https://www.cnet.com/news/samsung-patent-display-holes-notch/

A Samsung patent application (first spotted by Dutch site LetsGoDigital) filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization seems to have an answer: put holes in the screen for hardware to poke through. In theory, this would allow for Samsung to completely get rid of the phone bezels you see bordering your screen, a design feature that's increasingly unfashionable.

The iPhone X's notch houses some important hardware, but cuts into the phone's screen.