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With thelaunch of iOS 18 , Apple is choose iPhone customization to a new level . Before , you could easily add widgets to your Home Screen or rearrange its pages , apply your own wallpaper , and , more late , customise your Lock Screen . Meanwhile , power users downloaded apps that allowed them to custom-make their iconsby way of iOS Shortcutsor even created their own image using ikon interior decorator tools or images they found on Pinterest , Google , or elsewhere .
With iOS 18 , however , theability to modify all your iconsto a fresh colour scheme is a built - in tool .
you could also arrange your icons and widgets in any way you favor , as they no longer have to be right next to each other in a grid . That agency , you could choose to entrap your wallpaper or commit icons only at the bottom of the covert , for instance .
Though the system for customization has gotten somewhat unwieldy as Apple has go along to roll out young selection , iOS 18 offers the most ascendancy over the looking and feel of your iPhone ’s drug user interface than any other version of Apple ’s mobile operating system to date .
Now , with a press - and - defend on your iPhone ’s Home Screen , you’re able to bug the upper - left “ Edit ” button to enter the new customization manner . From here , you ’ll be able-bodied to add widgets , edit Home Screen page , or select a new alternative , “ Customize , ” to configure the colour and shading of the icons and widgets on your Home Screen .
Io 18 presents four options for your icon : the standard twinkle and dark modal value , as well as an Automatic way that shift from brightness level to nighttime as nighttime free fall , and the new “ Tinted ” choice . When choose , Tinted lets you use the eyedropper shaft ( upper - right wing ) to pick a colour from your Home Screen ’s background that then tints the filling for the scant part of your icons .
For illustration , if your wallpaper feature a photo from nature , you could pluck the blue sky ’s color to dish up as your ikon ’ tone . you may further correct the color options using two bottom sliders , one for the shade itself and another for the vividness . ( Sliding it all the agency over to white makes the tone less patent . )
This process can be a number difficult , and there ’s beenquitesomecriticism , particularly from designers , about how the lead Home Screen looks . It does n’t feel like Apple ’s sublime excogitation sense , but that ’s the full point : It ’s your own .
The feature film specifically supply to youthful exploiter who promptly took advantage of Modern functionality in the 2020 loss of iOS 14 topersonalize their Home Screens with tradition iconslaunched via Shortcuts and gizmo . Pinterest adoption soared at the sentence , as young masses turned to it for images they could use as custom icons and theme . Apple quickly responded to user ’ pursuit in this trend bychanging how these tradition icon would respond when tapped . That is , or else of plaguy people by briefly reach the iOS Shortcuts app , as before , it introduced only a humble pop - up that would expose when the app opened by way of a custom ikon .
But until now , Apple has n’t made it possible for users to customise their apps ’ be icons with shades and colors of their choosing .
While you still ca n’t customize the plan of the ikon ’s image itself ( without the use of your own shortcuts ) , developers can choose to ship alternate icons as a part of their app download . These icons are sometimes offered as part of a paid rising slope or subscription , depending on the developer ’s druthers . Not all apps offer alternative icons , though .
After pick out the ikon you favor from the apps that offer alternatives , you could then continue to select how you want them to come out : light , morose , or tinge .
drab icons give the Home Screen a unlike spirit ( see photo above on the left ) , as they keep some colors but sit on black backgrounds , countenance more of your focal point to transfer to the telephone ’s wallpaper . Tinted icons are similar , but or else of multiple colour , their idle parts are shaded with a color of your choosing .
Uniform, darker icons while still in “light” mode
Like many others , I did n’t discover the dark icons with their unmated splash of colour agreeable and the tinted icons do n’t quite fit my taste — though that ’s more of a personal preference . However , I found a way to make a Home Screen with more muted ghost .
To accomplish this , I toggle the option from “ Small ” over to “ Large ” in the customization mode , which makes the icons slenderly heavy and removes their text edition label . contrivance ’ labels are also removed when you dislodge to the Large icons .
I then select the option for tinted ikon , slew the bottom slider over to the right for less saturation , and tap the sunshine option in the top - left of the customization window to switch the overall earpiece screen from dark mode to light . This create a brighter , more uniform await where the icons seem in refinement of blackened , white , and gray , instead of the garish colors they ordinarily are . ( peculiarly those horrifying Google icons , whichmany meme have mock ) .
A more minimal Home Screen
If you are looking for an even more minimalist Home Screen , another choice now usable through iOS 18 lets you forgo icons all told .
One of the top customization apps , Widgetsmith , has been update for Io 18 to take vantage of the newfangled functionality around enceinte , label - less widgets to offer a mixture of way to customize your Home Screen with Actions . These Actions can also be used via the Control Center ( access by snarf down from the top of the phone screen ) and can bid shortcuts to thing like playing a favorite record album or calling your best friend , among other things .
Control Center aside , Widgetsmith include various Home Screen appliance feature course of customized image , each tie in to a particular action mechanism . Without whatsis labels , these can blend more seamlessly into your Home Screen , allowing for a more minimum — or at least more uniform — look , where every icon is in the same style .
The app ships with a variety of icon inner circle to customise their actions , or the great unwashed can prefer their own or use any SF symbol , which are thebuilt - in symbols design to integratewith the system font for Apple ’s platforms .
“ The aesthetics … now possible in iOS 18 are really transformative to how your home screen feel , ” tell Widgetsmith ’s developer David Smith . “ Since Apple drops the necessary for widget to have their subtitles you’re able to completely take over your iPhone and make all of it your own . ”
However , the more interesting idea Widgetsmith introduces is one of a Home Screen that does n’t include any icons .
Instead , you’re able to choose to install gizmo that spell out in text the various apps you may desire to get at , like atmospheric condition , Mail , Maps , Music , and Calendar . You could use these alone on the screen or alongside other widgets . You could even opt to remove all the icons from your bottom dock for a less littered look .
Widgetsmith is n’t the only app that extend this sorting of functionality , but it ’s among the best - recognise .
Another one focused specifically on minimalist Home Screens isDumb Phone , an app whose name refer to the unsubdivided user interface from the daylight before the smartphone go far . With Dumb Phone , you may also create a alike minimalist Home Screen and adjust the theme to Light or Dark .
The app ’s developer , Michael Tigas , claims that the changes helped him cut down on screen time .
Using icon placement to complement your wallpaper
Another interesting idea that comes from the newly bestow ability to place ikon anywhere in iOS 18 is that the icons themselves can become a part of your theme and wallpaper , blending into the illustration in ways they could n’t before .
One app make vantage of this functionality isThemify , a customization utility that now include a section of theme “ prompt by iOS 18 ” at the top of its Discover page .
Here , you ’ll find subject ( accumulation of wallpaper , appliance , and icons ) where icon become a part of the background , like one where icon pose to big mode become satellite in the solar organisation , or another where belittled ikon become rampart décor .
Themify also supports other iOS feature like Lock Screen widget and themes , touch posters , standby screens , and more .
Other personalization apps I ’ve used in the past include Brass , Aesthetic , Aesthetic Kit , Best Widgets , Color Themes , Reskin , ThemeKit , ThemePack , Widgy , and Wallaroo for wallpapers .
Customizing your menage Screen is only one of the raw personalization choice that ship with iOS 18 . you could now swap out the shortcuts to apps , like theCamera and Flashlight , on your Lock Screen , and you could organise your Control Center and add your own actions from third - party apps , provide developers support the option . you may also customize how the controls are put down out , grouped , and their size of it , Applenotes .
Want to share your iOS 18 customizations with me ? connect me onThreadsorBlueskyand let me see your creations !
