New 'Metalens' Could Shrink iPhone 17 Pro Max's Dynamic Island
Despite being visually obtrusive, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 (review) have become distinguishable because of the pill-shaped Dynamic Island in the display. While it is not expected to be improved or shrink in the upcoming iPhone 16, Apple could finally shrink it in next year's iPhone 17, and for one model in particular.
The first notable Dynamic Island size reduction
Leaks about the iPhone 17 continue to pour in this week following the recently published investor note from Haitong's analyst Jeff Pu. One of his forecasts pointed to the iPhone 17 Pro Max utilizing the “metalens” on the Face ID section that sits within the Dynamic Island. It further described how the use of “metalens” will allow Apple to reduce the cutout size.
It's also unclear how the new Dynamic Island will size up when compared to the existing pill shape in the iPhone 15 Pro Max (review) or the forthcoming iPhone 16 Pro Max. However, the analyst suggested the change will be significant and noticeable when placed side-by-side with the older iPhone generation.
Right now, Pu believes the iPhone 17 Pro Max is the only model that will take advantage of the technology given the high-cost associated with manufacturing such optics. If it were to materialize, Apple will further separate the iPhone 17 Pro Max model from the smaller iPhone 17 Pro.
Bigger memory in iPhone 17 and a new "iPhone 17 Slim"
Beyond the slimmer Dynamic Island, Pu mentioned the entire iPhone 17 will feature more RAM, with the vanilla iPhone 17 (Plus) fitted with 8 GB RAM. That's a big jump from the iPhone 15 which sports 6 GB RAM. Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Pro duo is said to boast 12 GB RAM which is an even larger increase from the 8 GB RAM found in the iPhone 15 Pro (review).
On the same note, it also mentioned how Apple could rename the iPhone 17 Plus as the iPhone 17 Slim. The moniker change is primarily due to Apple reducing the footprint of the new iPhone 17 Slim.
Separately, display analyst Ross Young contributed to the report by mentioning how the first Slim-branded iPhone will feature a 6.5-inch display, which is a slight reduction from the iPhone 15 Plus' (review) 6.7-inch screen real estate.
With these planned iterations, do you think iPhones have become exciting again? Apart from more memory, which other improvements do you wish to see in the next-generation iPhone? Let us know in the comments.
Via: MacRumors Source: Ross Young on X
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