Check out a few Dynamic Island tidbits revealing how the iPhone 14 Pro’s notch functions in real life and what to expect from this cool new feature.
The notch becomes Dynamic Island
With the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models, Apple has perfected the notch, making it way more functional and calling it Dynamic Island.
While non-Pro models still have the old notch, both iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro have a pill-shaped cutout at the top of the display for the TrueDepth camera parts and sensors along with a small circular cutout for a web camera.
The two separate cutouts become one thanks to Apple’s ingenious iOS 16 software which uses sleek animations to expand and contract the Dynamic Island area.
One or two apps can display various controls in the Dynamic Island area and provide quick access to key information. This lets you concurrently access two apps at a time via Dynamic Island whilst using the main app that takes up the whole screen.
For instance, Dynamic Island may display a waveform from the Music app along with a clock icon. Pressing the waveform expands the Now Playing controls while touching the clock icon reveals your timers. Watch: 125+ new features in iOS 16
With early iPhone 14 Pro reviews out now, we’ve gathered several Dynamic Island tidbits that were previously unknown so sit back and continue reading…
Dynamic Island on screenshots when in use
Like with the good ol’ notch on notched iPhones, Dynamic Island hardware doesn’t show up in screenshots taken when the feature is inactive. But if you screenshot Dynamic Island whilst it’s in use, it’ll be visible on the image, MacRumors reports.
The same is true if you take a screenshot when iOS is displaying privacy indicator dots for camera or microphone access within Dynamic Island. YouTuber Marques Brownlee says an active Dynamic Island also shows up on screen recordings.
Dynamic Island games are coming
WaterMinder and HabitMinder developer Kriss Smolka on Twitter shared a concept game akin to Pong which takes advantage of Dynamic Island. MacRumors thinks Apple will probably not permit such games into its App Store but this example proves developers are eager to add Dynamic Island functionality to their apps.
Who has an iPhone 14 Pro right now? Need to test this on device asap!
🏝️ Hit The Island – our game concept for iPhone 14 Pro, still laggy but it’s turning out nice 🙂 #iPhone14Pro #iOS16 pic.twitter.com/kWLU77gk6d
— Kriss Smolka (@ksmolka) September 13, 2022
Apps compatible with Dynamic Island
The Verge says no third-party apps support Dynamic Island at launch. The only exceptions are audio apps that integrate with the system’s Now Playing feature which Dynamic Island supports, like Spotify.
Third-party developers will be able to implement Dynamic Island functionality when Apple releases the Live Activities feature in an iOS 16 update later this year.
System features that work with Dynamic Island
9to5Mac listed all the system features that Dynamic Island supports at launch:
System alerts and notifications:
- Incoming call
- AirPods connected
- Face ID
- Apple Pay
- CarKey
- AirDrop
- Watch unlock
- Low battery
- Charging
- Silent switch ON/OFF
- NFC interactions
- AirPlay
- Focus changes
- Shortcuts
- Airplane mode/no data alert
- SIM card alerts
- Accessories connect
- Find My
Live Activities:
- Ongoing call
- SharePlay
- Music/Now playing apps
- Timer
- Maps directions
- Voice memos
- Screen Recording
- Personal Hotspot
- Indicators:
- Microphone
- Camera
Now Playing:
- Spotify
- Stitcher
- Audible
- Amazon Music
- NPR One
- Overcast
- Pandora
- YouTube Music
- SoundCloud
CallKit:
- Google Voice
- Skype
Dynamic Island is currently exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pros but it will eventually come to all iPhone models, similar to features such as Face ID and Touch ID before it. Apple calls it “a new way to interact with iPhone” and that tells you all you need to know.