We’re expecting to see Apple expand the Dynamic Island to all four iPhone 15 models later this year, but the innovative feature is causing production issues for one of Apple’s Chinese display suppliers, claims a new report from Korean-language website The Elec.
The report says China’s BOE is having issues with light leaking around the section of the OLED display where the pill and hole cutouts are. The two provide the space required for the TrueDepth camera and Face ID components.
BOE is set to manufacture the OLED display for the low-end 6.1-inch iPhone 15 model. While the report says BOE is having issues with its OLED displays, it indicates that Samsung and LG Display – the two companies contracted to mass produce the OLED displays for the “Pro” 6.1-inch model, as well as the two larger “Plus” and “Pro Max” 6.7-inch models – have not been experiencing any similar issues.
iPhone 15 OLED suppliers are reportedly required by Apple to use Edge Light Blocking (ELB), which is a device to designed to prevent light leakage around the camera lens, among other advanced process technologies. Unfortunately for BOE, for whatever reason, this solution has not been successful for the company. The report says BOE “seems to have failed to meet the stringent standards required by Apple.”
The light leakage issue will likely make it tough for BOE to continue to provide Apple with mass-produced OLED display panels for the first round of iPhone 15 production, which should kick off sometime in June.
The report predicts that BOE’s OLED display panels will initially be used for iPhone 15 repairs and refurbished models, rather than being used for mass production of the new iPhones. While LG and Samsung may pick up the slack when it comes to OLED display panel production, their additional participation will likely depend on the two companies’ production capacities.
The Dynamic Island is a pill-shaped section near the top of the iPhone’s display, surrounding the iPhone’s Face ID sensors and front camera. The feature debuted on and is currently exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, which debuted last September. The feature is expected to expand to the entire iPhone 15 lineup, which will be unveiled later this year.
The Dynamic Island shows important alerts, notifications, and activities, in real-time. The Dynamic Island provides an active state to allow users easier access to controls with just a tap-and-hold. The island also allows background activities, such as Music, Maps, and even times to remain visible and to accept interactions.
The Dynamic Island has even been used in at least one game. Soon after the release of the iPhone 14 lineup, developer Kriss Smolka released a game that uses Dynamic Island to provide a Pong/Breakout-style game using the island. The goal of the game is to bounce the ball from the bottom of the iPhone’s display up to the Dynamic Island to score a hit.