TF International’s Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple will make a change to the Dynamic Island for this year’s iPhone 15 series. Before we get into Kuo’s tweet, we need to point out that the shape-shifting multitasking notification system is expected to be on all four iPhone models this year; leaked images of the iPhone 15 glass panels show that this appears to be the case.
Kuo says that Apple is turning to a new supplier for a semiconductor material used for the proximity sensors on the iPhone 15 models. The proximity sensor is used to turn the screen off on an iPhone when the device is held up to the user’s ear during a phone call. This prevents an unintentional tap on the screen by the ear and also saves a bit of battery life since you can’t look at the display and put the phone to your ear at the same time.
On the iPhone 14 Pro, the proximity sensor is located under the display
Besides using IQE to provide it with the epi-wafers (the aforementioned wafers of semiconductor material) for the iPhone 15 series, replacing Landmark, Apple will use Finisar’s 940nm wavelength proximity sensors instead of the 1380nm proximity sensors used on the iPhone 14 Pro line. As a result, the proximity sensor, according to Kuo, will move from outside of the Dynamic Island and will be integrated within the Dynamic Island for the upcoming 2023 iPhone models.
Translated by Google Translate, Kuo’s tweet includes a recap: “While all iPhone 15 models adopt a similar Dynamic Island design as the iPhone 14 Pro, the difference lies in the placement of the proximity sensor. In the iPhone 14 Pro, the proximity sensor is located under the display (outside the Dynamic Island). Conversely, in the iPhone 15 series, the proximity sensor is situated within the Dynamic Island, with almost no change to the Dynamic Island area.
The iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Ultra will be introduced by Apple early in September. Those purchasing one of the new models shouldn’t notice any difference in how the proximity sensor and the Dynamic Island perform.