Yesterday the Google Pixel 3 XL was made official, complete with a notch at the top of its display. Not everyone is a fan of the display notch on the Pixel 3 XL, but the good news is that Google is offering a way to hide it.
Google has confirmed that it's added an option to hide the notch on the Pixel 3 XL "for people who prefer a more traditional smartphone look". To get this toggle, you'll need to enable "Developer options" in the Pixel 3 XL's Settings app by going into Settings > System > About phone and then tap the "Build number" seven times. You'll then go back a screen and find "Developer options" near the bottom of the list.
Thanks for the love! As for the notch, we’ve added an option to hide the display cutout (the notch) for people who prefer a more traditional smartphone look.
— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) October 10, 2018
If you do decide to hide the notch on the Pixel 3 XL, the top part of the screen will be blacked out, pushing the status bar and notifications below the notch. You can see comparison shots with the notch showing and the notch hidden below.
Notch on, notch off. Current Android P developer option, which isn't new. Not sure yet if the option Google has confirmed is this, or some kind of user-facing setting that will put time/date/notifs up there. pic.twitter.com/4cpebmUoYq
— Stephen Hall (@hallstephenj) October 10, 2018
Having more choice is always a good thing, so it's nice to see Google offering the option to hide the notch for those that really don't like it and are willing to get into "Developer options" to hide it. Hiding the notch does seem to waste a bit of screen space and put a large top bezel on the Pixel 3 XL, but for those that want one of Google's new phones and really don't like the notch, the option is there.
What do you think of the Pixel 3 XL's notch? Would you hide it if you owned the Pixel 3 XL?