How to simulate a notch on an Android phone
Phones are going to have a notch. It may not make for the most attractive hardware but it’s not going away any time soon. It’s going to get to a point where it’ll be hard to find a phone that doesn’t have a notch. The notch has taken a few different forms; there’s the notch that the iPhone X introduced, and there’s the hole punch one we’re seeing on some new Android phones. The notch has inspired some interesting apps. If you want to simulate a notch on an Android phone, it’s pretty easy to do if you’re running Android 9. If you’re running an older version of Android, you can use a third-party app to get the job done.
Simulate a notch – Developer options
This is a feature in the Developer options of Android 9 and while many phones are running Android 9, the notch doesn’t seem to be able to fit the display for all of them correctly. You might get a good looking notch, or an absolutely ridiculous looking one.
Open the Settings app and enable Developer options. To enable it, locate the information for your phone and tap the build number seven times to enable them.
After enabling the Developer options, open it and look for a setting called ‘Simulate a display with a cutout’. Tap it, and from the menu that opens, select the kind of notch you want to add to your display.
The notch is a cosmetic effect and will not show up in screenshots. It’s possible that apps built for a notch display may detect its presence since that’s likely what it was built for. As for how it looks, there’s no screenshot to show you but it’s not the best looking fake-notch out there.
Simulate a notch – App
You can also simulate a notch on an Android phone with a third-party app like XOutOf10. It’s free but has ads. The notch it adds is better than the built-in feature that Android 9 has. It also shows up in screenshots which lets us show you how it looks but will mess up any screenshots you take.
If you have a phone with little to no bevel, the app will add a reasonably good notch. Unfortunately, the notch also has a fake camera. This is because it mimics the notch on the iPhone X. It’s not just adding a notch, it’s adding the notch that the iPhone X has, camera, speaker, and all.
There’s no shortage of apps like this so if this one doesn’t do the trick, you can probably find ten others. Outside of testing apps built for notch phones, this ‘feature’ has little utility. Most people look for ways to hide the notch or customize it to look better.
