Android Q shows notches in screenshots (Update: Not anymore)

Update, April 3, 2019 (02:59 PM ET): As described below, the first beta of Android Q preserved the rounded corners and even notch cutouts of Pixel displays when you took a screenshot. This was peculiar and not expected to make it to the final version.

Lo and behold, the second version of Android Q, which launched today, fixes this “feature.” Now, screenshots look like the standard rectangle you’ll see on pretty much every smartphone.

Check out this one below, taken with a Google Pixel 2 XL. On the previous version of Android Q, the screenshot would have had rounded corners:

For an example of what a screenshot looked like on Android Q before, scroll down a bit.

Original article, March 13, 2019 (05:28 PM ET): If you hate notches, it probably doesn’t bother you that screenshots leave out the notch. I mean, why would a screenshot even include it? After all, cutouts and notches are actually hardware changes and so it makes sense that software wouldn’t account for their existence. Well, apparently Google felt this needed to change in Android Q.

That’s right, notches and screen corners now appear in Android Q screenshots. We’re still exploring settings to see if this is something you can disable. It’s also unclear if this is a Pixel-only change for Android Q or if it will affect all devices.

Here’s what a screenshot looks like from the Google Pixel 3 XL, with its enormous notch:

Of course, there are often little changes like this that don’t make it into later versions of Android Beta. For those with an older Pixel that is notch-less, screenshots remain the same as always. Whether it’s possible to add fake notches into screenshots is something else we’ll be exploring. Stay tuned.

NEXT: Try out these new Android Q lock screen clocks