Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Phones
  3. Mobile
  4. News

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Hey look, the iPhone’s Dynamic Island has come to … Android?!?

By
Add as a preferred source on Google

Apple caused a great deal of excitement when it unveiled the Dynamic Island on the new iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max handsets earlier this month (although it turns out it’s not for everyone).

The feature brings to life the otherwise boring pill-shaped cutout at the top of the display by changing its appearance according to the information or controls that it’s showing.

Recommended Videos

In a move that would surely have had Steve Jobs shaking his head in dismay — and possibly speed-dialing Apple’s top lawyer — the Dynamic Island has now landed on … Android!

A screenshot of the dynamicSpot app for Android.
Jawomo

No, it’s not part of a recent update to Google’s mobile operating system. Rather, an impish developer has brought it to Android via an app called dynamicSpot that targets the hole-punch cutout that comes with many Android handsets.

A video (below) shared by Jawomo, dynamicSpot’s creator, shows an early version of the app in action.

Is iPhone's Dynamic Island feature possible on Android? (Watch fullscreen on mobile)

Like Apple’s Dynamic Island, dynamicSpot functions as a multitasking tool, offering a fast way to access recent notifications or phone status changes, among other things.

Staying with the theme of lifting all of Apple’s Dynamic Island features, you can also tap on the spot to open the displayed app, and long press it to expand it and view more details.

Jawomo notes that while the iPhone’s Dynamic Island is not customizable, dynamicSpot is, explaining: “You can change interaction settings, select when to show or hide the popup or which apps should appear.”

The developer adds: “As dynamicSpot uses Android’s notification system, it is compatible with almost all apps, like messaging notifications, timer apps, and even music apps.”

You can also shift the location of the app’s spot, an important feature as makers of Android phones don’t all put the camera cutout in the center of the display.

Whether Android users go for the dynamicSpot remains to be seen. It could be fun to try, though as it’s in the early stages of development there may be bugs — and don’t expect (not yet, anyway) the smoothness and richness of Apple’s effort.

The dynamicSpot app is currently in beta and is free to download from Google Play. To obtain its full functionality, however, you’ll need to hand over $5.

Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Topics
The $1,500 flagship might be closer than you think
Flip phones already broke the $1,500 mark this year, and slab flagships aren't far behind.
iPhone 17 Pro and Google Pixel 10 Pro.

In July, a Google executive broke the silence on the ongoing memory crisis, highlighting a more than fourfold increase in RAM prices between 2025 and 2026, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. The prices have gone up from $2.80 in 2025 to roughly $12 in 2026, as mentioned in the same report. Run the math for a 16GB memory package, and the cost to the company has apparently gone up from $45 to $192.

That's not a rounding error; it's the floor moving under the entire industry's feet. Google is not alone in speaking about the ongoing memory crisis. We've also seen Nothing's CEO speak about it, and other brands like Motorola, OnePlus, and Xiaomi make price adjustments across their lineup.

Read more
I’ve used the Pixel 10 Pro a year. I hope Google fixes these nagging issues on the Pixel 11 Pro
Electronics, Mobile Phone, Phone

I’ve been using the Google Pixel 10 Pro for almost a year now, which means I’ve had plenty of time to figure out what I love about it and, more importantly, what still gets on my nerves. And with the Pixel 11 Pro launching on August 12, just three days from now, my wishlist for Google has gotten pretty long. There’s a lot the Pixel already gets right. The software is still one of my favorite Android experiences, performance is generally solid, and Google’s Gemini features have become genuinely useful in ways I didn’t expect. Those are all big reasons I’ve stuck with Pixel phones for as long as I have.

But spend enough time with any phone and the little annoyances stop feeling so little. Over the past year, I’ve run into a handful of recurring Pixel problems that I really don’t want to carry over to another generation. Some have frustrated me for months, while others have made me question whether I can completely rely on my Pixel when I need it most. So, with the Pixel 11 Pro almost here, I have a few things I desperately want Google to get right this time.

Read more
Apple is testing Chinese DRAM even after CXMT refused to cut prices
Apple may be testing CXMT memory for iPhones and MacBooks
iPhone 17 Pro Max

Apple’s search for more memory supply has taken another step forward. The company is now testing DRAM from Chinese manufacturer CXMT across several products, including iPhones and MacBooks, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple has also held early talks with CXMT about supplying memory for some devices sold in China and is seeking support from the US government before moving ahead.

The timing is particularly interesting. Just recently, we learned that a shortage of DRAM could already be holding up production of the A20 Pro chip expected inside the iPhone 18 Pro. TSMC is said to have around $1 billion worth of finished chips waiting for memory before packaging can continue.

Read more