The launch of the iPhone 17 Pro Max is still a long way off, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t rumors about what upgrades we can expect from this phone. The latest rumor reiterated an earlier claim that Apple may change the size of the dynamic island for next year’s Max-sized iPhones.
This claim was made by analyst Jeff Pugh in an investment note seen by MacRumors. According to Pu, the iPhone 17 Pro Max has a “metalens” in its Face ID system, which makes the dynamic island “significantly narrower.” However, this change appears to only apply to the Pro Max and not other devices in the iPhone 17 series.
As MacRumors points out, traditional iPhone cameras feature a curved lens that redirects incoming light onto the image sensor. Metalenses, on the other hand, are thinner, flatter lenses that feature microscopic etchings. This means it can focus the light more precisely, but it’s unclear how Apple will actually use this with Face ID.
Pu did not reveal any details other than the lens installation. Perhaps there’s something about the metalens that would allow Apple to reduce the total area needed for the front camera and visible facial ID components. This reduces the size of the dynamic island pill.
Unfortunately, you shouldn’t expect much more change with Dynamic Island and Face ID. There have been rumors that Apple is working on under-display Face ID, but its redesign could be It looks like it will be postponed until 2026 at the earliest..
This is unfortunate. That’s because I was hoping for an iPhone that would hide all the Face ID hardware out of sight, leaving only one front-facing camera lens. I hope Apple comes up with some kind of solution by 2027. 2027 marks the 10th anniversary of the introduction of both Face ID and the iPhone X’s now absurdly sized notch.
We’re sure to hear more rumors as the months go by, but we’ll have to wait until September next year to find out exactly what Apple has planned for Face ID going forward. Probably not. In the meantime, check out our iPhone 17 hub for all the early news and rumors about the phone.
