Innovative Ways to Customize Your iPhone Home Screen in iOS 18 Update

With the launch IOS 18 updateApple takes TiPhone screen customization To a whole new level. You can now change all your icons to new colors through a tool built into the system itself. You can also arrange icons and widgets in any way you like. This way, you can show the wallpaper or part of it or even put the icons at the bottom of the screen only and leave the rest of the screen to show the wallpaper, for example. In this article, we show you new ways to customize the screen with different ideas.

New customization features stir controversy

Apple has responded to the popularity of home screen customization among young people since the launch of iOS 14 in 2020, with users creating custom icons using shortcuts and images from Pinterest, prompting the company to improve the experience of using these custom icons and develop customization features in subsequent releases, including iOS 18, to meet this growing demand for personal customization.

The new customization features in iOS 18 have sparked controversy and mixed reactions, especially among professional designers. The main criticism has centered on the fact that the final results of the customization may not be in line with Apple’s known high-end design standards. This shift represents a departure from Apple’s previous philosophy of restricting customization options to ensure a consistent user experience. Some concerns relate to the possibility of creating visually inconsistent or difficult-to-use interfaces as a result of this broad freedom in customization.

Despite these criticisms, the main goal of these changes is to give users more freedom to express themselves and their personal tastes. Apple has become responsive to the desires of users, especially young people, who have shown great interest in customizing their phones. This shift represents an evolution in Apple’s philosophy.

If the result may not seem entirely in keeping with Apple's traditional style, that's exactly the point: to enable every user to make their phone a reflection of their personality.

Customize icon colors

Now, by pressing and holding on the Home screen, you can tap the “Edit” button to enter the new customization mode. You’ll be able to add widgets, edit Home screen pages, or select the new “Personalize” option to configure the colors and shading of the icons and widgets on your Home screen, and to customize the colors and icons.

Now for the first time, users can modify the shades and colors of existing icons to their liking. However, changing the design of the icon image itself is still not possible without using user-specific shortcuts.

Additionally, developers can now offer alternative icons as part of the app download. These alternative icons may be available as part of a paid upgrade or subscription, depending on the developer’s preferences. After selecting a preferred icon from apps that offer alternatives, users can then decide how it will appear.

The iOS 18 update offers four options for your icons:

◉ Standard light mode.

◉ Dark mode.

◉ Automatic mode that changes from light to dark as night falls.

◉ New “Tinted” option

When you select Color mode, you can use the color dropper tool to pick a color from your home screen background, which then colors the lighter portion of your icons. For example, if your wallpaper contains a nature image, you could choose a blue sky as the color of your icons. You can further adjust the color options using the two sliders at the bottom, one for the shade itself and one for saturation. Moving it all the way to white makes the tint or color less noticeable.

How to Create a Uniform and Elegant Look for Icons in Light Mode

While iOS 18 offers a variety of icon customization options, dark icons with contrasting colors or colorful icons may not be to everyone’s taste. So, we’ve developed an innovative way to create a more consistent and calming look for the Home screen, featuring harmonious color gradients. To do this:

First, you need to enlarge the icons and remove the texts, go to the customization mode, then change the size of the icons from “Small” to “Large”, this will automatically remove the text labels from the icons and widgets.

Second, adjust colors and brightness, open the Color Icons option, then move the saturation bar to the right to reduce the intensity of the colors, then click on the sun icon in the upper corner to switch to light mode.

Applying these settings will result in a brighter, more consistent look for the home screen, with icons in shades of black, white, and gray, and you will avoid the bright, inconsistent colors, especially in Google's icons that users have long criticized.

Technical Notes

◉ These settings can be applied while keeping the phone in light mode.

◉ Changes affect all icons and widgets on the home screen.

◉ Saturation can be adjusted as desired to achieve the perfect look.

◉ This approach provides an ideal solution for users who prefer a more professional and consistent look to their home screen, while maintaining the full functionality of the operating system.

