen design while requiring a set of sensors for facial authentication.

iPhone X’s notch houses a whole array of sensors that enable FaceID

Many of the new Android phones released in MWC2018 (as well as those slated to be released later in the year) feature a notch at the top of their screens. Asus’ Zenfone 5, Huawei’s P20, Oppo’s R15, and Ulefone’s T2 Pro all seemed to have jumped on the bandwagon and decided on a top-notch design. Heck, even LG’s rumoured G7 is likely to feature a cut-out at the top of…