The developer has just brought Dynamic Island – currently exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max – to any iPhone running iOS 16 through iOS 16.1.2. Although the Pro iPhones have a physically different shape than the display for this island, the software part can still run on the notch on previous iPhones and display instructions, battery charging and current media playback in an updated style.
DynamicCow brings Dynamic Island to any iPhone
While it would be great if this app could be easily downloaded from the App Store… that’s definitely not the case. A jailbroken iPhone version of this mod (called Dynamic Peninsula) has been around for a while, but this mod doesn’t require a jailbreak. However, for this to work, you need to install software on your computer, use that software to install a third-party utility on your phone, and then use that utility to install DynamicCow—an application that enables Dynamic Island—on your phone. You also can’t be on the latest version of iOS 16 – it only supports iOS 16 to iOS 16.1.2. Finally, you have to put your Apple ID and password into the third-party software to install it, and that’s reason enough not to do it. But Dynamic Island was a nice addition to the iPhone 14 Pro, so I can understand why people might be interested in trying it out.
9to5Mac’s Take
I installed DynamicCow to see how well it works… and technically it works as described – bringing the exact dynamic island from iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max to older iPhones… but that’s (one of) the issues. If the iPhone doesn’t already have a large notch, this could be a cool addition, but half of the content in the dynamic island is covered by the existing notch and cuts more space from the top of your screen. Oh, also, there’s a big red bar at the top of your device if you have an iPhone 11. the developer hopes to fix itbut in its current state, I just can’t find any practical day-to-day use for it and can’t recommend trying it.
Despite these issues, I’m still impressed by developers who use hardware in ways that were never intended. While this may not be useful to the average consumer, it may be convenient for a developer without an iPhone 14 Pro Max to test the features they implement related to the Dynamic Island feature. Or web writers could use it to easily get screenshots with the dynamic island set up since the cutout in the screenshots always appeared as just a bigger part of the screen. I’m sure it will be fun for someone, even if it’s mostly just a gimmick for fun.
How to get Dynamic Island on any iPhone
Follow these instructions at your own risk. Although I was able to successfully install the app, when installed on the iPhone 11, it creates a large red bar at the top of the device that blocks the time, battery percentage, and other icons. You also MUST disable dynamic island AGO uninstall DynamicCow and AltStore or you will be stuck with Dynamic Island on your device until you reinstall the app to disable it or update your device. (Ask me how I know.)
1. Install Alt Server on your Mac. This is used to get AltStore onto your iPhone, which allows you to install IPA files.
2. Click the AltServer icon in the top bar, install the Mail Plugin, then enable the plugin in Mail settings.
3. Connect your iPhone to your Mac.
4. Inside AltServer, select AltStore installation and select your iPhone.
5. On your iPhone, open the newly installed AltStore app and sign in with your Apple ID.
6. Go to the GitHub page for DynamicCow on your iPhone and scroll down to the release. Download the latest edition.
7. Open AltStore, click the plus icon on the My Apps page and select the DynamicCow.ipa file to install Dynamic Cow.
8. Open DynamicCow and select which iPhone 14 Pro model you want Dynamic Island from, then select enable.
9. When enabled, you’ll have Dynamic Island running on an earlier iPhone – well, the half you see isn’t covered by the notch.
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