Google’s next Android phones could look just like the iPhone X
Google's next Android update is reportedly making room for an iPhone X-style camera notch, hinting that Apple's design could soon be the norm
A SNEAK peek at Google's next Android update hints the company could replicate the iPhone X on future Android handsets.
Specifically, the successor to the current Android Oreo mobile operating system, dubbed Android P, will better integrate camera notches – like the one found at the top of the iPhone X, according to Bloomberg.
While Apple doubles down on app refinements over flashy features for its iOS 12 update, expected in September, Google is reportedly "improving the look of the software" to pinch iPhone users.
Android P will also integrate Google's digital assistant more tightly, improve battery life, and support new designs, like multiple screens (as seen on ZTE's Axon M phone) and foldable displays (which Samsung is rumoured to be developing for later this year).
But, building notch camera support into Android signals that Google expects Apple's iPhone X design to catch on.
Currently, the Essential Phone (from Android co-founder Andy Rubin) is the only device aside from Apple's £999 flagship to carry the notch.
Despite mocking the iPhone X in an advert, Samsung has filed a patent showing a version of a phone with a notch in the display.
Analyst Daniel Ives, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Technology Research at GBH Insights expects Android manufacturers to take things even further, embracing the latest iPhone's looks and features.
"iPhone X, with its transformational design and its integrated notch, has catalysed competitors including Google and Samsung to follow its lead," he told The Sun.
"We expect the next Pixel and other Android based phones to mirror the iPhone X in terms of advanced camera capabilities and potentially facial recognition with next gen OLED designs.
"Apple continues to step up its game and Android manufacturers and competitors are aggressively trying to keep up in this smartphone arms race."
The trend puts a bit of a damper on our chances of seeing an all-screen phone, free of borders and notches.
Although there may still be hope, if Chinese manufacturer Vivo has anything to do with it. The company has already unveiled the first-ever smartphone to integrate a fingerprint sensor in its display.
And, just this week, a fresh leak from Chinese social media showed a prototype Vivo phone with an edge-less screen.
Google, however, thought bezels were a-okay for its latest Pixel 2 phone – its thick borders catching many tech buffs off-guard.
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