What Is the Dynamic Island?
The Dynamic Island is Apple's solution to the front-camera cutout. Rather than hide the sensor housing or treat it as a notch, iOS treats the dark area around the camera as a UI element — a small, fluid surface that can grow, shrink, split, and morph to display useful information.
Mechanically it is OLED pixels around a camera and Face ID housing. Functionally it is a system-managed UI region that any app can fill via ActivityKit and WidgetKit.
Two important framings:
- It is not a separate display. It is part of the main screen, rendered with the rest of iOS.
- It is not freely drawable. Apps configure Live Activities; iOS decides exactly when and how to show them in the island.
Which iPhones Have the Dynamic Island?
iPhone 14 Pro / 14 Pro Max (2022)
The first iPhones to ship with the Dynamic Island. Pro models only.
iPhone 15 / Plus / Pro / Pro Max
Dynamic Island on every model — Apple removed the notch from the entire lineup.
iPhone 16 series
Dynamic Island standard across all four models, plus the new Camera Control button.
iPhone 17 / 17 Pro / 17 Pro Max / iPhone Air
Dynamic Island on every model, including the ultra-thin iPhone Air.
iPhone 18 series (current)
Dynamic Island remains the system-wide standard.
iPhone SE / older non-Pro
No Dynamic Island. iPhone SE (3rd gen and earlier) uses a Touch ID home button; iPhone 14 / 13 / 12 use a notch.
The Three Display States
The Dynamic Island has three system-managed states. Your Live Activity provides the views; iOS picks which state to render.
Compact
Small leading and trailing pieces wrapped tight around the camera. Always shown when one activity is in progress. Examples: a small Apple Maps arrow, a phone-call timer, a Now-Playing icon.
Minimal
A small dot or icon shown when more than one Live Activity is active and the user is focused on another app. Tap to swap which activity gets the compact view.
Expanded
The big version. Shown automatically for important updates (incoming call, Face ID failure) and on long-press of the compact view. This is where you put rich content like maps, controls, scores.
What the Dynamic Island Can Show
Live Activities
The main third-party use case. Rides, deliveries, sports, timers, workouts, travel.
Now Playing
Music, podcasts, audiobooks, AirPods battery, AirPlay device.
Calls
Active phone, FaceTime, and CallKit-based VoIP calls (e.g. WhatsApp, Zoom).
System indicators
Face ID, Touch ID prompts, AirDrop, charging, screen recording, location use, microphone use.
Timers and alarms
Active iOS Timer or alarm with quick-pause control.
Personal Hotspot, Focus, and Shortcuts
Connection status, Focus changes, Shortcut output snippets.
How Apps Build for the Dynamic Island
You do not target the Dynamic Island directly — you target a Live Activity and the system renders it on the island for you. The flow:
- Add a WidgetKit extension to your iOS app and define an
ActivityAttributestype. - Inside
ActivityConfiguration, declare the Dynamic Island compact leading, compact trailing, minimal, and expanded views — all with SwiftUI. - Start the activity from your app with
Activity.request(...)when the relevant event begins. - Update locally with
Activity.update(...)or via APNs push of typeliveactivity. - End it with
Activity.end(...)when the event finishes.
For the full breakdown, read the iOS Live Activities guide.
Dynamic Island vs Notch
Notch (iPhone X – 14)
Static cutout. The screen treats it as unusable space. Only the system shows hints around it (e.g. green/orange privacy dots).
Dynamic Island (iPhone 14 Pro+)
Active region. Software treats the area around the camera as a UI surface that can morph and host content via Live Activities.
Practically: design your widgets and Live Activities so they degrade gracefully on notched devices — the Lock Screen Live Activity still renders, but there is no Dynamic Island.
Is There a Dynamic Island on Android?
Not officially. Some Android skins have shipped “Dynamic Island” lookalikes (Samsung One UI, Realme, vivo, Asus) that put a software pill near the camera, but these are vendor-specific and not part of stock Android.
The official Android answer to ambient, in-place updates is closer to ongoing notifications and the newer Live Updates in Material You.