Bloomberg Gurman quoted sources as saying that the “exclamation point” shaped punch hole in Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro model can be set into a whole “pill” shape and use the middle part as a privacy indicator to alert when the App uses the microphone and camera.
Apple plans to replace the “bangs” on the iPhone Pro with two separate “exclamation point” shaped perforated areas that will house the TrueDepth camera system for facial recognition. But you can design them together in software to look like a long strip of pills.
While it appears as an entire area, the actual screen between the two punched holes can be used to display orange and green dots, which indicate that the camera or microphone has been activated by the app.
From what we’ve tested so far, when the hardware is active, that is, when the camera and microphone are in use, you can see a green or orange dot in the middle of the “pill”, similar to the experience of using a Mac.
On the Mac, when the webcam is in use there will be a green light that cannot be disabled, located in the right area of the camera.
In addition, Apple will also allow users to see exactly which App is using your privacy by simply clicking on the green and orange when the light is on. The data is currently provided by Control Center, which lists apps that have recently used the camera, microphone and location features.
Apple is also reportedly redesigning the Camera App to move most of the controls to the top of the screen to give users a larger preview area for shots, but that change is “still not fully locked in.
Of course, the privacy indicator won’t always be on in normal conditions, and the screen between the two punchouts on the iPhone 14 Pro will appear black for a more acceptable look. Apple’s iPhone 14 / Max will also use the standard “bangs” design, so it will likely continue to use the same hardware indicators found in the iPhone 13 series.
