Next September, the iPhone will look noticeably different, if a new report is right. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is predicted to have a smaller cut-out, called the Dynamic Island, on the screen.
The new design is reported by analyst Jeff Pu, as reported by Joe Rossignol at MacRumors. The adoption of something called a metalens means that Apple can shrink the part of the front of the display that’s taken up with the front-facing camera and Face ID tech.
As you’ll know, Dynamic Island is the term Apple uses for the way the screen around the cut-out shrinks, grows and changes shape to add extra information to the home screen, for instance, showing album art when you’re playing music or flight information from the brilliant Flighty app while you’re waiting to board a plane.
Interestingly, Pu says that the change will only come to the iPhone 17 Pro Max, not the smaller iPhone 17 Pro. This seems surprising but if correct will be a break with tradition.
While there have been differences on the rear of the iPhone, such as camera capabilities, the Pro and Pro Max have always looked largely identical until now. Less of a surprise is the news that this change will not be for the regular iPhone 17 models.
If you don’t know what a metalens is, you’re not alone. MacRumor explains it like this: “While a traditional iPhone camera has curved lenses that redirect light towards the image sensor, a metalens is a thin and flat lens with microscopic patterns etched onto it that can focus light more precisely. In his research note this month, Pu did not provide any specific details about how Apple plans to use a metalens for the Face ID system, nor did he explain how the change would result in a narrower Dynamic Island.”
The new report doubles down on information Pu had proffered earlier in the year, suggesting that Apple’s plan has been consistent and still heading in the same direction.
Pu has a strong record of accuracy, so while I still think the introduction of a design change for the Pro Max that leaves the Pro out in the cold surprises me, it’s a report worth taking it seriously.
