The iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island feature has gone viral, there are custom Android themes that mimic it and even a downloadable app that lets you have an experience of this new (well, not really) iPhone feature at the comfort of your Android device. Called dynamicSpot, the said app claims to offer the same Dynamic Island feature on your Android device.

Should you even bother installing it for the kicks? Our short answer is no, and we have several reasons to explain why:

The permissions it asks

Being an app that adds an overlay to your phone’s current UI, dynamicSpot will need to ask permission to do overlays and do receive notifications. Some people are not comfortable with that, and some UIs tend to block these permissions by default, making dynamicSpot not functional on some phones. To be fair with the app, dynamicSpot convinces people about the permissions it asks by stating that it will not collect or share data from the phone.

 

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Compatibility does vary

Aside from the app’s disclaimer that it’s under early access, the developer did not specify which phones (and what current Android) version will dynamicSpot work. We tried to install it on a POCO X4 GT, and we ended up with this error. We, fortunately, had a different experience with the Xiaomi 11T Pro, as dynamicSpot was working fine–but not without its flaws.

We have yet to try installing dynamicSpot on other Android phones, so your success in making the app work really varies. To be sure (AND if you really want to try it out), we think that dynamicSpot will work properly on upper mid-range to flagship Android phones.

Functionality is VERY limited

Based on our experience using dynamicSpot on the Xiaomi 11T Pro, we only made the app work through music apps–and nothing more than that. It’s a far cry from what Apple showcased on its iPhone 14 Pro models, where Dynamic Island was showcased to work with multiple Apple apps seamlessly without a hitch.

Since dynamicSpot works as an overlay, it does not work seamlessly with an Android phone’s notification bar. This is evident when your notification bar is full of notification icons. Instead of adapting to dynamicSpot’s overlay, the overlay would go over those notification icons instead. In short, dynamicSpot (and other similar apps) are nothing but added clutter to your Android device.

Our final thoughts

Even if the developer behind dynamicSpot will refine the app and even give you extra features (provided that you pay Php 235 for a “pro” version), there’s no real point of downloading such apps for the sake of mimicking Dynamic Island on an Android device. In order to properly replicate Apple’s implementation of the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro, Android brands should integrate the feature down to a UI level, similar to what HONOR pulled off in the V20 a few years ago.

Given our experience with the app, our advice right now is simple: love your Android phone for what it is right now, and just wait for brands to “copy” Dynamic Island through future Android updates.