Does the Dynamic Island seem a little static in iOS 17?

Something I thought we’d see at the WWDC 2023 keynote is more attention given to the Dynamic Island. Apple introduced the new design element with the iPhone 14 Pro in September, and iOS 17 will be the first major update since then.

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There’s also reason to anticipate more attention given to Dynamic Island than ever – or at least more users exposed to it. iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are expected to gain the Dynamic Island this September. That will lower the cost of entry for iPhones with the post-notch design. iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are the only devices with it so far.

As far as I can see, the biggest “new thing” around the Dynamic Island in iOS 17 that appears in marketing so far is… updates to AirDrop and initiating SharePlay. The Clock app expands Dynamic Island adoption for things like alarms, and the new intelligent AirPlay-based-on-proximity presents itself around the island.

None of this is to say that Apple has Touch Bar’d the Dynamic Island and what we have is what we’ll get. One of the best parts of the Dynamic Island is how third-party apps can take advantage of it and add to its value over time.

But there are more opportunities for Apple to make the Dynamic Island more purposeful with its own apps and features. Right after launch, we explored some things that sort of seemed missing in the 1.0 version of Dynamic Island software. Siri and Apple Pay come to mind.

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The other thing that seems a bit universal is how Dynamic Island treats taps and long-presses. A single tap launches the app that uses the Dynamic Island in most cases. Long-pressing expands it to reveal controls. Apple clearly has a point of view on how this should work, but it seems ripe for a preference option in Settings.

What do you think? Did you expect more from the Dynamic Island in iOS 17? What would you still like to see use the Dynamic Island? Is Apple saving anything for the fall when the iPhone 15 lineup adopts Dynamic Island across the board? Let us know in the comments.

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