Nokia 6.1 Plus 'Hide Notch' Option Will Return, HMD Global Says

Nokia 6.1 Plus users were recently reporting of a missing 'hide notch' option after the August security update. Users, who weren't big fans of the notch display screen, had the option to fill out the gap with a black strip that provided the illusion of a no notch screen for users. However, that option was removed with the August security patch, and users were perplexed. Now, a moderator has responded to one of the complaints stating that HMD Global was asked by Google to remove it, while HMD Global Chief Product Office Juho Sarvikas said the option will make its way back to the handset.

A moderator named Laura responded to one such complaint regarding the hide notch option saying that, 'Unfortunately we had to remove the notch hide option as per Google requirement.' That comment has since been pulled from the forums, but you can see the screenshot here. This means that Google has decided to not give users the option to switch from 'default mode', which was the notch mode, to the 'full bezel' mode. To recall, Nokia 6.1 Plus is a part of the Android One programme, which means Google has a tight grip on the device's software improvements. One can only wonder why Google would want to make such a move, and our best guess would be that some performance may be affected by it. In any case, Android 9.0 Pie has native notch support, and we can expect the option to hide it would be retained once the software update arrives for Nokia 6.1 Plus users.

In any case, Sarvikas has also tweeted that the company will once again enabling the setting to black out notch on the Nokia 6.1 Plus. He refrains from giving a timeline on when that will be exactly, or whether it will arrive with Android Pie, or has HMD Global come to some sort of understanding with Google. All we can do is wait it out and see how it all unfolds. Until then, Nokia 6.1 Plus users are stuck with the notch display view.

The Nokia 6.1 Plus - the global variant of the Nokia X6 - was launched in India last month, and went on sale on August 30 for the first time. The Nokia 6.1 Plus has earlier been launched in Hong Kong, with the Nokia X6 first launched in China in May.