[davidclark]

“Thinnest” should be measured by the thickest slice for a given dimension.

I have an iPhone 11 which also has a camera bump and the experience of typing while the phone is on a flat surface is laughably annoying. For a company that prides itself on design aesthetics, it is honestly an embarrassing miss.

[shuckles]

Genuinely curious: why do you often find yourself typing on the phone resting on a flat surface? I can’t think of a single time where that’s been the best way to handle my device.

[losvedir]

I do this all the time, but I switched to iPhone only this year after a decade as a Nexus/Pixel user. I really wonder if this behavior comes from people who got accustomed to using phones with iOS vs Android, because it's certainly much more frustrating on iPhone.

Basically, whenever I sit down at my desk, I always have my phone sitting there, too. That's how I keep tabs on my personal life during work. But it works much better in Android:

* The Always On display came to Pixels a long time ago, so it was very useful to have your lock screen showing the date, time, and what sort of notifications you have.

* The notification management is just light years better in Android, so you don't have to even unlock your phone all the time to see what's going on.

* The Swiping keyboard was introduced a long time ago in Android, and is far superior in my experience, to the iPhone one, so it's pretty tolerable to type up quick things with the phone lying flat on the surface.

I'm actually kind of surprised that you don't interact with your phone on a desk or table. Do you just leave it in your pocket all day? Do you leave it on your desk, too, but just find it too cumbersome to deal with there and are constantly picking it up?

[cobbal]

I do this all the time, often when I'm at a desk or table. I had to get a bulky case for my iPhone just so it didn't unstably contact at only 2 points and rock with each tap.

[davidclark]

I’d do it more if it wasn’t an annoying UX! I have message previews on lock screen turned off. If I get a message when my phone is sitting next to my keyboard on my desk, I unlock it to view the message. Might type a quick reply.

[titusjohnson]

Apple doesn't advertise this as the intent, but until the Air I felt that the Phone+Case combo is the complete phone, as it is intended to be used. Add any of Apple's official cases, leather, silicone, whatever, and that's the official "thickness" of the phone. The cameras are recessed, the front display is recessed, the whole phone is wrapped in leather and further customized to your style.

Now the Air has a bump that is so big no case can hide it without also being unreasonably thicc, breaking the trend. I wonder what a case mfg could stuff into the awkward space on the peninsula where the camera is missing so the case provides a uniform surface when laying flat, even if that means a bigger bump on the top when cased. The phone would have a natural angle towards the user, that's kinda nice. Maybe a little bluetooth speaker setup so owners of the Air can more efficiently irritate their fellow passengers.