# How to Have a Pet in Your iPhone's Dynamic Island — Pex > Put a pixel-art virtual pet in the Dynamic Island with Pex: see it all day, touch and hold to feed, clean, play or put it to sleep, and choose how long it stays. Canonical: https://pex.pet/blog/dynamic-island-pet-iphone.html [Home](https://pex.pet/)/[Blog](https://pex.pet/blog/) # How to Have a Pet in Your iPhone's Dynamic Island Published October 27, 2026 · By Gabriel Targon, creator of Pex *Pex virtual pet in the iPhone Dynamic Island and as a Live Activity on the Lock Screen* Short answer: install Pex (free) on an iPhone with Dynamic Island, adopt or create your pet and open the app. When you leave Pex, your pet stays in the Dynamic Island as a Live Activity; touch and hold it to see its needs and feed, clean, play with or put your pet to sleep. The Dynamic Island is the black pill at the top of newer iPhones. Pex uses it as a tiny home for your pixel-art pet: it keeps moving next to the camera while you use other apps, like a Tamagotchi that lives on the edge of your screen. ## Before you start Download Pex from the [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/pex-watch-face-pet-ai/id6465689770?pt=44302800&ct=blog_dynamic-island-pet_body_en&mt=8), open it and adopt or create your pet. With Pex AI you can also turn a photo of your real pet, a drawing or a toy into a pixel-art pet: see [how to turn a photo of your pet into pixel art](https://pex.pet/blog/pet-photo-to-pixel-art-ai.html). ## Put your pet in the Dynamic Island 1. Open Pex. The Live Activity is allowed by default. 2. Go back to the Home Screen or open another app. Your pet appears in the Dynamic Island. 3. Touch and hold the Dynamic Island to expand it. 4. In the expanded view you see your pet's name, its age, how hungry and how tired it is, and buttons to feed it, clean it, play with it or put it to sleep, without opening the app. The same Live Activity also shows your pet on the Lock Screen. ## Choose how long your pet stays 1. In Pex, tap the gear button to open settings . 2. Find the live activity section and make sure Allow is on. 3. Under duration , choose 1 minute , 5 minutes , 1 hour or 12 hours . Your pet comes back to the Dynamic Island every time you open Pex again. ## Customize the Dynamic Island (Premium) With Premium, the dynamic island options in the same section let you choose what appears on each side of the camera: - Left side : My Pex or an Emoji . - Right side : None , an Emoji or a 2º Pex , a second pet that keeps your first one company. ## Tips - The Dynamic Island shows your pet while you use your phone. To see it at a glance all day, also add a widget: here is [how to put Pex on your Lock Screen](https://pex.pet/blog/virtual-pet-iphone-lock-screen-widget.html) and [on your Home Screen](https://pex.pet/blog/virtual-pet-iphone-home-screen-widget.html). - If your pet doesn't appear, check that Live Activities are turned on for Pex in the iPhone Settings app. - Your pet's animation changes with what it needs, so a quick look tells you whether it is hungry, sleepy or wants to play. - Android phones don't have a Dynamic Island, but Pex is on Android too: see [how to add Pex to your Android Home Screen](https://pex.pet/blog/virtual-pet-android-home-screen-widget.html). Want to know more about the app? Read [what Pex is](https://pex.pet/virtual-pet-app.html). ## FAQ ### Can I have a virtual pet in the Dynamic Island? Yes. Pex shows your pixel-art pet in the Dynamic Island as a Live Activity after you open the app. Touch and hold it to see its needs and care for it. ### Can I feed my pet from the Dynamic Island? Yes. Touch and hold the Dynamic Island to expand it, then use the buttons to feed, clean, play with or put your pet to sleep without opening Pex. ### How long does my pet stay in the Dynamic Island? You choose. In the Pex settings, under live activity, set the duration to 1 minute, 5 minutes, 1 hour or 12 hours. ### Can I show two pets in the Dynamic Island? Yes, with Premium. In the dynamic island options, set the right side to 2º Pex to add a second pet next to your first one. ### Is Pex free? Yes. Pex is free to download on the App Store and Google Play. An optional Premium upgrade unlocks extra features. Tamagotchi is a trademark of Bandai. Pex is an independent app and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Bandai. ## Adopt your own Pex Free to download on iPhone and Android. Create a pixel pet with AI and keep it on your Home Screen. [Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/pex-watch-face-pet-ai/id6465689770?pt=44302800&ct=blog_dynamic-island-pet_cta_en&mt=8) [Get it on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gabrieltargon.pex&referrer=utm_source%3Dpex.pet%26utm_medium%3Dwebsite%26utm_campaign%3Dblog_dynamic-island-pet_cta_en)