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This year, all iPhone 15 models will include Apple's Dynamic Island that unifies the pill and hole cutouts at the top of the display, but there will also be a material change to the feature that wasn't included in the iPhone 14 Pro models.

dynamic-island.jpeg

According to a new tweet by Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the proximity sensor on the iPhone 15 series will be integrated inside the Dynamic Island area, instead of sitting below it.
In the iPhone 14 Pro, the proximity sensor is located under the display (outside the Dynamic Island). Conversely, in the iPhone 15 series, the proximity sensor is situated within the Dynamic Island, with almost no change to the Dynamic Island area.
The proximity sensor detects when the user holds the phone up to their ear and shuts off the screen. It's possible that moving the location of the sensor could be related to improvements to Face ID, but as Kuo says, the tweak is unlikely to result in any difference to the look or functionality of the Dynamic Island. Regardless, it will mark a change in components that may have simply been instigated to reduce costs.

According to Kuo, Apple supplier Finisar will shift to providing Apple with 940nm wavelength proximity sensors, compared to 1380nm for the iPhone 14 Pro. Based on additional information provided to MacRumors by leaker Unknownz21, the new proximity sensor is now part of the Single Pearl Module, codenamed "Sphinx."

Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 15 lineup in September as usual. For everything we know about what's new in the new models, be sure to check out our dedicated roundups using the links below.

Article Link: iPhone 15 Dynamic Island to Include New Integrated Proximity Sensor
 
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MayaUser

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Nov 22, 2021
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and this helps in what way? 10mah more battery?for everything being more compact is a good thing, but i wonder if that means they have to make the phone a little bit thicker
 

NoelWalker

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Oct 4, 2021
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Moving components that were once hidden behind the display to a cutout seems like a step back to me.
My guess is that it both improves sensitivity (or accuracy) and saves up precious internal space for those additional haptic engines in the Pros. You may wonder why would the non-Pros, which won’t be using solid state buttons anyway, need to have this change as well. That’s because mass producing the same component saves cost ;)
 

zach-coleman

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Apr 10, 2022
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I always find stuff like this so interesting. Apple plans ahead in a very unique way in comparison to many other manufacturers. I remember seeing people question why the pixels in the middle of the 14’s dynamic island were never used and blacked out even when watching videos, and I guess here is our answer… it would be a “downgrade” from the 14->15.

I bet that the notch on the new MacBooks will eventually be the same way, they didn’t want to have to make it bigger between generations and have people want to stay on the M1/M2 “small notch” versions.

All this being said, I wonder where the mic/camera alert will go on the 15. Due to this, I am a little skeptical of this rumor being correct. Especially considering that guy’s track record.
 

daveathall

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Aug 6, 2010
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If one was designing an interactive screen for a mobile phone for the very first time, would one pencil in a dynamic island? Would it really be classed as a must have feature?
 
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jmgregory1

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If one was designing an interactive screen for a mobile phone for the very first time, would one pencil in a dynamic island? Would it really be classed as a must have feature?
Nope. All we have to do to see how designers would deal with the need to include a camera (and other sensors) on the face of the screen is look back to the time before there were notches and hole punches. The simplest solution was/is to create a space above the screen for these things. Or ultimately to not include them in the first place.
 
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