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

[mpinusa]

I’m in the market for a new iPhone and preordered this. On checking it out at the store today I have to say I hate it. It’s so obtrusive on a lot of the apps and you can’t ignore it. The notch is much easier to ignore and doesn’t get in the way when watching a movie, surfing the web etc. Returned it unopened and bought a preowned 13 pro of same spec for $500 less.

 

[petvas]

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.

This will take some time though. Don't expect the dynamic island to go away so fast..

 

[antnythr]

A whole video of this and you didn’t turn the damn phone sideways to show it in landscape?

 

[LeeW]

This will take some time though. Don't expect the dynamic island to go away so fast..

I do like it so far and of course, it will be here for a while.

 

[Random_Matt]

Dislike it myself, less real estate than my phones current notch. It is a gimmick, Apple and Nintendo love a good gimmick because their diehards do too.

 

[dogstar]

I didn’t realize this, but my iPad Pro has had Dynamic Island for a long time. It showed up when I attached my pen to the side! The only difference is that it goes away thankfully when it’s done cause the screen on the iPad is not mutilated.

 

[Tagbert]

Dislike it myself, less real estate than my phones current notch. It is a gimmick, Apple and Nintendo love a good gimmick because their diehards do too.

Why do you think there is less real estate then current notch? Sure the DI expands sometimes but otherwise the intrusion is minimal. The DI does site a little further down from the edge of the screen but the new screens are a little taller to compensate. in the end the safe area underneath is about the same.

 

[Random_Matt]

Why do you think there is less real estate then current notch? Sure the DI expands sometimes but otherwise the intrusion is minimal. The DI does site a little further down from the edge of the screen but the new screens are a little taller to compensate. in the end the safe area underneath is about the same.

Just looks it, I am always happy to be wrong though.

 

[NameRequired]

Above all else, that Capstan album is great! I was blown away to see that playing.

 

[Iconoclysm]

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

This would require Samsung to expertly polish their UI around new hardware, which they virtually never do. I can't think of anything Samsung has ever done that I'd call a gimmick because most things they do in software have either already been done, are part of an OS they don't own, or are done so poorly that they wouldn't be around for very long.

 

[Iconoclysm]

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

It will, it's just going to be a natural part of the OS, as it's well designed and low key.

 

[Iconoclysm]

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.

This is why there was so much hope for the mini. If there had been a Pro mini, it would have made a hell of a lot more sense...and they really should have done both to see which caught on.

 

[Akzel]

I don’t like that when you do a screen recording it shows the pill with the red dot in the final video. same if you’re listening to music and do a screenshot it will show it in the image.

 

[Graphikos]

I think it's great to have an active activity status at the top of the screen. That's what that area is for... notifications and statuses. Having quick access to a widget and app switching is awesome. The fluid integration with the OS is stellar. Once there is more app support beyond the standard APIs it's going to get even better.

Even if/when we get rid of a notch or cutout I wouldn't want this type of status to disappear. For now, it's an amazing way to blend a necessary cutout into a wonderful feature.

 

[Tagbert]

I don’t like that when you do a screen recording it shows the pill with the red dot in the final video. same if you’re listening to music and do a screenshot it will show it in the image.

Does it? That is odd. With the notch the screenshots show you what would have been under the notch. Maybe because of the dynamic island content, it has to show something. When did you have a chance to test this?

 

[Chrjy]

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

Exactly. Great UX will always blend into the background until it becomes a part of everyday life. That’s when you know you’ve done the job perfectly.

 

[Tagbert]

I think it's great to have an active activity status at the top of the screen. That's what that area is for... notifications and statuses. Having quick access to a widget and app switching is awesome. The fluid integration with the OS is stellar. Once there is more app support beyond the standard APIs it's going to get even better.

Even if/when we get rid of a notch or cutout I wouldn't want this type of status to disappear. For now, it's an amazing way to blend a necessary cutout into a wonderful feature.

I would not be surprised if, when Apple does get all of those components to be under the screen and the cutouts are gone, they might keep the dynamic island as a pure software UI feature. It would just be a little more dynamic and not always present. It looks too useful to just throw away.

 

[NameRequired]

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.

Never be embarrassed by your bulge. Ever.

 

[Tagbert]

Never be embarrassed by your bulge. Ever.

Flaunt it proudly

 

[doboy]

remaining time on the timer can be seen when you pull down (notification center) so no need for a fancy island to check that.

 

[QCassidy352]

It’s a clever implementation, but let’s be clear: this is just a way of masking dead space on the screen by surrounding it with other content. If it were a true full screen display (no notch or cutout), Apple could still display different info and notifications in different sized bubbles and nobody would think anything if it.

 

[_Spinn_]

I’m still very impressed by the Dynamic Island.

 

[Dark_Omen]

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

There is no explanation… It’s a gimmick. In fact, all of the features on the iPhone 14 are gimmicks. It has the be the most disappointing release since the 4S.

 

[Danoc]

.

 

[AppleUser2]

I love it. If you have reduce motion on though (as I do) then you don't get the swooping up motion - the functionality just appears in the Island. That's a shame but not worth me switching reduce motion off not least because after iOS 16 the device is sooo smooth. Not a benefit I expected,