They didn’t. And that’s because Apple didn’t originate the notch. The notch is the logical conclusion any phone designer will eventually make (with one other option) as they continue to shrink bezels in the quest to make an “all-screen” phone.
One of the first notches was that of the LG V10 — my phone. It’s not a centered notch, but off to one side, which is actually superior because it leaves far more screen available in a contiguous chunk. LG started moving in the direction of the all-screen phone in 2013, when the LG G2 put its pushbutton on the back of the phone, allowing for a larger precentage of screen. The G2 still had a bezel large enough for a camera. But as screen technology allowed for a thinner bezel, you eventually have to put that front-facing camera somewhere, it if won’t fit on the barely-there bezel.
Android didn’t have any support for notches in 2015, so LG partitioned that extra bit to the right of the dual camera notch as a “second screen”. It’s kind of useful. LG was gradually moving to “all-screen” phones long before it became trendy, easier for them because they make the LCD and OLED panels themselves.
The first central notch on the market was on the Sharp Aquos S2. A few days later, the Essential phone was released with essentially the same small notch. Android didn’t support the notch yet, but such a small one was pretty easy to get around, especially when located in the center.
As I said, Apple didn’t invent the notch. They just made it such a gaping maw, one has to ask “why bother?” Other than its massive size, there’s nothing special about Apple’s notch. And no reason to believe that other companies are “copying” Apple. In fact, Apple was late to the all-screen game. Most companies had experimented with it in some ways prior to late 2017 and the introduction of the iPhone X.
The Pixel 3 notch is somewhere between the iPhone’s gigantic notch and the Essential/Sharp minimial notch in width. But it’s mysteriously super-deep. What were they thinking? At least Apple has a battery of extra stuff in their notch: IR light, camera, mic, that mini-Kinect thing, etc.
So yeah, like my LG, Google put in two front cameras, one normal, one wide angle. But Apple certainly didn’t need all the depth to provide cameras. That’s maybe the question to ask.
Fact is, “all-screen” phones are the must-have thing, and so the only options, if you want a front-facing camera, is either a notch or a pop-up, as a few BBK models are doing these days (Oppo and Vivo). Apple didn’t originate all-screen and they didn’t originate the notch. It’s just plain silly to suggest anyone’s copying Apple.
Did Apple have any impact? Sure… they helped to make the notch an thing that consumers would accept. Essential’s 90,000 or so phone sales prior to the iPhone X introduction didn’t exactly make the world believe in a camera notch. Apple selling over 50 million iPhones X made it acceptable. But even more important, it wasn’t until Android Pie that Google had full support and guidelines for screen notches. The tiny Sharp/Essential notches can exist without much trouble, but much larger than that and you need OS support.
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