Apple Repeatedly Showing iPhone 14 Pro Design With No Dynamic Island

[MacRumors]

Apple is repeatedly depicting the iPhone 14 Pro's rumored "pill and hole-punch" display cutout design with no Dynamic Island, despite this not being an option on the device.

Apple Support document showing the rumored "pill and hole-punch" cutout design.​

In a new support document titled "Use Always-On display with your iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max" that was published yesterday, Apple clearly shows the device's two display cutouts with usable display area between them and no Dynamic Island. This is at least the third time that the design as been spotted coming out of official Apple sources.

Evidence of Apple explicitly using the rumored "pill and hole-punch" design was first spotted in the initial graphics that were posted on Apple's website following its "Far out" event. Shortly after, Apple posted developer resources for the iPhone 14 Pro showing the display cutouts alone, before reuploading the resources correctly showing the Dynamic Island.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1567609074992160770

The repeated error is curious given that there is currently no way to disable the Dynamic Island and allow content between the two display cutouts to appear normally. The graphics are also striking given that for much of the iPhone 14 Pro's rumor cycle, the device was expected to look exactly like this. Rumors of the Dynamic Island and the two display cutouts appearing as a single "pill" thanks to software enhancements only emerged a week before the Apple event.

iPhone 14 Pro concept render by Ian Zelbo from May 2022​

The blunders could indicate that the Dynamic Island was intended to be an optional feature or was even a fairly late-stage decision in the iPhone 14 Pro's development. It seems most likely that due to the siloed nature of Apple's internal structure, employees responsible for web design, developer resources, and support documents were unaware of the Dynamic Island until directly before the Apple event.

When information about the Dynamic Island solidified, it was assumed that prior rumors proclaiming a design with two visible display cutouts were derived simply from hardware leaks, with software still being heavily locked down. Apple's repeated illustration of the rumored design suggests that the initial understanding of how the display cutouts would look may have been more official than previously thought.

Update: As with the other instances, Apple has corrected the image in the latest support document to display the Dynamic Island rather than separate cutouts.

Article Link: Apple Repeatedly Showing iPhone 14 Pro Design With No Dynamic Island

 

[chr1s60]

Assuming it wouldn't be too difficult to introduce an option to turn Dynamic Island on or off.

 

[Tagbert]

“ It seems most likely that due to the siloed nature of Apple's internal structure, employees responsible for web design, developer resources, and support documents were unaware of the Dynamic Island until directly before the Apple event.”

That does seem the most likely reason. Obviously the dynamic island software wouldn’t be ready for anyone outside the team to use until pretty late in the dev cycle.

 

[_Spinn_]

My first though was that Dynamic Island was a late addition to the software.

 

[ghostface147]

I don’t know if it was a late decision since something so fluid probably wasn’t done last second in software.

 

[KoolAid-Drink]

Unless I'm missing something, it makes sense for Apple to show the current layout in Settings — no reason for Dynamic Island to be in Settings, unless a notification happens.

 

[winxmac]

Even if Dynamic Island is enabled/running, you will still notice they are indeed a pill and punch hole cutouts when you look at the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max at certain angles...

 

[SamRyouji]

“ It seems most likely that due to the siloed nature of Apple's internal structure, employees responsible for web design, developer resources, and support documents were unaware of the Dynamic Island until directly before the Apple event.”

That does seem the most likely reason. Obviously the dynamic island software wouldn’t be ready for anyone outside the team to use until pretty late in the dev cycle.

With this feature successfully kept in secret up until launch, I think this is the most possible reason. Some folks haven't received updates of the material yet for docs and such.

 

[macvicta]

Thank God they didn’t go with the pill and hole punch. The single pill, even without Dynamic Island, was always the superior option.

 

[hovscorpion12]

$10 the pill will be option available in iOS 16.2

 

[vegetassj4]

Dynamic Archipelago in the next update

 

[xizdun]

Apple itself was perpetuating the pill-and-hole design—posting fake leaks to throw everyone off. Apple has a history of doing this.

That explains why T-Mobile and many within Apple itself are using the incorrect designs.

 

[rp100]

I think Apple intentionally kept everyone in the dark on dynamic island, including hardware and support groups. Hardware is perennially leaked so it was critical that a new, hyped feature not be described or illustrated on any of the pictures or pre-production documents.

It also seems unlikely that one of the core interaction points of iOS was a “late addition”. Apple succeeded in keeping a secret, which is pretty impressive considering the size of their company and supply chain.

 

[ahmedreda]

So it's a last moment move !

 

[curnalpanic]

Maybe they got it from the leakers. Apple's secrecy is very tight... at least within the company, that is.

 

[dannys1]

Just finished setting up my 14 Pro and i've got to say, after having the notch on the X, 11 Pro, 12 Pro and 13 Pro - this is the first one i've actually noticed. It's feels a bit obtrusive, it feels a bit low down compared to the notch (it is) so screen real estate is less...the content starts further down on the phone.

I'll get used to it but considering all the moans the notch never once bothered me in 4 years of using it - and this, initially has.

 

[VuvuzelaiPhone]

So it's a last moment move !

Nah, it was just an internal secret.

 

[MayaUser]

Just finished setting up my 14 Pro and i've got to say, after having the notch on the X, 11 Pro, 12 Pro and 13 Pro - this is the first one i've actually noticed. It's feels a bit obtrusive, it feels a bit low down compared to the notch (it is) so screen real estate is less...the content starts further down on the phone.

I'll get used to it but considering all the moans the notch never once bothered me in 4 years of using it - and this, initially has.

real estate means pixels count, so you have more real estate...you have more pixels count and in full app you have the above pixels also showing your app/video/game
yes it is more noticeable than the notch

 

[brett_x]

Isn't it fairly obvious that this is the first real surprise that Apple has had in quite a few years? That can no longer happen when everyone at Apple knows about a feature. Red herrings everywhere.

 

[Crash Nebula]

My first though was that Dynamic Island was a late addition to the software.

Absolutely not. You can’t develop a thing like that in very short time.
Almost half of the software of the Pros is developed around that.

 

[iPhoneFan5349]

I don’t know if it was a late decision since something so fluid probably wasn’t done last second in software.

You need to check the reviews. Most people agree this isn’t well thought off

 

[JustSomebody12]

Already fixed.

 

[seek3r]

My first though was that Dynamic Island was a late addition to the software.

Doesnt mean it was a last minute bit of work though FWIW, given the way Apple often functions it could very well have been a long running but siloed effort by a specific team and included into the builds late in order to prevent leaks. Given it’s basically the major thing that’s made waves with this release it’s likely the product managers knew this was going to be a somewhat lackluster year and wanted to keep the one super innovative thing under wraps to have a bit better reception

 

[seek3r]

You need to check the reviews. Most people agree this isn’t well thought off

Almost every review I’ve seen has singled it out as the coolest and most innovative part of a mostly lackluster release….

 

[Totorotarrot]

It was probably done to control leak and mislead Chinese competitors. Many Chinese companies specialize in making a fake iPhone that looks like the next model. They would immediately create a punch hole version thinking it’s the new trend, until a rude awakening a week before apple releases. Letting these support documentation and translation team know what they are doing is not that important when the wrong graph does nothing to the content of the documents and is an easy fix.