Essential recently rolled out the latest Android security update for the Essential Phone with improvements that lets you dictate how apps treat the notch.
If you go to Settings > System > Developer options > Essential notch settings, you can pick from three settings: “Essential recommended,” “Don’t use notch area in landscape,” and “Always use notch area.”
The first setting works on a per-app basis and does not render applications around the notch for every app. The second setting will not render content under the notch in landscape mode, while the third setting forces every app to render around the notch.
Whichever setting you pick will be the default for every app.
Keep in mind that these settings are under developer options, so they might not work well with certain apps. Also, YouTube’s zoom-to-fill feature still does not work on the Essential Phone.
Essential is yet again one of the first manufacturers to roll out the latest security update to its first flagship phone. Just days after Google released the April 2018 Android security patch for its Pixel and Nexus devices, Essential rolled out the update to the Essential Phone.
The big news with this update, aside from featuring the latest security patches from Google, is the addition of Bluetooth 5 certification. Bluetooth 5 offers a giant boost in range compared to Bluetooth 4.x BLE, improved data transfer performance, lower power consumption, and more.
That’s not all — this update also brings modem stability fixes, improved performance and bug fixes, as well as improved handling of external game controllers. The 127.6MB update carries build number OPM1.180104.141.
If you’re an Essential Phone owner, the update should be available for your device now. If you’ve yet to receive a notification, head to Settings > System > System update > Check for update.
