iPhone 14 Pro: What Dynamic Island Does and How to Use It

When Apple unveiled the iPhone 14 Pro models, it astonished many with its creative software function integration with the pill-shaped notch at the top of the screen, which it refers to as the "Dynamic Island." This page describes what it does, how it functions, and how you may use it to carry out tasks.

What Is Dynamic Island and How Does It Work?

Before the iPhone 14 Pro was officially unveiled, there were early rumors that Apple was developing a notch replacement that had a pill-shaped cutout and a hole punch cutout to house the TrueDepth camera technology.
We didn't exclusively report that these cutouts would appear as one continuous, longer pill shape when the iPhone 14 Pro was in use until late August, a week after Apple's iPhone event invitations were sent out. We also didn't report that Apple intended to integrate software functions around the pill.

As of right now, display pixels surrounding what Apple refers to as the "Dynamic Island" on the iPhone 14 Pro models combine into a single pill-shaped area that alters in size and shape to accommodate different types of alerts, notifications, and interactions, transforming it into a sort of front-and-center information hub.

Which iPhone Models Feature Dynamic Island?

The iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max are the only devices compatible with the Dynamic Island. The identical notch from the iPhone 13 devices is still available on the regular iPhone 14 models.

What Can Dynamic Island Do?

Here is a list of all the tasks that Dynamic Island can perform.

Dynamic Island: Display Outputs and Alerts

• Apple Pay transaction confirmations
• Privacy indicators when microphone or camera is in use
• AirDrop file transfers
• AirPods connection status and battery life
• ‌iPhone‌ charging status and battery life
• Low battery alerts
• Silent mode turned on or off
• Face ID unlocking
• Carkey locking/unlocking
• Apple Watch unlocking
• NFC interactions
• AirPlay connections
• Focus mode changes
• Shortcut actions
• Airplane mode/no data alerts
• SIM card alerts
• Accessories connect
• Find My alerts

Dynamic Island: Background Activities

• Upcoming and turn-by-turn Maps directions
• Incoming phone call and duration of call
• Time remaining of playing song
• Active timers
• Live Activity sports scores
• SharePlay sessions
• Screen Recording
• Voice memo recordings
• Personal Hotspot connection

Can I Interact With Dynamic Island?

Some of the stuff that is shown on the Dynamic Island can be interacted with. If it's displaying information on an app's background activities, for instance, you may press the Dynamic Island to jump right into the relevant app.

You may also long-press the Dynamic Island to display a widget with playback controls when the media is playing, for example.

The Dynamic Island may also show several background events simultaneously, such as when a timer is running out while music is playing. As a result, you can view and engage with both activities as the island divides into a bigger pill-shaped region and a smaller circular one. Similar to how you do with the default Dynamic Island interface, you can switch between them and tap into them.

Can I Disable Dynamic Island Animations?

Dynamic Island content cannot presently be completely disabled, however if its movements are causing you to lose focus, you may dismiss them by swiping left or right across the Dynamic Island without interrupting any connected background activities. The pill-shape will revert to its earlier inert state as a result.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro models is a stunning example of the software and hardware integration for which Apple is renowned, and since third-party developers may take advantage of its potential, we can anticipate the release of new and surprising features.

There will be even more to look forward to with the release of iOS 16.1 later in 2022, since Dynamic Island will also interact with Live Activities in third-party apps.