Of the iPhone 14 series, the iPhone 14 Pro / 14 Pro Max is equipped with a triple configuration out-camera including a 48-megapixel quad pixel sensor and "Dynamic Island".

In particular, Dynamic Island has a new display function that uses new punch holes. It is one of the first functions to be installed on the iPhone, and is attracting a great deal of attention. I confirmed what it was and what its behavior would be with an actual machine.

From the left, the iPhone 14 Pro Max with a 6.7-inch display and the iPhone 14 Pro with a 6.1-inch display


Dynamic Island is a new Pro-specific UI
A dynamic island can take advantage of the TrueDepth camera system to receive notifications at the top of the display and can be used as a small operation panel.

According to Apple, the design of the entire TrueDepth camera system, including not only the in-camera module, but also infrared rays and various sensors, has been miniaturized. As a result, the sensor and in-camera are no longer integrated with the bezel (not embedded in the cutout), but embedded in the top of the display.

When the display is off (image: top), the sensors and the in-camera appear separated, but when they are on, they appear to be connected (image: bottom)

Face ID authenticates with the "TrueDepth camera" provided separately from the normal in-camera. Using this, create a "depth map" and "infrared image" of the face, and compare the data with the registered data. From this, it is determined whether the person is the person himself/herself.
  • infrared camera
  • floodlight illuminator
  • dot projector

There is no major change in this mechanism between the iPhone 13 series and the iPhone 14 series, but Apple has created a new idea that uses that part as an island and can be used like an operation panel for apps and notifications.

If you look at the top of the iPhone 14 Pro display, you'll notice that the ugly cutouts that have been used in iPhone X and later models are gone, and that the corners are rounded oval. The width is also narrow due to the miniaturization mentioned above.


Something similar happened in the past

For those who have been using only the iPhone for many years, this dynamic island will be fresh at first glance.

Apple says, "The iPhone's face has changed so much since the introduction of the all-screen. It's the biggest change," but looking at other companies, it may not be fresh.

In fact, a few years ago, Huawei's sub-brand Honor (now independent as of 2022) implemented a feature similar to Dynamic Island on its flagship smartphone "Honor V40." This product had functions such as displaying the call time around the punch hole and highlighting the in-camera embedded in the punch hole.

Honor V40

Honor's 5G smartphone "V40" appears Advantages and challenges of "de-Huawei"On the other hand, the iPhone 14 Pro's dynamic island quickly displays information that suits the user when necessary, and hides quickly when it is not.

What apps are you currently using?
…… It should be difficult to imagine even if it is said, so from here on, we will check how each application behaves on the actual iPhone 14 Pro Max. The first thing I tried was the standard "call" app. When you receive a call, the island spreads to the left and right, so you can see at a glance who the caller is from. When you finish talking, the width of the island becomes narrower. By tapping the green phone mark to the right of the end call icon, you can start a call with the other party (answer the call). If you long-tap the dynamic island during a call, the controller will be displayed and you can easily end the call.

Calls on the "Messenger" and "Instagram" apps also supported dynamic islands. Both Messenger and Instagram were able to see the call time on the island. However, the behavior of Instagram calls (including video calls) occasionally became unstable.

Then I tried the Apple Music app. If you return to the home screen while playing a song, the island will become larger and the album artwork of the song being played (CD jacket image) will be displayed on the left of the sensor, and an equalizer-like icon will be displayed on the right of the in-camera. be. By tapping that part, you can check the details of the song that is playing, or check the list of songs in the album.

In connection with that, when I turned up the volume, a longer bar-shaped bar appeared at the top of the screen than with Apple Music earlier. The width of the island is longer than before, making it easier to check at a glance how much the volume is when you lower or raise the volume.

Then I tried Apple's Maps app. Just opening the map app and returning to the home screen didn't change the length of the island. After checking the route from the company to the nearest station and pressing "Departure" (the navigation started), when I returned to the home screen, the island became longer and a staircase-like mark was displayed to the left of the sensor. Tapping the mark instructed me to go down the stairs.

As we headed towards our destination, we noticed a change in the mark that serves as a landmark, instead of the staircase-like mark. By the way, Google Maps now looks like Apple Maps. It's convenient because you can see which direction to go (to the extent of whether to turn right or turn left) even if you're running other apps.

When I inserted the Lightning cable, the island became longer and "Charging" was displayed on the left, and the remaining battery level at that time was displayed on the right. How about a mobile battery that supports MagSafe? Thinking that, when I attached the "Anker 622 Magnetic Battery (MagGo)" to the back of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the display was the same as when the Lightning cable was inserted. The point is that you can immediately check at the top of the screen whether it is charging normally, and the dynamic island is displayed larger than the battery icon at the top right of the screen and is easy to see.

I also tried toggling airplane mode, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth on and off, but the island display didn't change.

The "Clock" app has four items: world clock, alarm, stopwatch, and timer, but only the timer supports dynamic islands. After setting the timer and returning to the home screen, a stopwatch mark was displayed on the left of the island, and the remaining time was displayed on the right. As for the timer, it is convenient to be able to check the remaining time at the top of the screen while running other apps.

When I set the timer while playing a song with the music app, the island was divided into an oval with rounded corners and a circle. The rounded ellipse shows the song being played, and the circle shows a timer icon. When the music app is opened from the state where the island is divided into two, the island becomes an ellipse with rounded corners, and the remaining time of the timer can be grasped while launching the music app.

When I long tapped each one, the controller was displayed. With the music app, you can play and pause music, and with the timer, you can pause and stop with the controller at the top of the screen.

The shape of the island changed significantly when Face ID was registered and authenticated. When registering a face from the setting application, the island changes from a rounded oval to a rounded square. When using Suica for authentication, it becomes a square with rounded corners just like when registering a face, making it easy to check whether the authentication is complete.

General navigation apps and food apps such as "Station Search" and "McDonald's" did not receive any notifications during the writing of this school, so it was not possible to check the behavior including them.

Conclusion: You can try so-called genuine apps
As a result of testing so far, the biggest advantage of Dynamic Island is that you can check the apps running in the background at the top of the screen without opening the app, and you can use it as a controller with a long tap.

What we learned from this verification is that you can benefit from Dynamic Island during standard operations such as genuine apps and charging. On the other hand, it cannot be said that third-party applications are still abundantly supported.

According to Apple, if music apps use the "NowPlaying API" and call apps use the "Callkit API", they will be able to support dynamic islands. I look forward to the update.