Skip to main content

How to add the iPhone’s Dynamic Island to your Android phone

The iPhone 14 Pro's launch brought a number of changes and additions to Apple's smartphone range and one of the coolest is the Dynamic Island — a section of the screen around the selfie camera's hole-punch cutout that expands and changes to deliver notifications, show music tracks playing, and even show you how far away your Uber is.

It's a versatile feature with a lot of potential, even if that potential hasn't been met yet, and it's only available on the Apple iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

Well, for about five minutes, that is. It's unlikely to come as any surprise that Android apps were able to mimic this feature quickly after the iPhone 14 Pro's announcement, and the most prominent of these apps is DynamicSpot. Launching just weeks after Dynamic Island was revealed, DynamicSpot offers similar functionality to Apple's headline feature, with a wide range of customizable options and app support.

Here's how to use DynamicSpot to get the iPhone's Dynamic Island on your Android phone.

The expanded DynamicSpot Dynamic Island at the top of the Pixel 7 Pro.

How to download and install DynamicSpot

This may seem obvious, but you'll need to download and install the app before you can begin.

Step 1: Head to DynamicSpot on the Google Play Store.

Step 2: Select Install. Wait for the download to finish, then find it in your app list and open it.

How to add the Dynamic Island to your Android phone

Setting up the app is easy, as it provides you with a guide to get going, but we'll lay out the process below, so you're aware of what needs to be done and why.

Step 1: Open the app and select Next to get started.

Step 2: You'll be presented with a list of instructions to follow to set the app up. First, choose Select apps to choose which apps can trigger DynamicSpot. Spotify, YouTube Music, Audible, and other music or multimedia apps are a good place to start, but you could also include messaging apps too. Select the apps you want, then choose the back button in the top-left to continue.

Step 3: Select Notification access, and then choose DynamicSpot from the list and toggle on Allow notification access > Allow. This gives the app the ability to display your notifications.

Step 4: Now select Draw on screen > Next > DynamicSpot, and toggle on Use DynamicSpot > Allow. This allows the app to draw DynamicSpot over other apps.

Step 5: Select Done and then Allow to let the app run in the background.

That's it; you're set up and ready to roll. To test it out, boot up one of the apps you selected and give it a whirl. We tested it out by playing a song on Spotify and then going back to the home screen. DynamicSpot opened up as a small pill at the top of the screen a moment later. Tap it once to reopen Spotify, or long-press it to access quick controls to pause, play, skip, or rewind your content.

How to customize DynamicSpot

We've installed this app on a Pixel 3a XL and a Pixel 7 Pro, and the app works fine with or without a hole-punch camera cutout. However, you may find the island doesn't sit perfectly on top of your phone's camera cutout — and that can be very annoying indeed. Thankfully, you can change that by opening the DynamicSpot app, choosing Position, and moving the sliders to fine-tune the pill's position.

It's also worth exploring more of these settings, as there's a lot you can customize. You can change the pill into a notch, change the background color, or add an additional popup that gives quick access to certain apps. A lot of these options are hidden behind a single payment, but it only costs $5, with sales prices also available from time to time.

Editors' Recommendations

Mark Jansen
Mark Jansen is an avid follower of everything that beeps, bloops, or makes pretty lights. He has a degree in Ancient &…
I found a huge problem with the new ChatGPT iPhone app
ChatGPT app running on an iPhone.

Seemingly out of nowhere, OpenAI released its official ChatGPT iOS app this week. Available for both iPhones and iPads, the free app allows you to use the popular AI chatbot in a much simpler, easier way than ever before. No more messing with the mobile website or trying to fiddle with uncertain third-party apps — just download the official ChatGPT application, and you're good to go.

It's a big step forward to make ChatGPT more accessible and to get it into the hands of more people. Naturally, I was curious to test it out for myself. I've been using the ChatGPT iPhone app to ask the chatbot various questions, and while the whole thing works just like you'd expect, there's one big, glaring problem that makes me never want to touch the app again.
The ChatGPT iPhone app's biggest limitation
ChatGPT (left) vs. Perplexity AI (right) Digital Trends

Read more
The best iPhone 14 cases: 20 best ones you can buy in 2023
OtterBox OtterGrip Symmetry Series case collection in six colors

The iPhone 14 lineup has been out for a while now, but that doesn't make it any less exciting when you get your hands on a shiny new device. The iPhone 14 is a great option, as it provides you with a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display that is gorgeous to look at and up to 512GB storage, with all of that powered by the fast A15 Bionic chip with iOS 16. But since the iPhone 14 starts at $799, that's still a pretty penny, so you'll want to protect your investment.

The best way to protect your iPhone 14 is with a great case. There are plenty of options out there, with something for everyone, but some cases are better than others. Here are some of our favorite iPhone 14 cases that you can grab right now!

Read more
Let’s be clear, Apple — it’s time to make a transparent iPhone
Deep Purple iPhone 14 Pro with Beats Studio Buds+ in Transparent

Apple has released a new product that's gotten a lot of attention because of an awesome new color option. No, it’s not an iPhone, iPad, or even an Apple Watch. Heck, it’s not even the AirPods Pro 2. So, what am I talking about?

Apple acquired Beats by Dre in 2014, and this week, Beats dropped the new Beats Studio Buds+, which are pretty similar to the AirPods Pro 2, but cost less dough. And they come in one of the coolest colors I’ve seen in a long time: transparent.

Read more