Will Android OEMs still want to copy Apple after seeing renders and concept video of the iPhone XR's successor?

OnLeaks and Pricebaba have kindly shared some images and a video of what they expect from the next affordable iPhone, which could end up being called the iPhone XE but has been labeled as the iPhone XR 2019 in the source report. Looking at the renders, it seems like an odd design choice for Apple, which was always heralded as an innovative and forward-looking company that Android-smartphone manufacturers rapidly emulated.

However, is it likely that these OEMs will want to follow suit this time? Smartphones of late have been battling over offering their users more and more screen real estate. Yet here is a render based on leaks about the next version of the iPhone XR and it has a distinctly noticeable frame around the display…and a rather broad notch too.

Turn the device over and there is arguably one of the most controversial design choices of the year in smartphone terms. We already had a look at concept renders of other 2019 iPhones with their main triple camera setup configured in a quirky manner inside a square housing. Now we have the dual camera variant, again in a square-shaped camera bump, with the LED flash to the right of the lenses.

The next-generation iPhone XR is expected to be a 6.1-inch smartphone that could be powered by an A13 Bionic chip (if Apple goes with that nomenclature for its next ARM-based SoC). It will undoubtedly have excellent features and software, but many smartphone owners likely choose iPhones simply because of how they look. This latest design is already causing a bit of a ruckus on social networks, and it will be interesting to see which, if any, Android-smartphone makers choose to copy Apple’s design this time round.