How iPhone 14 Pro and Galaxy Z Fold are changing the phone game

The two biggest phone manufacturers are both trying to change the way we interact with our phones – but in very different ways. Apple transforms the iPhone’s software and how it works with it iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max phones. Samsungin contrast, updates the physical form of the smartphone through its Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip line of foldable devices.

Apple introduced the iPhone 14 Pro line on its “Far Out” event last week, and one of the standout new features is a redesigned notch area called the Dynamic Island. It’s a pill-shaped cutout for the front camera and Face ID sensors, which Apple has also repurposed as a miniature secondary display for showing notifications and other content.

At first glance, Apple’s Dynamic Island and Samsung’s foldable phones have little, if anything, in common. But the intention behind both is the same: to improve how apps and Surface information are displayed on our phones.

The dynamic island of the iPhone 14 Pro explained

That Dynamic Island is essentially Apple’s answer to faster multitasking on the iPhone. While Android phone makers like Samsung support the ability to have multiple apps open on the screen at once, Apple instead uses the dynamic expand-and-contract island to show contextual information. It can expand to show alerts and can change shape depending on the app.

For example, the Dynamic Island can display the song you’re listening to even when you’re on the home screen. If a timer is running at the same time, the timer will be split into its own bubble next to the music playback info, so you can view both without having to switch apps. Similarly, you can view turn-by-turn directions on the dynamic island without having to hop from one app to another. The same applies to sports results.

Apple says the goal behind Dynamic Island is to display information clearly without distracting from the app you’re in. “With this change, we’ve rethought how you interact with your iPhone,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, during the company’s keynote last Wednesday.

How Samsung’s foldables and the Dynamic Island are similar

Samsung’s foldable phones and the iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island are inherently different. But both aim to change the way we interact with apps on our phones.

Samsung promotes the Z Flip 4 Flex mode, for example, splits compatible apps between the top and bottom of the screen when folded in half. When opening the camera in Flex mode, the top half of the screen serves as the camera viewfinder, while the bottom half displays controls like the shutter button. You can also take photos and send canned responses in certain messaging apps on the Z Flip 4 without opening the phone by using the cover display.

That Galaxy Z Fold 4, Samsung’s book-shaped foldable device was designed to offer more screen real estate in a device that still fits in your pocket. You can also open multiple apps at once on the Z Fold 4’s tablet-sized screen.

The common denominator between the iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island, the Galaxy Z Flip and the Galaxy Z Fold is that they all change the way apps are displayed on our phones’ screens – with the ultimate goal of making apps more useful make. Samsung’s Dynamic Island and foldable devices are designed to make our phones more adaptable depending on the situation. Apple’s new Notch replacement pin information from certain apps to the top of your screen and adapt to what you’re doing. Samsung’s foldable devices let you change the size and position of your phone – and the apps that run on it – to suit different scenarios.

It’s too early to know if either approach will significantly impact the way we use our phones long-term. Apple announced the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max and these phones last week does not start until September 16th. Foldable devices have been in widespread use for about three years, but still account for a small portion of overall smartphone sales.

What is clear, however, is that Apple and Samsung are both trying to improve the way we absorb and manage the vast amount of information that flows through our phones every day. Now that phones have matured enough that most updates feel incremental, it’s refreshing to see changes that really feel different.