Dynamic Island
The pill in the middle of the titlebar for what's playing, timers, downloads, and the browser's messages.
The Dynamic Island is a pill in the middle of the titlebar. It shows up when there's something to show, like music playing in another tab, and opens into its controls when you hover it.
What shows there
- Now playing: music or a video playing in a tab you're not looking at, with its artwork.
- Timers and stopwatches you start from the command center.
- Downloads as they run, with a check when they're done.
- Screenshots, with a thumbnail, Save, and Show. See Page tools.
- Find in page, when you press ⌘CtrlF. See Find and zoom.
- Tabs opened in the background, for a moment, so you can switch to them.
- Updates to the browser, ready to download or install.
- Messages from the browser: something copied, site data cleared, a tab using a lot of memory, an achievement, a reply to a report you sent.
- The AI chat, when it asks before acting or finishes while the side chat is closed. See AI chat.
Plugins can add their own, like sign-in codes from Gmail or a food delivery's progress. See Plugins.
When several things are up at once, the open island stacks them.
Now playing
Hover the island to open it, then play, pause, skip, seek, change the volume, or loop. Right-click it for Play or Pause, Go to Tab, and Show in Full.
These keys work from any tab while something is playing:
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| ⌘Ctrl⌥AltK | Play or pause |
| ⌘Ctrl⌥Alt[ | Previous |
| ⌘Ctrl⌥Alt] | Next |
| ⌘Ctrl⌥AltR | Loop |
When the other tab is playing a video, opening the island shows the video itself above its controls. Press the video to play or pause it, or press Open video in popup to move it into the video popup.
A paused tab stays in the island for a little while after you move away, so you can start it again. Paused from the island, it stays at least 2 minutes.
Timers
Type a timer into the command center and press Enter:
timer 10m teaset a timer for 25 minutespomodoro(25 minutes)stopwatch
The timer counts down in the island. Open it to restart, cancel, or dismiss it. Timers go up to 24 hours. A chime plays when one ends; turn it off in Settings → Audio, mic, and SFX → Alerts with Chime when a timer ends.
Downloads
A download's progress shows in the pill. Open the island for its size, time left, and buttons to cancel, retry, open it, or show it in its folder. Several at once show as a list with Cancel all and Show all downloads. See Downloads.
Background tabs
When you open a link behind the tab you're on (⌘Ctrl-click, middle click, or Open Link in New Tab), the island shows it for a moment. Open the island to switch to it, or press ⌘Ctrl⌥AltEnter.
Settings
Go to Settings → Dynamic Island:
| Setting | Does |
|---|---|
| Show the island | Turns the island off or on. Off, the browser's messages show over the page instead |
| Open it | On hover (the default) or On click |
| Show what other tabs play | Now playing on or off |
| Keep paused media | How long a paused tab stays after you move away: 8 seconds, 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 10 minutes, or Never (kept until the tab sleeps) |
| Color from the artwork | The sound bars and progress take the track's color. Off, they use your theme's |
| Watch videos in the island | Shows another tab's video in the open island |
| Show timers | Timers and stopwatches on or off |
| Show downloads | Downloads on or off |
| Keep finished downloads | How long a finished download stays: 4, 8, or 30 seconds, or 1 minute |
| Show tabs opened in the background | Background tabs on or off |
In full screen there's no titlebar, so messages show over the page.