Is the iPhone 14 Pro's Dynamic Island illusion spoiled by sunlight?

Today's the day that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro are finally landing on early adopters' doorsteps, and fans are already getting to grips with the new devices. Unsurprisingly, it's the headline-grabbing 'Dynamic Island' that's attracting the most attention – and not all of it good.

For the uninitiated, Dynamic Island is Apple's brand new notch replacement – a pill-shaped cutout that can change shape and size to display notifications and the like. But in direct sunlight, it seems it doesn't quite match Apple's own marketing images. (Ready to upgrade? Check out everything there is to know about the iPhone 14. You might also want one of the best iPhone 14 cases.)

Apple leaker Jon Prosser has shared a photo of the Dynamic Island (above) taken in bright daylight, and delicately described it as looking "like ass". The issue appears to be that the harsh light highlights the convergence of software and hardware – while the Dynamic Island can change shape from a pixel perspective, there's no mistaking the physical camera and FaceID tech underneath. When these are visible, it somewhat breaks the illusion of a single, solid object.

And Twitter users have jumped on the image, declaring it "the sad truth" of a "not so dynamic" feature. "Why couldn’t they just remove it altogether? This upsets me so much, we could’ve had more screen space but instead they made something dumb and "interactive," one user wails. 

Of course, this simply proves what we've known all along – that the Dynamic Island is designed to make the best of a necessary evil. There's no getting round the fact that the camera needs to take up precious pixels, and Apple has certainly been creative in its appropriating of the 'notch'. While it might be a little disappointing to see the process behind the magic trick, it's hardly surprising. 

Still, the Dynamic Island is arguably one of Apple's most intriguing innovations after many years of incremental iPhone upgrades – one that users are already imagining making the leap to other devices. Even if it's only truly effective in the dark (or suitable for vampires), we're fans of the concept. Want to try it out for yourself? Check out today's best iPhone 14 Pro deals below – just don't forget to turn out the lights. 

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