When Apple unveiled its latest iPhone 14 Pro models, many people were surprised by its innovative integration of software functions with the pill-shaped cutout at the top of the screen, which Apple calls the "Dynamic Island."

Dynamic Island Thumb Alt
Display pixels around the ‌Dynamic Island‌ merge it into one pill-shaped area that changes size and shape to accommodate various types of alerts, notifications, and interactions, turning it into a kind of front-and-center information hub.

But what if you find content that appears in ‌Dynamic Island‌ distracting, especially when you're trying to focus on something else on your ‌iPhone‌'s screen?

Unfortunately, there's currently no way to outright disable ‌Dynamic Island‌ content, as its behavior is baked into iOS 16. However, if you're distracted by its animations you can dismiss them by swiping left or right across the Dynamic Island, without affecting any related background activity.

For example, if an album in Apple Music is playing and you dismiss the audio waveform and artwork in the ‌Dynamic Island‌, the music will continue to play in the background. The same goes for when you dismiss a timer – it will still count down in the background even though it is no longer visible on the screen.

dynamic island dismiss content
If the ‌Dynamic Island‌ is split into two background activities and you want to get rid of one or both, use the same swipe gesture on the larger segment to make it disappear. Then, in the same way, swipe across the remaining activity that extends across the pill.

If you dismiss all activity in ‌Dynamic Island‌, it will return the pill-shape to its previous inert status, leaving you to focus entirely on what else is on the screen.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

redcarlsen Avatar
33 months ago
the amount of praise for this nonsense is unreal.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
maktaba Avatar
33 months ago
Dynamic Island is a good example of “putting lipstick on a pig”.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sehns Avatar
33 months ago
Am i the only person who gives absolutely no f***s about dynamic island?
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
deuxani Avatar
33 months ago
I think the content of this article perfectly describes the current state of Apple’s OS’s. It’s getting so complex with no logical cues, manuals or explanations for users, that we have to read articles online to figure out basic functionality like this.

The amount of time it takes to explain some (older) people that left swipe from the top brings the Notification Center and right swipe brings Control Center or TouchID is not pressing the button but laying your finger on it…
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scrm Avatar
33 months ago
Phase 1: “A seamless fusion of hardware and software, birthing an iconic new interaction method that’s fun as well as functional? Take my money!”

Phase 2: “Looks cool and my friends think so too but… is there a way to disable it?”

Phase 3: “The results are in: this was a design mistake. It wasn’t broken before, what was Apple thinking? At least the next version won’t have it!”

Case in point: MBP Touch Bar.

Dynamic island is now approaching phase 2.

IPadOS Stage Manager: about to land in phase 1. ?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Royksöpp Avatar
33 months ago
Why would you turn it off? Isn't that the whole point of buying this phone?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)