Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro gets more useful; Should all phones have it? | Mobile News

Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro gets more useful; Should all phones have it?

The iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island is getting widely adopted by app developers, marking the next big thing for iPhone fans.

By: AMRITANSHU MUKHERJEE
| Updated on: Dec 03 2022, 19:01 IST
iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max to get this big boost!
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1/5 When Apple launched the iPhone 13 series, the “Pro” models had three big things separating them from the non-Pro models - Camera, RAM and display refresh rate. Apple increased the RAM, improved the cameras and added the ProMotion display in the Pro models. Now, Apple is about to give the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max an even bigger boost. (GSMArena)
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2/5 In MacRumors' latest update, analyst Jeff Pu has revealed some details regarding Apple's upcoming iPhone 14 series. According to the report, Apple is expected to bump up the base storage capacity in the Pro models. (FrontPageTech)
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3/5 Currently, the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max start at 128GB base storage. Apple is expected to bump that up to a massive 256GB storage capacity. It was only last year that Apple bumped up the base storage capacity from 64GB in iPhone 12 to 128GB in iPhone 13. (iStore)
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4/5 Although some reports claimed that Apple will go back to 64GB base storage capacity for the non-Pro models - iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max, Pu said that it looks highly unlikely. (FrontPageTech)
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5/5 It has also been reported that Apple will replace last year’s iPhone 13 Mini with the new iPhone 14 Max. The iPhone 14 Max is expected to have the same display size as the iPhone 14 Pro Max albeit without the “Pro” features which make it special. (Graphic Designer AR7)
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Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro Max in action with a tracking widget. (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

Dynamic Island or the old-school notch? We have had this debate since the iPhone 14 Pro broke cover and so far, we couldn't arrive at a solution. The Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro models was largely a fun thing to look at but all the functional benefits that Apple promised hadn't arrived. Other than Apple's own app, the Dynamic Island was mostly a large pill expanding to show the Face ID icon, or the musical player shortcut.

Ever since the iOS 16.1 update released, developers could now make use of the live tracking feature, and some apps have already started doing so. In India, the biggest app that has made use of this facility is Zomato. I just used it on our iPhone 14 Pro Max and I now get to see why this Dynamic Island could be the next big thing for smartphones.

Dynamic Island: A new kind of statusbar

The Dynamic Island has been largely considered to be a new notification bar-like element, offering quick shortcuts to basic functions of the apps. With the live tracking function, this small pill now offers a lot of practicality in daily use.

Earlier in the day, I used the Zomato app to order some steaming hot Biryani and for all the parts until I made the payment. Once the order was confirmed, I came out of the app only to find the tracking counter on the Dynamic Island. This looks interesting and new. Zomato had is logo on one end and a ticking timer on the other; tapping on them takes you to the tracking page. A long-tap on this bar opens up the tracking widget, showing the food preparation status and delivery details as well.

Is this of any help?

iPhone 13 Pro Max vs iPhone 14 Pro Max
Dynamic Island vs Notch: Which is a better way to fill up the iPhone's forehead? (Amritanshu / HT Tech)
Dynamic Island vs Notch: Which is a better way to fill up the iPhone's forehead? (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

While using other apps in the meantime, the constant timer on the Dynamic Island kept giving me a faint idea as to how long would the food take to arrive. It was offering the same sense of satisfaction that you get from a battery meter – you know how long is it gonna take.

The lockscreen widget is helpful too and this is when I also switched on the Always On display. Having this tracking widget sitting above app notifications is a big relief and a quick glance also offers a lot of assurity.

This may all seem irrelevant but using an Android phone to make the next order on Zomato felt incomplete. I missed the hanging timer and the tracking detail on the phone's lockscreen. Yes, Android apps allow floating windows for a preview of the tracking page, but the Dynamic Island's implementation removes the extra taps to get this basic information. On the iPhone, it is just there, in front of you, all the time, and goes away once the activity ends.

Is Dynamic Island useful?

With the apps starting to embrace this pill cutout, I think all smartphones should have this Dynamic Island to let apps with live activities do notifications easily. The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max currently offer this luxury, and I hope it expands to more iPhones in the future. On the Android side of things, I also expect brands to create something similar on their devices.

 

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First Published Date: 03 Dec, 18:56 IST
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