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Those ugly black sensor dots on your phone may finally be going away

Look at your phone, right above the screen. You probably see one or two black dots to the right or left of your selfie camera. Those tiny-yet-irritatingly-noticeable dots have been an unavoidable part of smartphone design for the better part of decade. And they might finally be going away.

Those dots are your phone’s proximity sensors. Their presence means the phone can detect, among other things, when the user is holding the device up to their face to make a call. The sensors tell the phone to dim the screen when that happens, ensuring your cheek doesn’t accidentally hang up on someone as you press the phone to your face. Read more…