The notch in the iPhone 14 Pro display will be used to display the camera and microphone privacy indicators. According to the latest rumors, the two new notches in the iPhone 14 Pro will be combined using software.
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A source familiar with Apple’s plans said that the gap between the two notches will be used to display privacy indicators for the microphone and camera. This change will also affect the design of the Camera app.
The latest rumors indicate that the two pod holes on the iPhone 14 Pro will merge with software. Apple will programmatically darken the area between the two notches. This will create the illusion of one wide, capsule-shaped neckline.
Initially, it seemed that it would be a dead, unused space, but in fact it is not. The company will use the space to display privacy indicators for the camera and microphone, according to a source familiar with Apple’s plans.
Apple currently displays a very small orange dot in the upper right corner of the display when an app is using your iPhone’s microphone. The green dot appears when an app is using your iPhone’s camera. On the iPhone 14 Pro, Apple will move these indicators and make them more visible.
The “dead space” between the two display notches on the iPhone 14 Pro will be used to display these green and yellow privacy indicators. Apple’s goal is to make the user experience more like a MacBook, which has an always-visible green LED when the camera is in use.
This will also allow Apple to display green and orange dots at the same time when the camera and microphone are in use. Apple currently only shows a green dot even when the app is accessing the camera and microphone.
Additionally, Apple is currently planning to allow users to tap on these indicators to see a clear list of apps that use (and may have recently used) the microphone and camera.
Apple is also planning a redesign of the Camera app that will move most of the controls to the top of the screen.
Controls such as the flash button and Live Photo button are now located in the status bar, while more detailed photo and video settings are located directly below the display cutouts. This change will give users a wider view of the camera preview by sliding the controls up and moving some of them to the status bar.
These changes to the iPhone 14 Pro display notch have been tested by Apple and the company is currently planning to implement them. However, given that they are software features and not hardware features, they are subject to change or omission entirely after final testing. The camera redesign in particular is still not fully tested.
In addition to these privacy indicators, Apple is currently planning to have the dead space between the two notches appear as pure black to give the illusion that it is one continuous notch.
