iPhone 14 Pro: We played with a dynamic notch, a marvel in design
From Apple Park in Cupertino, Numerama had the opportunity to try out the iPhone 14 in preview. The novelty that stands out the most is “Dynamic Island”, which turns the notch into an indispensable part of the user experience.
Making the notch cool is what Apple does withiPhone 14 Pro and theiPhone 14 Pro Max. As crazy as it sounds, the most divisive design element of recent years, hated by some and ignored by others, is suddenly turning into a quality. An engineering marvel made possible by a stroke of software genius, which masterfully makes use of the new “dynamic island” of the iPhone 14 Pro. We were able to try out the new smartphones from Apple in Cupertino, here is our first grip (while waiting for the tests).
What is the iPhone 14 Pro island?
First of all, it seems necessary for us to explain to you what Apple offers as a dynamic island.
With the iPhone X in 2017, Apple smartphones have gone from edge to edge. To continue offering a front camera while offering a secure facial recognition system, Apple had to make an aesthetic compromise. At the top of the screen are iPhones released between 2017 and 2022 (iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus included) has what is called a notch. It is a rectangular frame that cuts the screen in two and includes the front sensors. The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max put an end to that and introduced a kind of dial that doesn’t touch the top of the screen. This is the famous “dynamic island”.
In an ordinary world, this island would have been equally divided. We could have hated her, blamed her for her existence, or said we preferred the degree before. But thanks to the ingenuity of its software teams, Apple has been able to turn it into something really cool, and it’s already unanimous. It’s a small act that can make all the manufacturers who also offer a screen cut out camera (“punch”) jealousy like Samsung, Google, Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, Vivo or OnePlus. At Apple, punching isn’t an aesthetic compromise, it’s a function.
During our hands-on with the iPhone 14 Pro in Cupertino, this was naturally the first thing we tried. Apple’s idea is as simple as it is cool: Instead of leaving a piece of your screen black and blank, you can exploit it too. Several interface elements, which used to appear in the middle or bottom of the screen, will now appear around the island, which will appear to be actually expanding. By assuming its entire existence, Apple gives the impression that it does not exist. Here are some examples of things that can appear in Dynamic Island:
- Privacy indicators appear within the island. The green and orange dots we had before at the top right of the screen are now in the middle of the hole.
- When listening to music, the song that is currently playing around the island appears.
- When you start a timer or stopwatch, it also appears around the island.
- When you unlock your phone with Face ID (to open an app, pay with Apple Pay or turn on your phone, for example), the Face ID animation is now on the island.
- When you switch to vibrate mode, the message appears to the left and right of the island.
- When the charger is connected, the battery indicator appears in an animation next to the island.
- When the AirPods are connected, the popup that appeared before at the bottom is now around the island.
In fact, Apple can do everything with its island. All notifications and apps can have their own mini version about replacing the notch, which opens up a lot of possibilities. We also appreciate the ability to touch Dynamic Island for a few seconds to open a larger popup, for example to access playback controls. How does this tactile aspect work? Once again, Apple is smart. The island is only an illusion. In fact, there is a piece of the screen that stays permanently black in the middle, and a couple of small punches. Since the center is a screen, touching the island causes a reaction.
What is the value of the iPhone 14 Pro?
As you can imagine, we didn’t have time in our cumulative 20 minutes to measure the photographic capacities of the iPhone 14 Pro’s 48MP sensor, to test the limits of the new A16 Bionic chip or to check if its screen was twice as bright as it really is. It will take us several days with the device to give you a full test. As a result, we will not go into these points at the beginning, but Article we offered It should help you discover these new features better.
Anyway, we can already give you a preliminary opinion about the iPhone 14 Pro.
Already, from an aesthetic point of view, the differences with last year’s model are almost invisible. Only the dynamic island can recognize the 14 Pro, as Apple has changed almost nothing compared to 13 Pro. In use, it is difficult to be misplaced. It appears to be using the same product. Fortunately, the new class animation is distracting, but we imagine we’ll get used to it eventually.
The easiest new feature to try is the always-on display, which prevents your iPhone screen from turning off even when you’re asleep. Apple’s approach is pretty amazing: the wallpaper, widgets, time, date, and notifications remain even when the iPhone is asleep. They are just obscured. No other manufacturer does this, others generally turn off the screen and only display the time to maintain autonomy and reduce the risk of screen burn-in. Apple says don’t worry, we want to believe it, but it’s bound to get confusing.
What are we thinking? Honestly, it’s annoying. We considered the possibility of customizing the function in the settings and the only option available is to deactivate it. Do you really want to see your wallpaper all day long, even when you are not using your device for several hours? We’ll have to test the iPhone 14 Pro longer to find out. At first glance, the answer appears to be no. But we may change our mind.
And what about the iPhone 14 in all of this?
Again, it’s really hard to have an opinion. The iPhone 14 is too close to the iPhone 13 to see any differences (thankfully, there are new colors). On the image and independence we will be able to judge, but it will take us some time.
In the meantime, we can already specify the format of the new iPhone 14 Plus, with a screen size of 6.7 inches instead of 6.1 inches. As Pro Max users of several years, we love this XL option. It’s a good idea to have a full-size alternative if you don’t want the best-equipped model. We’re now eager to test out the new iPhone 14 and 14 Pro, to see if the dynamic island is just as great on a daily basis as it was when it was discovered.
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