Hate the notch? Then you need Notcho, a free app that creates wallpapers that hide the black camera-and-sensor array on the iPhone X, making it look like a black bezel instead.
Notcho nixes the notch
Notcho comes from Cromulent Labs, the folks behind Cult of Mac fave Music Launcher. Notch takes any picture you like, and adds a nicely-curved black bar at the top. The bar’s pixels are precision-machined to line up with the notch, filling in the empty ears with black. The result is very neat. It looks like the iPhone X has a regular black status bar at the top, with the network info, time, and battery icons all displayed as if this were a notches iPhone.
Photo: Cromulent Labs
This trick only works on the lock screen and the home screen, though, because — of course — wallpaper isn’t displayed in apps. Still, it may make the transition easier for notch-haters who nevertheless dropped a grand on a phone they couldn’t stand. The other option is to opt for an all-black wallpaper, which looks fantastic on the OLED screen, and could make your battery last longer.
No notch
Notcho comes with a few pre-made wallpapers to get you started. These might also provide an answer as to why Apple didn’t choose to hide the notch in normal use. With a Notcho wallpaper loaded, the iPhone X looks like it has a shorter screen. The black stripe looks a lot like the black bezel found on other iPhones. Despite the weirdness of the two ears either side of the notch, they show one thing clearly — that the screen reaches all four corners of the iPhone display. That’s important when one of the iPhone X’s major gimmicks is that it has an edge-to-edge screen.
Given this, it wouldn’t surprise me to find a setting added later, perhaps in iOS 12, to permanently add a black bar up top, in the style of Notcho. Then again, in a year’s time perhaps developers would have found all kinds of neat ways to exploit the notch, making its elimination pointless, or even troublesome.
Until then, there’s Notcho.
Price: $Free
Download: Notcho from the App Store (iOS)
Charlie Sorrel writes reviews and how-tos. Follow Charlie on Twitter at @mistercharlie, and at micro.blog on @mistercharlie
14 responses to “Notcho app hides iPhone X’s fugly notch”
Looks ridiculous hiding the notch. Iike an Android.
Who cares. Like every review says after a few hours of using the phone you don’t even notice it. I can agree since I have been using the phone for a week.
Yes, after awhile you forget how bad the monkey cage stinks. Ivy and company have been spending too much time in the monkey cage.
Apple will ban this soon enough. That space is meant to be used, not hidden or dissimulated. Notcho will be DOA
Nah notcho only modifies your wallpaper, which is displayed through the interface if the app you are using has not been updated to fill the notches.
I think the notch is just fine on the desktop in probably in many apps. It’s an eyesore in video playback. That’s when this sort of solutions would improve the experience.
The notch is only striking for the first few moments of using this device. After moments, you don’t even notice it. What you *do* notice is when apps haven’t been updated for iPhone X, and they don’t go floor-to-ceiling. They’re “fugly” now, not the notch.
Most of the apertures we look through have some kind of functional obfuscation, which allow them to function as they should. Windows have panes, windshields have sensors and rear-view mirrors… the iPhone X has a notch at the top for selfies and biometry.
Even with the compromise, Apple made the right decision by making pushing as much screen to the top as they could. The net effect is nothing short of stunning: when you’re looking at a photo, shown from top to bottom on its super high-resolution, True-Tone, wide-gamut OLED display, it is not an exaggeration to say it feels like you’re looking through a window.
And make your iPhone X look like any other bloody Android on the market.. the notch is just fine… and give it distinctiveness.
Yes, after awhile you forget how bad the monkey cage stinks. Ivy and company have been spending too much time in the monkey cage.
Thank God Notch bombs my Carrier Name – Vodacom…. it can stay until the cows come home…
Just going to grab a license for this since Apple will take it down soon.
Yes, after awhile you forget how bad the monkey cage stinks. Ivy and company have been spending too much time in the monkey cage.
And make your iPhone X look like any other bloody Android on the market.. the notch is just fine… and give it distinctiveness.
And make your iPhone X look like any other bloody Android on the market.. the notch is just fine… and give it distinctiveness.