Galaxy S10 leak reveals how Samsung will avoid the dreaded notch

Samsung's Bixby digital assistant could have e new home to compete against Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa and Google's Assistant (AFP/Getty Images)

One year after mercilessly mocking Apple's decision to include a notch at the top of the iPhone X, Samsung appears to have come up with a way to avoid imitating the now-ubiquitous design.

Since the launch of the iPhone X, several other leading smartphone manufacturers have followed Apple by introducing a screen notch in order to accommodate both a larger screen and front-facing technologies like cameras and sensors.

With two cameras reportedly planned for the front of one variant of Samsung's forthcoming flagship phone – with a whopping six in total – a notch design could have made sense for the Galaxy S10, even if it meant reneging on the ridicule it heaped upon Apple in November 2017.

In a widely publicised advert in the aftermath of the iPhone X release, Samsung showed a man standing in line at an Apple store with a notch-shaped haircut. Earlier this year, Samsung released another advert making fun of the design, featuring the same man now carrying a child with a similarly unconventional hairdo.

With the release date for the Galaxy S10 anticipated for early 2019, the trickle of leaks and rumours surrounding the highly-anticipated device is turning into a stream, with the latest potentially revealing how the South Korean tech giant will negate the notch.

Notorious leaker Evan Blass shared designs of what a case manufacturer expected of the Galaxy S10, which featured three models for the lineup.

As expected from previous leaks, the single lens devices have a hole in the screen to cater for the camera.

The S10+ model, which will feature two lenses, makes use of two separate holes at the top centre of the screen in order to avoid the notch design.

In a follow-up tweet, Mr Blass said: "Usually I'm a big fan of symmetry, but in this case, I hope the cutouts are offset from center as in the examples shown off at SDC."

Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple, Philip Schiller, introduces the iPhone X during a media event at Apple's new headquarters in Cupertino, California on September 12, 2017 (JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Other rumours surrounding the Samsung Galaxy S10 include a self-healing screen that could potentially put an end to scratched displays.

A patent for a screen containing a "self-healing property" was revealed earlier this year, which described how such technology could be used in a "portable electronic device such as a smart phone or tablet."

The four camera lenses of the Galaxy A9 (Samsung)

The Galaxy S10 is set to launch on the 10th anniversary of Samsung's first flagship smartphone but it isn't the only high-end phone it plans to release next year.

A foldable phone was unveiled in Ocober at the firm's developer conference, with Samsung describing it as the "foundation of the smartphone of tomorrow."