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antisomnic

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 6, 2012
342
409
Rochester, NY
I'm noticing that other than some basic OS features, there are very few apps that utilize the dynamic island. I was kinda excited for it when upgrading to the 15pm. I feel as though Apple should have integrated the whole notification system into it. That was the impression I got when I saw the 14 pro launch. How hard is it to let notifications pop out of the dynamic island? Just seems like a gimmick and uses up even more space than the notch.
 

bbates123

macrumors 6502a
Jul 2, 2010
866
757
Like someone else mentioned, it seems to me a lot like the Touch Bar on the 13" Pro. Really limited functionality and a battery drainer. Seems mostly gimmicky. Maybe as more 3rd parties adopt it I'll find it more useful but we're going on over a year now.
 

Jamo12

macrumors 6502
Mar 23, 2009
331
217
Ohio
Whenever I used my wife’s phone (11) in the car instead of my phone (15 pro max) I am always sad. Directions staying up at the top while my wife changes through songs to placate our children with their various song requests is really nice.

Being able to turn off the flashlight from any screen is cool. I use my timer a lot and seeing it no matter what is cool. It’s also much more fun to use than a random colored oval in the top left corner. Plugging stuff in and getting neat charging animations. It’s much easier to tell when a non MagSafe wireless charger is working because the animation is not just a tiny green thing in the top right corner. It tells me when my watch is being unlocked by my phone.

My father used to sell high end speakers door to door back in the 80’s. He would have the customer listen to their current setup. Then he would bring in the big guns and have them listen to the same song. Usually people were like, “Oh that’s nice.” People don’t like showing a salesman their emotions in front of them. He then would have them listen to their old speakers again. THIS is when their expression changes and they realize just how much better the new ones were. Same goes for the Dynamic Island. I thought it was kinda cool when I first got it, but when I go back to the notch, I always feel like I am missing out.
 

zach-coleman

macrumors 65816
Apr 10, 2022
1,274
2,248
Seattle, Washington
Like someone else mentioned, it seems to me a lot like the Touch Bar on the 13" Pro. Really limited functionality and a battery drainer. Seems mostly gimmicky. Maybe as more 3rd parties adopt it I'll find it more useful but we're going on over a year now.
What is draining battery in blacking out pixels around a display cutout?
 

mectojic

macrumors 65816
Dec 27, 2020
1,321
2,509
Sydney, Australia
I'm noticing that other than some basic OS features, there are very few apps that utilize the dynamic island. I was kinda excited for it when upgrading to the 15pm. I feel as though Apple should have integrated the whole notification system into it. That was the impression I got when I saw the 14 pro launch. How hard is it to let notifications pop out of the dynamic island? Just seems like a gimmick and uses up even more space than the notch.
Agreed.
Waste of space.
Phone screens were much better for viewing content when they were a simple rectangle.
 

eicca

Suspended
Oct 23, 2014
1,773
3,604
If they hadn’t over-hyped it like they do with freaking everything I wouldn’t be so underwhelmed.

Once I stopped trying to experience the DI as a groundbreaking accomplishment and instead as a small nice touch, it’s much better. I’d miss it if I went back to ye olde notch.
 

Al Rukh

macrumors 65816
Nov 15, 2017
1,148
1,283
To each their own. I find the Dynamic Island purposeful as it shows summary updates, for example my food order or ride updates from Grab. It’s more functional than a notch - and this is a fact.

Given a choice I would rather have a small punch hole for a single camera but we all know why this isn’t possible with iPhones - the complexity of FaceID requires the real estate of the sensors and camera to be larger than a small circular punch out.

Given the current situation Apple has taken a perceived ‘flaw’ of a design element and turned it into a functional one and that should be applauded.
 

JamesMcFlyJR

macrumors 6502
May 12, 2016
336
609
What’s funny is that when I had my 13 Pro Max and decided not to upgrade to the 14 Pro Max in 2022, I was telling myself that the dynamic island was gimmicky (while everyone else was obsessing over it)

Now that I have my 15 Pro Max, i’m pleasantly surprised how much I like the dynamic island. It’s so useful with timers, sports, uber, and other stuff. So much so than the boring notch on my 13 Pro Max.
 

zapmymac

macrumors 6502a
Aug 24, 2016
925
1,076
SoCal ☀️
I'm noticing that other than some basic OS features, there are very few apps that utilize the dynamic island. I was kinda excited for it when upgrading to the 15pm. I feel as though Apple should have integrated the whole notification system into it. That was the impression I got when I saw the 14 pro launch. How hard is it to let notifications pop out of the dynamic island? Just seems like a gimmick and uses up even more space than the notch.
It *could* turn out to be the Touch Bar misstep in the future. My friend loves her Touch Bar Mac though. Going back a bit further I loved using 3D Touch on my 8+, and I miss it every day; but I’m in the minority.
 
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