Hear me out: Android needs a Dynamic Island

Published Nov 11, 2026, 6:30 AM EST Joe Fedewa has been writing about technology for over a decade. Android and the rest of the Google ecosystem have been a focus for years, as well as reviewing devices, hosting podcasts, filming videos, and writing tutorials. Joe loves all things technology and is also an avid DIYer and food blogger. He has written thousands of articles, hundreds of tutorials, and dozens of reviews. Before joining How-To Geek, Joe worked at XDA-Developers as Managing Editor and covered news from the Google ecosystem. He got his start in the industry covering Windows Phone on a small blog, and later moved to Phandroid where he covered Android news, reviewed devices, wrote tutorials, created YouTube videos, and hosted a podcast. From smartphones to Bluetooth earbuds to Z-Wave switches, Joe is interested in all kinds of technology. After several years of jailbreaking and heavily modifying an iPod Touch, he moved on to his first smartphone, the HTC DROID Eris. He's been hooked ever since. Apple unveiled the “Dynamic Island” four years ago, and Android fans have been mocking it ever since. Why would you want to make the camera cutout more noticeable? Recently, though, I’ve been using an Island on my Android phone, and I finally get it. There are plenty of Dynamic Island apps in the Play Store, but I was never interested in a lame copycat. The app that convinced me to give it a try was the excellent “Essentials” app. It feels like a Dynamic Island that’s actually made for Android. Android’s status bar isn’t perfect The weak link in an otherwise perfect system I’ve written a lot about how much I love Android’s notification system. The combination of ever-present notification icons and the pull-down shade is nearly perfect. However, if there’s one part that could be improved, it’s the status bar. Two big changes have impacted the Android status bar over the years, and they happened at the same time. Camera notches and cutouts became the norm around 2018. As a response, Android 9 Pie moved the clock to the left side of the status bar. These two changes greatly reduced the functionality of the status bar. With the clock on the left side and the camera splitting the middle, there’s only a small space for notification icons. On my Pixel phone, it maxes out at four icons and a dot to show there’s more. This is particularly annoying considering there’s plenty of extra room to the right of the camera — you know, where the clock used to be. A status bar that adapts to your needs Modernizing the Android status bar The dynamic island isn’t only about utilizing empty space. It’s also more, well, dynamic, and that makes a lot of sense in modern Android. So many other aspects of the operating system transform and adapt to different situations, so why can’t the status bar? As I said, I’m using the “Island” feature in the Essentials app. I immediately liked it more than any other Dynamic Island-inspired app because it’s not simply trying to copy Apple’s version. I’ve got it set up in a way that still feels like Android, and that’s important to me. For starters, I can comfortably fit seven or more notification icons in the Island. Again, my Pixel only shows up to four. The Island accomplishes this by moving the clock to the right side of the camera cutout when notifications are present. If there aren’t any, the clock goes back to the left side. This is a simple thing, but it demonstrates a level of flexibility that you won’t find in the stock Android status bar. It’s pretty silly to see such a small number of notification icons when there’s a perfectly clock-sized gap on the other side of the status bar. I also like being able to read and take action on a single notification without pulling down the entire shade. You can do this natively with the “pop on screen” style notifications, but that’s only when they first appear. The Island provides that same functionality on demand. Speaking of “pop on screen” notifications, long-time Android users will remember the “ticker” style notifications. Text from the notification would scroll horizontally across the status bar. This is another thing we lost with camera notches and cutouts. I never expected to get it back with the Island, but it’s one of the options for previewing new notifications. Creating an Androidified Dynamic Island Get the best of both worlds I want to emphasize again that Essential’s Island feature is great because it’s not just ripping off the iPhone. I don’t want Android to feel like iOS, but I do want it to be even more flexible. That’s what I get from the Island. Now, if you want to replicate my setup, there are a few key things to note. Essentials is a well-designed, powerful app, but it can be a bit daunting to navigate. There’s a lot going on. I’ll try to point out everything that I enabled. First, the Island settings are found in the “Display” section. You will need to enable Essentials’ Accessibility Service and notification access permission to use it. The “Placement” section is where you can adjust the size and location of the Island. “Camera size” adjusts the thickness, and “Camera gap” adjusts how close things are to the camera. I made mine as narrow as I could. This is also where you can enable “Peek” previews to get the ticker-style notifications. On the main Island settings page, enable “Time” and “Battery.” I would also suggest switching the battery style to “Icon” to match the Android status bar. To see the Wi-Fi and mobile data bars, tap the gear icon for “Network” and toggle them on. Next, tap the gear icon for “Notifications," then enable the “Notification Hub." Go back to the main page and go to the “Behavior” section. Switch the “Secondary item style” to “Overlap” and adjust the count to your preference. Make sure “Visually balance compact island” is enabled. Lastly, scroll down to the bottom and toggle “Hide status bar.” This will fully replace the Android system status bar with the Island, but you will need to use Shizuku to enable it. All in all, I did not expect to like the Island as much as I do. The iPhone’s notification system is an absolute disaster, but the Dynamic Island has some good ideas.