Check Out the iPhone 14 Pro's Dynamic Island in Action

[MacRumors]

The new Dynamic Island is arguably one of the iPhone 14 Pro's most interesting features, so with the new iPhones now in the hands of customers, we thought we'd take a deeper look at the Dynamic Island, how it works, and what it does.

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During the iPhone 14 rumor cycle, we knew that Apple was working on an alternative to the notch that incorporated a pill-shaped cutout and a hole punch cutout for the TrueDepth camera hardware, but what came as a surprise is the clever way that Apple has integrated this new space into the iPhone's interface.

Pixels around the Dynamic Island merge it into one pill-shaped area that changes size and shape to accommodate various types of alerts, notifications, and interactions, turning it into a kind of front-and-center information hub. It can do everything from showing you Maps directions to confirming Apple Pay payments, with a list of some of the possibilities below.

• Expanded into a large rectangle to show upcoming Maps directions without having to open the Maps app.
• Displaying Maps directions in a smaller pill-shaped interface for when you just need a quick glance at the next turn.
• Square shaped for an ‌Apple Pay‌ payment confirmation.
• Showing a music waveform and time remaining on a song that's playing.
• Tracking the time of arrival of a Lyft.
• Displaying privacy indicators when the microphone or camera is in use.
• Displaying a small bar with the phone icon and the length of the phone call.
• Displaying an AirDrop interface when transferring files.
• Showing a timer.
• Keeping track of sports scores.
• Accessing music controls and a music player.
• Showing AirPods connection status and battery life.
• Displaying ‌iPhone‌ charging status and battery life.
• Low battery alerts.
• Turning the iPhone's silent mode on or off.

The Dynamic Island works with Live Activities, and right now you can test it out with the Timer and with live sports if you happen to be running the iOS 16.1 beta. Live Activities are going to launch in iOS 16.1. Developers can create experiences for the Dynamic Island too, so we can expect to see innovative apps that take advantage of the new interface.

You can interact with content displayed in the Dynamic Island by long pressing to get to a widget for expanded controls, or tapping to go right into the app.

The Dynamic Island is capable of displaying multiple functions at once, and when that happens, it splits into a larger pill-shaped area and a smaller circular area so you can see two things at once. You can swap between them and tap into them like you can with the standard Dynamic Island interface.

Make sure to check out our video to see Dynamic Island in action with all kinds of apps and functions, and if you have an iPhone 14 Pro, let us know in the comments below what you think of the new interface.

Article Link: Check Out the iPhone 14 Pro's Dynamic Island in Action

 

[Chrjy]

I don't care what anyone says, I'm digging' DI...great little feature.

Oh, and always-on display is awesome and I didn't think I'd have much interest in it. So much better not having to touch or pick up my device to check notifications etc.

 

[blazerunner]

If Samsung did this, it'd be called a gimmick.

 

[Chrjy]

If Samsung did this, it'd be called a gimmick.

Yep....because they don't have a large cutout. But I'm sure they'll figure out away to copy it with their hole punch.

 

[alpi123]

If Samsung did this, it'd be called a gimmick.

Samsung would've never gone full on creating a such an implementation of a notch. They would just add the pill cutout and call it a day (they already had one). They focus more on hardware.

 

[zorinlynx]

From the videos I've seen, it looks like the dynamic island hides the WiFi indicator when it expands? I don't care for this much, I always want to know if I'm on WiFi or not, and if I'm on WiFi I generally don't care about cellular signal strength which still seems to show.

Is this configurable at all?

 

[chr1s60]

If Samsung did this, it'd be called a gimmick.

When Samsung does this, it'll be called a gimmick.

Fixed it for you.

 

[Chrjy]

From the videos I've seen, it looks like the dynamic island hides the WiFi indicator when it expands? I don't care for this much, I always want to know if I'm on WiFi or not, and if I'm on WiFi I generally don't care about cellular signal strength which still seems to show.

Is this configurable at all?

Expanded.

 

[Brenster]

Got music playing on the HomePod mini whilst snarfing a takeout. DI has the artwork up top regardless of what I’m doing on my phone. One tap & hold and it obligingly enlarges for transport controls, track/album info and larger art. Ditto when listening via Airpodds max.

Love DI on my 14 Pro for this alone, adds more of an iPod feel to my phone.

