iPhone 17 to slim down dynamic island with new face ID sensors

Apple has new design changes for next year’s iPhone 17 series and will impact its dynamic island notch design with a slimmer area than existing iPhones.

Haitong International Securities Analyst Jeff Pu (via 9to5mac) said that the iPhone 17 will bring narrowed Dynamic Island for a top-of-the-line model. Pu said the iPhone 17 Pro Max will have to catch some hardware changes to support this new dynamic island. That includes a new Face ID sensor.

Specifically, Apple wants to use new “Metalens” technology for the proximity sensor to reduce the size of the entire dynamic island module.

Metalens uses a subwavelength “Meta-atom” pattern on a dielectric surface to manipulate incident light. The meta-atom pattern modifies the phase profile of the incident light beam. It causes the beam to bend (redirected).

Meta-atoms are tiny, nanoscale structures with different shapes and sizes, and could be placed arbitrarily across the lens. These are designed to control the interaction of light.

Metalens is a viable solution for improving the imaging system architecture while reducing the application’s size and weight. It is due to the multi-channel capability of the metalens that could provide the same level of performance that would require multiple traditional optical components in a device (Ansys).

Dynamic Island:

Apple introduced Dynamic Island with the iPhone 14 Pro series in 2022 and then to the entire iPhone 15 series last year. This new change has replaced Apple’s notch design and provides a more seamless view for on-screen content.

Apple Dynamic Island (image Source – Apple)

It allows you to check alerts and current activity progress such as a Voice Memo recording in progress, an AirDrop connection, and directions from Maps.

You can expand these activities to see more details and touch and hold the activity or swipe from the center to the right or left.  The changes to the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s Dynamic island size will further improve the user experience but we’ll have to see that next year.