Apple's Unique Notch and Dynamic Island Design Leaked
With the iPhone 14 Pro models in 2022, Apple introduced Dynamic Island which can transform and expand to display system alerts, sports scores, and more. This new feature enhances the usability of the area surrounding the front camera and Face ID sensor compared to the notch found on previous iPhone models.
According to information from MacRumors, Apple had many different ideas for the iPhone's notch area for many years before coming up with the current Dynamic Island design. MacRumors has recreated the images below based on the source material to provide a never-before-seen look at some of the concepts Apple considered.
Before Dynamic Island, Apple explored a pop-up menu on the right side of the screen that would give users quick access to the time, cellular signal and Wi-Fi strength, screen brightness, volume, and battery charge level. Basically, the menu looks like a second notch and it disappears when not in use.
Another idea Apple considered was to hide the notch with an all-black status bar area at the top of the screen. OLED screens display black by turning off individual pixels, so this design will contribute to battery savings. Apple then came up with the idea of Dynamic Island and they explored many different designs for this purpose, as shown below.
Initially, Apple made Dynamic Island stretch across the top of the screen. Apple also considered showing the volume and full system shortcut row in Dynamic Island, testing an unused layout for in-progress phone calls, etc.
Apple has since expanded Dynamic Island to all iPhone 15 models while continuing to sell the iPhone 13, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Plus with notches. Reports indicate that Apple is considering relocating the front camera and Face ID sensor below the display. This transition is rumored to begin as soon as next year.
