After five years of the notch, Apple's latest iPhone 14 Pro lineup has finally brought a much-awaited design refresh. The top of the display now houses the new pill-shaped cutout, officially called the Dynamic Island.

But what does Apple's Dynamic Island actually do? How is it different from the notch on the iPhone 13 Pro? And most importantly, is it worth getting the iPhone 14 Pro for? Let's find out.

Apple's Dynamic Island Feature Explained

Dynamic Island is the name of the new pill-shaped cutout on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max; it's sadly not present on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus that still come with the good old notch. At first sight, you might think that the cutout is there just for aesthetics. And while that is one of the reasons, it's actually quite functional.

For starters, the cutout houses a new 12MP f/1.9 front camera sensor with autofocus and 38% better low-light performance. Paired with the new image algorithm called Photonic Engine, the iPhone 14 Pro can now apply Apple's Deep Fusion processing to uncompressed images. All this combined helps render brighter colors and retain more detail in your selfies.

But perhaps the most impressive thing about Apple's Dynamic Island feature is how it can intuitively morph into different shapes to display all sorts of glanceable info. For instance, when you put your phone on silent, connect your AirPods, access Face ID, or plug your charger, the cutout will expand and display the activity and then immediately go back to normal.

Also, if there's an ongoing background activity, such as a call, playlist, podcast, or timer, the cutout will stay expanded until it ends. You can tap it to go to the app or long-press it to explore options, allowing for better multitasking.

iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max
Image Credit: Apple

For instance, if you get a call while scrolling through your Instagram feed, the cutout will expand to show you who's calling and the option to accept or deny it. Once you pick up the call, the cutout will stay expanded during the duration of the call. You can long-press the cutout to access various options to cut the call, switch to FaceTime, mute yourself, and more.

Similarly, if you're listening to music while reading an e-book, you can long-press the cutout to see options to pause the song, skip forward or back, or jump to a particular part in the song. And if there are multiple ongoing background activities, the iPhone 14 Pro's Dynamic Island will form a new circular bubble beside the pill-shaped cutout. All of this without leaving the app you're in.

Is the Dynamic Island Better Than a Hole-Punch Cutout?

Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro
Image Credit: Apple

Let's first acknowledge the obvious. Yes, the iPhone 14 Pro's Dynamic Island is indeed more noticeable and potentially obtrusive when watching videos or playing games. From a purely aesthetic viewpoint, the hole-punch cutout is superior because it's cleaner and easier to forget. That said, what Apple's Dynamic Island lacks in aesthetics, it makes up for in functionality.

As more third-party developers tweak their apps to utilize the new cutout, the functionality of this Dynamic Island will keep improving. And even if an Android phone maker tries to copy this design, replicating it with the same fluidity and success as Apple is highly unlikely.

Why? Because app developers can't tweak their apps according to every Android phone, and doing so is easier on iPhones, given the proprietary iOS software. That's what makes Apple's Dynamic Island so special and why you should consider getting the iPhone 14 Pro.

Dynamic Island Is the New Face of the iPhone

The Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 is admittedly not a huge upgrade over the notch, but it's far from a gimmick. The fluid animations surrounding the pill-shaped cutout make up for its big size while making it easier to check glanceable info and multitask.

That doesn't mean multitasking is now easier on iPhones than on Android phones. However, Apple's execution of the Dynamic Island is so seamless that you don't need to open the notification panel that often, and the cutout feels like a deliberate design choice than an annoyance.