Live Activities show up in the Dynamic Island on iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, giving you a running update on things like a delivery, a sports score or a timer without opening the app that started it. The Dynamic Island on these two models can also show up to three Live Activities at once, up from the two that every iPhone since the iPhone 14 Pro has supported.
The three-activity layout is specific to the smaller Dynamic Island hardware on the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, so other iPhones running iOS 27 still cap at two.
How to View and Interact With a Live Activity
- When an app starts a Live Activity, a compact version appears around the Dynamic Island automatically.
- Tap and hold the Dynamic Island to expand it and see more detail.
- Tap the expanded Live Activity to jump straight into the app it belongs to.
- Swipe the compact Live Activity away to dismiss it, or wait for the app to end it automatically.
Some apps offer quick actions right from the expanded view, like pausing a timer or marking a delivery as received, without needing to open the app at all.
Managing Multiple Live Activities
On iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, swipe across the Dynamic Island to move between up to three active Live Activities. If you use several apps that rely on Live Activities at once, sports scores and a food delivery, for example, you can move between them from the same expanded view instead of switching apps.
Turning Live Activities Off
If you’d rather not see Live Activities at all, you can turn them off system-wide or per app.
- Open Settings and tap Face ID & Passcode, then scroll to Allow Access When Locked and confirm Live Activities is enabled if you want them on the Lock Screen.
- To turn off Live Activities for a specific app, open Settings, find the app, and look for a Live Activities toggle inside its settings.
- To turn off Live Activities entirely, open Settings, tap Face ID & Passcode, and disable Live Activities from Allow Access When Locked.
Our Take
Showing three Live Activities at once is the major change here, since two used to force apps to compete for the same limited space. If you found the Dynamic Island cluttered on earlier iPhones, the extra slot on the iPhone 18 Pro is worth experimenting with, rather than turning the feature off entirely.
