Photo: Apple
When the first notch was installed in the iPhone X in 2017, we could hardly have imagined that five years later Apple would revolutionize it in a way that we would not have even hoped for in our wildest dreams. The new Notch in iPhone 14 Pro (Max) is not just a notch. It is much more: adaptable, variable. Apple has managed to transform the notch at the top of the screen from a boring black thing into a flexible oval we jokingly refer to as a “cone”. “Sure to become iconic” – this is how Apple advertised the new notch. And Apple will be right.
Dynamic Island – that’s what Apple called the new Notch. Behind this dynamic island is still the Face ID and front camera – so far nothing new, except that the oval shape is free in the screen and no longer connected to the edge of the case. Dynamic because the size of the notch adapts to the content on the iPhone display.
Words can hardly describe what Apple has put together. We’ll try anyway: If you set a timer, the notch splits so that the timer symbol is displayed in the notch. If you play music, the album cover is shown in the notch – along with a small audio wave animation. If you send or receive a file via Airdrop, the notch suddenly gets bigger, with Facetime calls or music it extends to the top third of the screen. You have to see it with your own eyes to understand what the notch in the iPhone 14 Pro is capable of.
The notch means change. It ushered in a new era in iPhone history. The iPhone X was 2017’s biggest change in years. The notch was hated or loved. She introduced Face-ID, a feature that you wouldn’t want to be without today. But it was quite present and a bit outdated compared to the Android competition with its punch holes or fingerprint sensors under the screens. With the iPhone 13, Apple went as far as reducing the size of the notch. But only by 20 percent, to be precise. A small change that sounded like a pure marketing measure.
The new, flexible notch is ingenious for two reasons: First, it gives the iPhone 14 Pro, which otherwise looks quite similar to the iPhone 13 Pro, a new identifying feature. This oval makes the iPhone 14 Pro unmistakable. On the other hand, it gives the notch so many functions that it will probably no longer be perceived as a notch.
Of course, only the first practical tests can show whether this is the case. But what Apple has shown looks promising: The notch is no longer just a black something that you need to unlock your iPhone. She’s much more now, part of the system. According to Apple, it’s a “true Apple innovation that’s hardware, software, and everything in between.” It is designed to combine “fun and functionality”. And that’s the whole point: the notch gets a live experience feature. While it hid the real magic of Face ID from the user’s eyes until the iPhone 13, it now comes to life. I’ll even go so far as to say that along with all the other features, the notch is probably enough to make you want to switch to the iPhone 14 Pro. (macworld)
Tag: iphone design, iphone 14, apple iphone, iphone release