At least according to rumors, we won't be stuck with the notch on the iPhone 13, although this year's model will have a smaller sensor and camera housing. One designer, however, wonders why the notch is necessary.

iPhone concept art by designer Antonio de Rosa shows what the new iPhone will look like, without the notch for the first time since Apple's iPhone X.

In De Rosa's design, seen in a series of photos, the notch still houses the Face ID sensor and front-facing camera, but it is above the display. The result is an interesting design, with the notch appearing above the rest of the phone in an asymmetrical frame.

The designers call this design the iPhone M1, probably because, like the iPad Pro 2021, this model will feature Apple's M1 chip. (The A15 Bionic processor is in line to power this year's iPhone.) And if nothing else, it certainly looks different from any iPhone we've seen before.

Such a design is likely to be controversial, but don't worry. Apple is said to be sticking with the iPhone's current look, even going so far as to use this year's screen size in the new iPhone 13 model. (Yes, even the iPhone 13 mini is part of the plan.) The notch will be present, but only smaller than before.

How much smaller? In last week's video, a dummy unit of the iPhone 13 Pro Max was shown off and the notch was measured at 26.31 mm wide. This is a reduction from the 34.62 mm of the current iPhone 12 Pro.

This is probably small enough for most people, especially if it means the edges of the phone won't be jagged like De Rosa's rendering. And we may not be stuck with the notch forever - future iPhones after this fall are rumored to abandon the notch altogether.