Dynamic Island works with apps that use the Now Playing API, CallKit and the Live Activities API introduced at WWDC, so most developers shouldn’t have to edit their code to accommodate. For now, only incoming calls in third-party apps that use CallKit have more controls in the Dynamic Island. Outgoing calls will just show an icon, though this will be fixed in a software update later this year. The Live Activities API isn’t available yet either, but developers can use it later this year as well.

Most apps already avoid the notch area on iOS, but every now and then something trickles through. On Telegram, for example, part of a blue badge peeps out above the pill. When multiple activities are taking place at once, the island splits into two, forming a horizontal exclamation mark. I started a Maps navigation while playing Spotify and running a countdown, and the directions took over the main island while the album cover jumped over to the right, for instance. Read more>>>