While everybody thinks Apple introduced the classic ‘notch’ design in its iPhone X, Huawei claims that it was initially their idea and that too from three to four years ago.

The Chinese smartphone manufacturer has claimed that notches were Huawei’s idea before Apple made them cool by introducing them in the iPhone X. The company’s mobile chief Li Changzhu claimed that at the Huawei Analyst Summit that they have been debating about the notches since years.

Huawei’s most recent P20 flagship comes in with notches on the display front and center. The representative said that three to four years before the P20 launch, Huawei has been considering about the new notch design but decided to not go forth with it.

Samsung too might follow Apple by releasing ‘notch’ styled smartphone

Changzhu told Forbes that since the company was establishing its brand in major markets, they thought the design was too ‘conservative and cautious’ at that time. He said, “Consumers, especially those in China, like symmetry, and the notch is not perfect in Chinese culture. They like squares or circles—like rounded corners [of the display]. That’s perfect.”

Changzhu further clarified that it was a mistake not to go with the idea and such mistakes won’t take place in the future, giving the example of the unique color for its P20 smartphone. However, the smartphone manufacturer praised Apple’s decision of making the notch a mainstream design. “[Apple] using the notch was courage. We missed our chance to [pioneer] with the notch design because we were too conservative and cautious.”

Deccan Chronicle reported, though Apple wasn’t the first one to introduce notches in phones with the Essential Phone launching them four months ago iPhone X, it was still Apple that made them a new trend for the smartphone market with many Android makers now following the design.