Blast from the past: notched screens making a comeback in new releases

What if we told you that the now ‘unloved’ notch displays are likely to make a huge splash in 2026? With the current market conditions and political climate, the smartphone industry is taking a hit—and one solution is to cut back on aesthetics in favor of functionality.

Source: Gizbot.com

The tale of the notch (Not the developer)

It’s been almost a decade since Andy Rubin, dubbed the father of Android, unveiled the very first notched display on a smartphone on the Essential Phone. For that time, it was a revolutionary approach for the large bezels that had gotten stale with the consumers.

Sure, there’s still some space left in the bottom, but the inclusion of the notch was a step closer to achieving that ‘futuristic’ bezel-less look we’re currently enjoying right now.

At first, the notch was only reserved for the flagships, but as time went on, the punch-hole display eventually sent the mythical cutout out of style, even in the midrange and lower-end models. That’s fine because smartphone technology is evolving faster than ever.

The hall of fame, kind of

We were lying to ourselves if we didn’t act like we were excited when it was introduced. Some of the most notable smartphone examples possessing the notch are the following:

OnePlus 7T: This 6.55-inch beast from 2019 has an AMOLED display, a 90Hz display, a set of good cameras, and an alluring design that received a lot of praise from casuals and enthusiasts alike for its universal appeal and easy-to-open bootloader for modding to their hearts’ content. It’s the last hurrah for a once-solid community before it became a shell of itself once acquired by BBK.

LG V60 ThinQ: The phone isn’t perfect per se, but this is also the last gasp (get it, LG? Last Gasp? Okay, this is the last pun) for the Korean giant. Its 6.8-inch AMOLED display makes the notch elegant on its last outing before saying “안녕히 가세요” (annyeonghi gaseyo) to the smartphone business. It’s flat, it’s big, and it has a notch to die for.

Source: Android Authority

iPhone X: To be fair, it’s a different kind of notch than we have previously mentioned, but this made the cutout cool. Why? Because it’s Apple, they can make the single most ridiculous idea the most sought-after thing on the planet. The ‘ugly’ notch (it was called as such during its eventual reveal) has a purpose, however. It houses the TrueDepth camera system, which is just a catch-all term for the following: infrared camera, flood illuminator, proximity and ambient light sensor, speaker, a mic, and the lone 7-megapixel selfie camera.

Honorable mentions: Huawei Mate 20 Series, Xiaomi Mi 9, and the iPhone XS Series

The return of the ‘unwanted’?

Fast-forward to today in 2026, it seems like the punch-hole cutout is here to stay, with brands such as Motorola and Transsion under its brands Infinix, Tecno, and Itel blessing the consumers with the modern look even in their budget category, save for some strays in the ultra-entry level lineup, which you can still find the ever-so-elusive notch.

Nowadays, if you have a phone that has a notch, it means only three things: your phone is old, your phone is an entry-level one, and you can’t afford an original screen replacement for your device, so you got the cheapest option—which has, yes, say it with us…a notch.

Unfortunately, due to the rising prices of RAM, storage, and the whole shebang because of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom that every company seems to rave about these days, those components that were decently priced before have skyrocketed in price, and it will be more expensive in the coming days.

The Spark brothers: Tecno Spark Go 2 (left), Tecno Spark Go 3 (right)

As a smartphone business, they don’t want to increase their prices so much (but it’s inevitable), so they started to cut corners that aren’t really needed for the phone to truly function. Naturally, the aesthetics department took a hit.

Recently, Tecno released the Tecno Spark Go 3, a budget phone with decent specs and good looks for its asking price. Its predecessor, the Spark Go 2, maintains a punch-hole display to keep up with the times. Now, in a bizarre move, the latest model kept most of the Spark Go 2’s specs except for one. You guessed it right, it’s back to Notchland, baby. It never really went away, but it may become more common as time goes on.

A notched future

Famous tipster and leakster Digital Chat Station said on Weibo: “They’ve run out of options; mid-to-low end new phones are starting to test 90Hz waterdrop screens.” It means that companies are reverting to the notched options for their budget and midrange devices soon. 

Source: Digital Chat Station via Weibo

Keep in mind that this can be wrong and can be changed, depending on what will happen to the current market and world happenings. It may take a while before your latest Php15,000 and below device will sport a throwback look again. But for now, enjoy your brand new, shiny device (that’s slightly more expensive than usual) without the dreadful (or if you’re a 90’s kid, a nostalgic) notch. Is this the sign o’ the times? Ask Harry Styles.

Follow Tekku Philippines and see more of the latest tech stories on Google.