generous borders. Fewer edges. Notch or holes. Dynamic Island? I hope not. Although featuring the slab, the front of the screens still has an almost essential element for a practical matter: hiding the selfie camera (and many other sensors). During the last Keynote, Apple chose to give more importance to this kind of stain by giving it more space and additional functions: the notch said goodbye five years later and the dynamic island of the 14 Pro has arrived. Xiaomi Civi 2. Now it’s really me who seems to be heading to the islands. An archipelago arrives on Android but, where were the screens completely clear?
A review of the geographic accident one of the best phones. The Samsung Galaxy S23 has a hole. The Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro also come with a hole. The OPPO Find X5 with the Pro in mind has a hole. In the Realme GT 2 Pro there is a hole. In the design of the OnePlus 11 Pro we find a hole.
It seems that for the moment the holes are in good health, but the race to replicate the dynamic island race has been around since Apple’s keynote. In fact, it is possible to have it by installing a series of Android applications with the challenge that in exchange for having this aesthetic element, we will have to give them accessibility permissions, which can pose a security risk .
But it’s not just software: We have already seen it physically in the Xiaomi CIVI and the Realme leak suggests that little by little they are reaching Android manufacturers. Note: the rumor suggests that Realme’s will not be physical, if not simulated on the terminal screen, but we will have to wait for the official presentation to confirm this.
The dynamic island and the risk of confusing necessity and virtue
What is special about the dynamic island? In addition to hiding the sensor module for the selfie camera and Face ID recognition, they offer an interactive experience with widgets that adapt to content depending on the applications we use. Apple has made a virtue of this need for space in the front, by offering a differential element that provides additional information in a personalized way with optimized and refined operation.
Apple has a lot to hide under this design element.
Now when I traded in my old MacBook Pro for a newer model with a Touch Bar a few months ago, beyond that premium halo of having a colored bar, the feeling was that the new laptop was going to put me down more problems than the old one. . Same thing when I traded in my old Polo for a newer one. Obviously, a renewal involves new things (in the case of cars, changing a lot of mechanics for electronics) with all the logic in the world, but there are new things that improve a product and others that seem more than they really are. That’s my feeling with the dynamic island.
Fashions and tastes aside, the question would be Do we need dynamic islands in Android? Judging by the current majority bet on the hole, the answer is no: there is no Face ID. A few years ago, when the edges smoothed out and the popular iPhone X notch and holes appeared, it seemed like the mission impossible In the end, it was a completely clear screen.
Five years have passed since then and the sector seems to have forgotten this desire: the manufacturers seem to be comfortable in the holes and we feel this gradual change towards a modern island which worsens the initial and final objective of the screen: view content without anything else bothering you. At the time, the OPPO Reno offered its solution in the form of a particular flap to integrate the selfie camera (which it repeated with the OPPO Reno 2z to be forgotten later).
ZTE Axon 30 clear front
And now? There are, there are: the ZTE Axon 30 managed to integrate the camera under the screen and the Nubia Red Magic 8 Pro and Red Magic 8 Pro+ transferred it to gaming format. Here is the million dollar question: Adopt a design element promoted by Apple even if you don’t need it, or create a round screen where nothing disturbs the visual experience? I’m clear: Android will go its own way and materialize this desire for an all-screen phone.
