This year, all iPhone 15 models will include Apple's Dynamic Island that unifies the pill and hole cutouts at the top of the display, but there will also be a material change to the feature that wasn't included in the iPhone 14 Pro models.
According to a new tweet by Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the proximity sensor on the iPhone 15 series will be integrated inside the Dynamic Island area, instead of sitting below it.
In the iPhone 14 Pro, the proximity sensor is located under the display (outside the Dynamic Island). Conversely, in the iPhone 15 series, the proximity sensor is situated within the Dynamic Island, with almost no change to the Dynamic Island area.
The proximity sensor detects when the user holds the phone up to their ear and shuts off the screen. It's possible that moving the location of the sensor could be related to improvements to Face ID, but as Kuo says, the tweak is unlikely to result in any difference to the look or functionality of the Dynamic Island. Regardless, it will mark a change in components that may have simply been instigated to reduce costs.
According to Kuo, Apple supplier Finisar will shift to providing Apple with 940nm wavelength proximity sensors, compared to 1380nm for the iPhone 14 Pro. Based on additional information provided to MacRumors by leaker Unknownz21, the new proximity sensor is now part of the Single Pearl Module, codenamed "Sphinx."
Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 15 lineup in September as usual. For everything we know about what's new in the new models, be sure to check out our dedicated roundups using the links below.
