We’re still a long way off the launch of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t rumors about what upgrades to expect from the phone. The latest rumor has reiterated previous claims that Apple may be changing the size of the Dynamic Island on next year’s Max-sized iPhone.
This claim comes from analyst Jeff Pu in an investment note seen by MacRumors. According to Pu the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a “metalens” on its Face ID system, which will lead to a “much narrowed” Dynamic Island. However it sounds like this change will only be coming to the Pro Max, and none of the other devices in the iPhone 17 series.
As MacRumors points out, a traditional iPhone camera features a curved lens that redirects incoming light onto the image sensor. A metalens, on the other hand, is a thinner and flatter lens featuring microscopic etchings. This means it’s able to focus light with more precision, though it’s unclear how Apple will actually utilize this in Face ID.
Pu didn’t offer any additional details beyond the lens’s inclusion. Though presumably there’s something about the metalens that should allow Apple to shrink the combined real estate needed for the front camera and visible face ID components. Thereby reducing the size of the Dynamic Island pill.
Sadly we shouldn’t expect too much more to change with Dynamic Island and Face ID. While there have been rumors that Apple is working towards under-display Face ID, that redesign has apparently been delayed until 2026 at the earliest.
Which is a shame, because we’d love to see an iPhone that manages to hide all the Face ID hardware out of sight — leaving a single front camera lens in its wake. Here’s hoping Apple can get something sorted out before 2027, which marks the 10th anniversary of both Face ID and the iPhone X’s now-absurdly-sized notch.
No doubt we’ll hear more rumors as the months progress, though we will have to wait until next September before we know exactly what Apple has planned for Face ID going forwards. In the meantime be sure to check out our iPhone 17 hub for all the early news and rumors about the phone.
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