Notch Island


The iPhone 14 Dynamic Island kind of stole the show for this fall's iPhone launch. Better or worse, everyone was talking about it. Apple has clearly put a lot of effort into its development. They had to give it a feature name, and it even has its own TV commercial. The feature, though, at least at launch, is subtle.



Naming aside, your feelings about Dynamic Island likely start with how you feel about the camera and sensor array area, not so affectionately known as the notch. These components need a place to live, and the notch was the solution as Apple shrunk the bezel of the iPhone to extend the screen further towards the edges. I think it's a design compromise that freed up screen space by adding a spot at the top corners for always-on indicators. Many see a void that shouldn't exist.

Dynamic Island is a creative approach to making this space less notable. This is done by shrinking the space and adding new functions. Tying it all together is some refined animations. It's both functional and fun.

The heavy promotion, however, suggests it has a bigger impact than it has. At least for now. Developers are likely working on updates that will expand usage, but generally, it's pretty subtle. The sort of thing you forget it wasn't there.

Dynamic Island functions as a status display and control for the active function running in the background. You can see what is playing with a little audio meter graphic, or the status of a phone call, for example.

Controls, though, seem maybe counterintuitive. Clicking opens the corresponding app, while press-holding pops up an interface. It probably could go either way, but I feel a more deliberate interaction, like a press-hold, should take me out of the current screen rather than a tap.