We Finally Know What The iPhone 14 Max’s Megapill Looks Like (And Why The Dynamic Island Exists)

As had been rumored months in advance of the launch of the iPhone 14 Pro, Apple has removed the notch from the “forehead” of the device and replaced it with a pill and hole cut out instead. However, in the days immediately leading up to the launch, it became apparent that Apple was going to turn off the OLED pixels between the pill and hole cutouts to create the impression that it is a singular, but longer pill — not a separate pill and hole. Of course, Apple had one more trick up its sleeve that it calls “Dynamic Island.” In a rare moment at an Apple event, the company managed to keep the Dynamic Island feature under wraps, and, as the company had hoped, the new feature made a splash.

Dynamic Island utilizes the pill cutout by retaining the touch layer under the glass covering the revised TrueDepth camera system and allows users to interact directly with the pill cutout in response to dynamically changing notifications and interface elements that accompany certain apps and functions. However, there are questions around why Dynamic Island actually exists. While it is undoubtedly a clever UI design element, it also appears that it may have originated to help mask the even more intrusive location of the pill-shaped camera cutout by functionalizing it. As has been highlighted, this design element now pushes even further into the screen than the old notch ever did.