I overheard the pixel3's will have the notch and dual front cameras running android P. The Nexus lineup will not have a notch and be running Oreo 8.x.
People make a big deal about the notch, but it isn't noticeable after using it for a short while and there is a setting to make the notch invisible and not using any of that real estate for apps of your choosing.
I am curious who actually designed a notch first and the rest copied it. Essential's flagship device was the first phone with a notch shown in marketing material and the first actually to market. But that doesn't mean that design originated with them necessarily.