With the arrival of the iPhone 14, Apple introduced a new way of interacting with our iPhone, Dynamic Island.
This new notch came to replace the controversial Notch, so hated and loved almost equally by users, in addition this new functionality offered us different options for use and customization of our devicemaking the so “hated” notch something useful and functional.
With the launch of the iPhone 14, iOS 16 also arrived, so the guys from Cupertino gave this new “Notch” different uses, but third-party applications were also added as always.
How does Dynamic Island work?
We can use Dynamic Island in different ways, I have two basic options for use, but they are not the only ones. The first would be to touch it to start the application that we are using at that moment or also, and the most interesting, it offers us in a more visual way, extra information of the application that we are usingincreasing the size of the island according to the extra information it can offer us.
But Dinamyc Island also offers us information about a second application that we are using in the background, that is, if we open Maps it will offer us map information, but if we also open Music, it will offer us information about said application, being able to switch between them simply by clicking on the island.
Most of the native applications are compatible with Dynamic Island, being able to use it simultaneously with several applications, as we have mentioned. In addition, third-party applications are now including this functionality in their applications, in order to offer a more updated version according to the new “Notch”.
We are going to see which are the applications that are currently compatible with Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14, and what extra features it offers us.
What can we see in Dynamic Island?
- calls: It will offer us extra information on the incoming call, as well as the possibility of hanging up or picking up.
- Battery: We can also see the battery status of our device while we are charging it, in addition to the charging animation.
- Silent/sound mode: When we change from one mode to another from the side button of our device, Dynamic Island will show an animation warning of the new mode.
- airdrop: When we send or receive a file to our device, Dynamic Island will offer us information about said data transfer and the process.
- Connection of accessories: We can also see a new animation when we connect our AirPods to the device.
- AirPlay: You see the paired devices and you can stop the pairing.
- FaceID: When we open an application or the iPhone requires us to identify ourselves through facial recognition, a window will open for it.
In addition to these notifications, we can also see access point, unlock Apple Watch, battery status, and some other warnings in real time.
Other functions of Dynamic Island in real time
- Phone: In a call in progress, for example, Dynamic Island offers us the possibility of seeing the elapsed time, name or phone number of the person we are talking to, and see the different waves, orange when we are talking, green when they are talking to us.
- Chronometer: When we activate the stopwatch on our device, it will be displayed in Dynamic Island, being able to monitor the timer without having to return to the application.
- Maps: All Apple’s browser prompts will be displayed on the new Notch, being able to see, among other things, the direction, remaining distance, curves, etc. If we use another browser, it will show us only the navigation symbol.
- Voice notes: When we record a voice note with our iPhone or iPad, a wave similar to that of the calls and the elapsed time will appear. In addition, by clicking on it, we can return to the application or expand the island to reach new recording functions.
- Screen recording: Like voice recordings, Dynamic Island will show us the status of the recording, in this case with a red symbol. We can increase the size of the animation to obtain more data simply by clicking on it.
- Music: Most music applications such as Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube or audiobooks such as Audible, show us information in Dynamic Island. We will be able to see a wave, with the album cover, the song that is being played, as well as the play/stop, back buttons, or the possibility of sending the song to a HomePod for example.
Finally, when an application has access to the microphone or the camera, our iPhone will indicate it to us on the island on your right side. In the event that an application is using the camera, a green dot will be displayed, and if it is the microphone, the dot will be orange.
Other games and apps that take advantage of Dynamic Island
And it’s not all about efficiently taking advantage of the use options that Dynamic Island gives us, but we also have the option of playing with it, and killing those free moments that we have on occasion.
For this I show you some games and applications that allow us to use Dynamic Island in a slightly different way:
Hit The Island and Hit The Island Pinball
Hit the Island and Hit The Island Pinball, are some new and entertaining ping-pong and pinball gameswhich use Dynamic Island as your opponent to beat.
You must hit the island with the ball, precisely moving your paddle. The game is simple but addictive, and it also gets more complicated and difficult as you progress through the game. Each time the ball will move faster and your “racket” will be smaller and smaller. In addition, it has a classification ranking to compete with yourself and with other players.
The apps are free, although you can make purchases within the application. If you want you can download it from here.
Apollo for Reddit
If you like animals, you can have a pet in Dynamic Island, thanks to the Apollo for Reddit app. They have created a different concept to use the island, it is also easy to use and completely free.
When you open the application you must go to the section “Welcome to Dynamic Island Zoo” and choose one of the animals that they give you as an option for free, although you have more options available in premium upon payment. The chosen animal will not sit still, but will go to the top of the island, sleep showing a Zzzz, ask for food, and even play around the Dinamyc Island.
As we have said, this application is also free, although it offers purchases within the app. You can download it from the following link.
Dynamic Notch
Another interesting option to customize Dynamic Island is Dynamic Notch, there are many different versions, but this is the most complete I’ve found. This application allows us to modify the appearance of our Notch with a myriad of different options.
Although this application is not free, I really think it’s worth it, since it shows us many really interesting designs, as we show in the image, allowing us a plus of customization on our device. You will be able to turn Notch into a dog, show a plane, modify its appearance to make it look like a landscape and some other options as you can see in the image above. I think it is a very interesting and complete customization option.
It has a price of €2.99and you can download it from here.
Flighty – Live flight tracking
Flighty – Live Flight Tracker as the name suggests, is a live flight tracking app. The application is free to track the first flight, and once again they offer us purchases within it, the application makes use of Dynamic Island to provide information on our device, without having to enter the application
On the island we can see live flight data, delay estimates, flight schedules, taxi schedules at the arrival airport, among other things. In addition, the application is synchronized with the calendar and offers an email forwarding service if necessary. They offer us data from all airlines and flights, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
You can download it from here.
Landscape: Mountaineering
This application is a fantastic tool that was designed to be the best companion and mountaineering guide for mountaineering enthusiasts. The application provides users with information on the distance traveled, height gain, distance to the summit, GPS offline navigation option or the function of downloading the map.
Users can view their climbing and hiking routes in 3D and share them with friends and family. The application includes a Dynamic Island function that allows users to easily access the information necessary to enjoy the route.
We can access routes of variable difficulty depending on the user’s experience, and also does not require a constant GPS connection. It is true that depending on where we use the application, we can get more or less out of it.
If you are a fan of mountaineering, I recommend that you download the application, you can do it from here.
With this application we finish the compilation of the possible uses and applications that get the most out of Dynamic Island, if you know of any more, let us know in comments.
