How to get iPhone’s Dynamic Island on Android

Key data for the van

• Android users can enjoy the iPhone’s Dynamic Island feature as a new notification center through the DynamicSpot app.
• A dynamic island displays system notifications and activities on a free-floating table.
• You can customize the Dynamic Island experience by pinning your favorite apps, adding a music visualizer, and more.

Ever wondered what iPhone’s Dynamic Island might look like on Android? Well, it’s not just a wild fantasy. You can actually transfer the shape-shifting free-floating pill to your Android phone and make it your new notification center. Sounds great? Let’s dive in.

Why add a dynamic island to Android?

Dynamic Island is a feature that was first available on the iPhone 14 Pro. It’s designed as a clever way to hide the notch on the iPhone. Apple has largely achieved that goal, turning what was once a distracting dead space into a floating island of information. The notch is no longer remarkable; it’s part of the iPhone interface and a new way to view important information.

The free-floating pill-shaped notch comes to life when you receive alerts, set a timer, play music, connect your AirPods, or make payments on your iPhone. But you don’t need an iPhone to experience the dynamic island.

I tried Dynamic Island on my Android phone via the DynamicSpot app. I was skeptical that the feature was more than a fun gimmick – something you try once and uninstall a few days later. But after using it for over a month, I must say that it has enriched my phone experience in a wonderful way.

I like how Dynamic Island allows me to visualize my notifications and system activity without having to pull up the notification drawer. And it does so in a way that doesn’t come off as annoying or intrusive.

The goal of introducing Dynamic Island to Android is not to hide the notch. For Android smartphones, most of which have long since switched to the punch-hole notch, the notch is not an issue at this point. Instead, it’s about using a shape-shifting tablet as the new notification hub for your Android smartphone.

How to get Dynamic Island on your Android phone

To add the iPhone’s Dynamic Island to your Android phone, you’ll need to download the DynamicSpot app. Although the app does not collect or share any personal information, it requires a few special permissions to operate. We’ll walk you through the setup process and explain what those permissions mean. Let’s start.

The first step is to download the Dynamic Spot application from the Google Play Store. Once you’ve done that, open the app. The setup screen will display a list of permissions and switches you need to enable. First, you’ll need to choose which apps can access the Dynamic Island popup.

You can manually select your favorite apps or just tap “All” in the top right corner to list your entire app library.

Next on the list is to grant access to the app’s notifications, so it can read incoming notifications and alerts and display them on Dynamic Island. No need to worry; the application does not collect or store anything. On the app setup screen, tap on “Notification access”. Then select “dynamicSpot” in the “Not Allowed” list and turn on the notification access switch.

Finally, the app requires permission to draw over other apps to be able to display a floating popup on any screen. On the setup screen, tap “Drawing on screen” and then click “Next” to open the accessibility menu. Find “dynamicSpot” under “Downloaded Apps” and turn on the switch.

That’s it. The dynamic island is set up and you’ll start seeing notifications and alerts on a floating tablet that automatically expands and retracts around the punch-hole cutout. But you can do more with Dynamic Island.

Visualize system events

You can have Dynamic Island, like it has on iPhone, visualize system events and status changes such as phone charging indicator, low battery warning, device unlock confirmation, ringtone profile change, etc. To configure these alerts, open the app and go to Notifications > System Events.

Get more out of the dynamic island

Here are some recommended configurations to help you get the most out of your Dynamic Island experience:

• Hide the status bar when a system event popup is displayed. This adds more immersion and prominence to the Dynamic Island pill. Enable this by going to General > Hide Status Bar.
• Quickly access your favorite apps by pinning them to Dynamic Island. To enable this feature, go to General > Always Show (Live Activities).

• Add an animated visualizer for playing music, audiobooks, and voice recording activities. You can turn this on by going to Appearance > Visualizer > High Resolution Visualizer.

• Allow non-removable notifications to use Dynamic Island. This fixes an issue where timers and recording apps can’t display their activities. Go to “Notifications” and turn off the “Cannot be removed” switch.

The free version of DynamicSpot supports ads, and you will occasionally see full-screen ads when you open the app. You can remove ads and unlock additional benefits by paying a small price for the Pro version.