 

[JulianL]

I haven’t played with it yet but, especially as third party app developers start making use of it, I wonder if finding some way to echo it on the Apple Watch might be interesting. It’s long and thin on the phone and the watch is a squarer form factor so some sort of automatic reformatting would be required but perhaps it could be a way for users to see info on their Watch from apps that don’t explicitly support the Watch. Obviously it couldn’t really be on screen all the time (although maybe it could fit in the big infographic complication slot) but an indicator at the top of the Watch space as used for workouts or music, or repurpose the swipe up or down, or a smaller complication that can be pressed at any time to pull up the island might all be options.

 

[Shasta McNasty]

Dynamic Island is the future of mobile computing.

This is what was said about the touchbar.

 

[staveb]

Honestly, wouldn't it be more aptly named: The Dynamic Black Hole?

 

[MrGimper]

I didn't realise at first that the waveform on the right of the DI when in a voice call is actually realtime. I thought it was some arbitrary animation.

 

[TheDailyApple]

So what happens if you have three DI eligible functions active at once? Do you only see the two most recent, or can it display more? (What if you’re listening to music, tracking sports, have a timer, and are waiting on a lyft?)

 

[blazerunner]

Actually, already do; S10e. Love the size of the phone as it's not monster sized like nearly all current iPhones (and nearly all Android phones). Headphone jack, fingerprint scanner on the power button (jesus, how is this not done more often, its such an obvious spot to put the scanner!), microSD card, great cameras (even if 'dated') excellent video quality. My only gripe with the phone is the selfie camera; it's not wide angle. In fact, seems like nearly all phones have a stupid focal length for selfies. I had a Sony XZ1 Compact before this phone and I could easily get amazing and fun photos of me and my girlfriend with the entire background behind us. Now? I have to flip the phone around and use the rear cameras and HOPE the photo is framed right.

Honestly, there's no such thing as a great smartphone. I miss my Sony XZ1C, but it had it's flaws; no wifi calling, lack of certain LTE bands for my carrier, no OIS, difficult to type on and poor photo quality with only one focal length on the rear camera. I used it for over 4 years though, the size was TRULY a compact phone and one handed uses was actually doable and easy, even with longer fingers.

I just don't understand why manufacturers can't make a compact phone with near flagship specs. I can't imagine owning a new iPhone and trying to cram it into my pocket and then walking around with a stupid bulge. Embarrassing.

 

[nt5672]

Explain to me why this feature exists, other than to have something stupid for the keynote and fanboys to fawn over.

 

[Chrjy]

This is what was said about the touchbar.

Yes, because they are so similar in terms of the UX

 

[klasma]

Honestly, wouldn't it be more aptly named: The Dynamic Black Hole?

Because it sucks?

 

[Chrjy]

Explain to me why this feature exists, other than to have something stupid for the keynote and fanboys to fawn over.

Have you experienced it yet?

 

[Graphikos]

Explain to me why this feature exists, other than to have something stupid for the keynote and fanboys to fawn over.

It's an extremely well-thought-out UI and UX feature that cleverly hides a hardware-required cutout. It's very Apple and a really nice way to blur the lines of hardware and software. Once you use it, you'll love it.

 

[klasma]

So what happens if you have three DI eligible functions active at once? Do you only see the two most recent, or can it display more? (What if you’re listening to music, tracking sports, have a timer, and are waiting on a lyft?)

Yeah, I wonder if there’s a way to switch between currently active Live Activities. Maybe a horizontal swipe like switching tabs in Safari.

 

[petvas]

Explain to me why this feature exists, other than to have something stupid for the keynote and fanboys to fawn over.

You have to use it to understand it. It makes the notch useful. Of course it would have been better to have a full screen display, with no notch, but as long as the technology is not there yet, this is the greatest implementation of it.
All the small but important things you do on your phone have now a place. The whole OS feels much better with the dynamic island. Things that before were hidden or appeared on the Lock Screen or notifications page, now appear in the dynamic island. Music playback, incoming calls, timers, Face ID, and many more. It is just a new intuitive UI element that is extremely cool to use. I already love it.

 

[LeeW]

I am liking it so far but the future? No. The future is not having any cutout at all and therefore no need to use software tricks to hide it.

 

[H. Flower]

Ehhh.....having a hard time getting excited about this.

 

[Eldaerenth Faexidor]

I like the new Dynamic Island but I do think that the novelty of this feature will fade quickly.