For me its the ‘Knock Code’ that LG had on their phones (I really wish LG still made at least the V series phones)
Basically there was a four-square area and you set up a sequence of where you would tap to unlock the phone. That set of squares was only shown when you set up the code
Then, to unlock your phone, you would tap those areas in the sequence you set up (even with the screen off).
Fingerprint readers are nice, but I really do miss the knock code
Edit: did find this article with a way to do the knock code, but if done wrong, could brick your phone I guess.
Plus, article is from 2014. When I looked at XDA’s info on it (they also being the developers) it looks like development on it is over, but individual modules may or may not still be supported by their devs
The LG V10 had the smartest way I’ve seen to handle the notch: by keeping it on a corner, and using the top of what was left of the screen to display quick-access icons, notifications, and the clock. The rest of the screen kept the good old 16 by 9 aspect ratio with a square display. Kind of peeves me to see video players cropping part of the video where the notch is nowadays…
I never take selfies so just having this notch in my screen for nothing really infuriates me when I think about it. I rarely do video calls, I just put the thing to my ear with the camera off. People can hear me just fine without seeing my face.
Samsung handles it well since it lets you hide the cut out on a per app basis, and doesn’t push down the status bar either. Just blacks it out while keeping all the time and notifications still there.
So watching 21:9 with that option makes it so the notch doesn’t become part of the video.
But, Oneplus 7 pro handled it the best with the pop up camera.