“Dynamic Island” is a term that could describe what it’s like to be at Apple headquarters for the first in-person event since 2019. To attend, you had to have a negative COVID test, pass through airport-like security and deal with a makeup-melting heat wave.

Still, the minute Tim Cook took the stage in the Steve Jobs Theater to announce the latest new round of Apple gadgets, it was like we finally had our “before COVID" lives back. And it felt good. Dynamic Island good.

Dynamic Island is the chuckle-inducing name Apple gave to the redesigned notch – or the shapeshifting “not” notch – that now sits at the top of the screen on the just-unveiled iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.

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During the presentation, people groaned when Apple called it the “exciting new way to experience the iPhone.” But when I went hands-on with the new handsets, it was interesting to see in action.

The pill-shaped cutout takes up less screen real estate than the original notch and morphs into different shapes and sizes depending on what’s happening. The top cutout might appear like a little square box when you use Apple Pay, then transform into a sideways rectangle for a phone call.

It opens the top row of your iPhone screen for the first time ever and lets you do more without tapping apps. It’s interesting how it moves and changes in a dynamic way that makes sense with the other upgrades to this handset, too, such as the newer and smaller Face ID sensor.

It’s one of those upgrades that, very soon, we’ll wonder how we lived without, unless you still miss your home screen button. In that case, 2015 called and wants your phone back.

Here’s more from our first hands-on with Apple’s most drool-worthy mobile devices getting upgrades this fall.

Four New iPhone 14s

After years of speculation, renders, and rumors, the iPhone 14 is finally here. Scratch that. Four new iPhone 14s arrived Wednesday starting with the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 and going up to the fully-loaded 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max.