In a new interview, Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, and Alan Dye, Apple’s Vice President of Human Interface Design, sit down to discuss the idea behind the iPhone 14 Pro’s Lingering Island and how it was developed.
In an interview with Japanese magazine Axis, Federighi, who is responsible for iOS development, said that Lingering Island represents the first major user experience change to the iPhone since the iPhone X five years ago.
"This is probably the first major operational change in the five years since the iPhone X was introduced. Five years ago, our iPhone X removed the Home button, which fundamentally reviewed various ways of operating the iPhone, such as how to unlock the lock screen, how to return to the home screen and how to switch between apps. This new feature also changed the look of the iPhone, and it made me think again about how to run multiple apps, and notifications, and how to manage constant behavior in the background. It's a very exciting challenge for us to integrate what's happening on the iPhone into this small interactive place."
Introduced at Apple’s ‘Far Out’ event last month, Dye said Dynamic Island further blurs the line between where the hardware ends and the software begins on the iPhone, calling it an example of ‘Apple-like development’.
"For one purpose, our hardware and software partners will work together in the same studio to solve this problem. This new feature also makes it possible to display alerts, notifications and ongoing actions in real-time, without seeing the boundary between hardware and software. I think it's a great example of something similar to what Apple has developed."
Talking about where the idea for Spirit Island came from, Dye said that the team thought about what the extra space at the top of the display could be used for due to the smaller TrueDepth camera system.
"At Apple, it's very difficult to trace the origin of ideas. This is because our work is based on huge discussions with different groups. However, one of those discussions was what could be done with the remaining space if the sensor area on the screen could be made smaller. This is not an argument that has come up in the last year or so, but it is one of the topics that has been discussed for many years."
"The status bar area is a small but vital part of the iPhone experience, says Dye." It's an area where the hard work we put into each pixel has a very big impact, so there's a story about doing something a little more special with this area. Something very elegant, but also very useful."
To make this experience feel so smooth and natural, we brushed up on the meticulous care and skills from both the design and engineering sides. Our goal was to make them forget there was static physical hardware and make them think the whole thing was fluid, like dynamic software.
Federighi noted the palpable surprise shown at the iPhone 14 Pro event at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park when the Spirit Island was first revealed and said he had a similar reaction when he saw it for the first time on the inside.” Personally, I feel as if my iPhone has been given a new lease of life,” said Federighi.” It’s a very sophisticated animation effect, but it’s a bit different from anthropomorphism, but I think it gives the iPhone a new strong personality and vibrancy.”
Since its launch, the ‘animated island’ has received positive reactions from users and customers online, with some calling it one of Apple’s best designs in years. Some Android manufacturers are now already looking to replicate the Lingering Island experience on other smartphones.
