The Dynamic Island has opened the door to a slew of new possibilities for the iPhone 14 Pro status bar, but a third-party developer has come up with an unlikely implementation — tiny zoo animals. In early September, Apple introduced the iPhone 14 Pro series and ditched the notch for a pill-shaped camera cutout. The notch housed the Face ID sensors for all flagship iPhones starting in 2017, but the company went in a different direction with its iPhone Pro lineup this year. Instead of trying to hide the dead space caused by the camera cutout, Apple embraced it with the Dynamic Island, a fluid way to display status indicators.
Aside from practical uses of the Dynamic Island, developers have quickly come up with fun and quirky ways to use the new space. Third-party apps can use the Dynamic Island to display time-sensitive information, but they'll have to wait until later this year. For now, developers are experimenting with unusual ways to incorporate the Dynamic Island into their apps — or create new ones. For example, one developer designed an all-new game, 'Hit The Target,' that is played similarly to the iconic Pong video game. Instead of playing against another player, users try to hit a bouncing ball against the Dynamic Island to score points.
But there are even more possibilities for the Dynamic Island since there is a sliver of space unused between the island and the iPhone's bezel. For this reason, the Dynamic Island takes up more screen space than the notch. The pill-shaped cutout sits lower on the screen and obstructs more content. However, third-party apps can use that space between the Dynamic Island and the iPhone's bezel. One app developer has created pixilated zoo animals that live in the area above the Dynamic Island, inciting a social media frenzy.
'Pixel Pals' Add Zoo Animals To Dynamic Island & Lock Screen
The Apollo app for Reddit, a popular third-party Reddit client, was updated to include 'Pixel Pals' — which are pixilated zoo animals that live in the area above the Dynamic Island. They are only visible when the application is open, but the animals will move around the island in the Apollo app. The developer of Apollo, Christian Selig, showcased to fun feature on Twitter to receptive fans. Pixel Pals are optional and can be enabled in the Apollo app settings. After the app settings are opened, navigate to 'General' and select the Pixel Pals tab at the top of the screen.
Pixel Pals are also customizable, and users can choose from a cat, dog, hedgehog, fox or axolotl. The cat and dog can be used for free, but the other three animals require an Apollo Ultra subscription, which costs $0.99 per month. Pixel Pals can only appear above the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, but they can be added as a Lock Screen widget on any iOS 16 device. Apple opened up the Dynamic Island to many possibilities, and Pixel Pals are just one way developers are using the added screen space.