Organize icons more freely

Now you can arrange icons and widgets any way you like. They’re no longer tied to a strict grid, they’re always side by side and organized in defined rows and columns. And with iOS 18, you can place icons anywhere on the screen. You can, for example:

◉ Frame the iPhone wallpaper with icons, so you can arrange the icons so that they are along the edges of the screen, leaving the middle area empty. This arrangement allows the wallpaper image to appear more clearly in the center of the screen, as if it were framed by the icons.

◉ You can also place icons at the bottom of the screen only.

◉ You can also create innovative patterns and designs using icons.

Dark icons give the home screen a different look, keeping some of the colors but putting them on black backgrounds, allowing more attention to be focused on the phone's background.

Colored icons are similar in concept, but differ in that their lighter parts are shaded with a single color of your choice instead of using multiple colors, providing greater color consistency with the ability to customize to the user's taste.

Apps to customize iPhone screen

iOS 18 offers a revolutionary option for users looking for a simpler home screen design, as they can now completely eliminate traditional icons. This development opens up new horizons in the field of user interface customization.

To My Prayers app supports screen customization features

ElaSalaty: PrayerTimes & Qibla

Free⁺

Developer	i4islam

With the continuous updates of the Ila Salati app to support all the features of iOS 18, Ila Salati is now distinguished as almost the only prayer app that takes advantage of all the features of the Apple system. And in the latest update, the digital supplications have arrived, which will certainly enhance the beauty of your device’s screen. Try Ila Salati now. And support the development of the app by subscribing to Ila Salati Pro.

Application widgetsmithPioneer of simplification

Widgetsmith

Free⁺

Developer	Cross Forward Consulting, LLC

Widgetsmith, one of the most prominent customization apps, has been updated to support the new capabilities in iOS 18. The app offers a variety of ways to customize the home screen using “Actions,” and some of the main features include:

Large widgets without labels, integrate seamlessly with the home screen design, and provide a unified look where all icons appear in the same style.

Custom actions, including shortcuts to play favorite albums, quick access to close friends, and accessibility via Control Center

It also has other customization options, it comes with a large collection of ready-made icons, it has SF icons, so you can use Apple's built-in system icons. In addition, it has the ability to customize yourself, so you can choose or design your own icons.

It also features a sleek, unified look for all elements, a less cluttered interface, and easy access to all functions at hand.

Widgetsmith developer David Smith points out that the aesthetic updates in iOS 18 completely change the look of the iPhone's home screen. The app offers the ability to create a home screen devoid of icons and replace them with text representing different apps such as Weather, Mail, Maps, Music, and Calendar.

Dumb Phone App

Dumb Phone (°)

Free⁺

Developer	Michael Tigas

It focuses on simplifying the home screen a lot. It allows for a simple user interface inspired by old phones before the advent of smartphones, with options for light and dark themes, and the developer claims that these changes have helped him reduce screen time.

Another interesting idea that uses the icon placement technique in iOS 18 is that the icons themselves can become part of your background and blend with its graphics in ways that were not possible before. These apps that can do this function include:

Themify App

‎Themify - Widget & Icon Themes

Free⁺

Developer	AIBY

The application includes complete sets of wallpapers, widgets and icons, and these icons are creatively combined with the background. For example, large icons can be turned into planets of the solar system, or small icons can be used as decorative elements on the walls.

Themify also features support for a wide range of other iOS features, including lock screen widgets, custom contact images, standby screens, and much more.

It is worth noting that there are many other customization applications, such as Brass, Aesthetic, Aesthetic Kit, Best Widgets, Color Themes, Reskin, ThemeKit, ThemePack, Widgy, in addition to Wallaroo, which specializes in wallpapers.

Customization in iOS 18 is not limited to the home screen only, but extends to include multiple options. Users can now change app shortcuts on the lock screen, such as the camera and flashlight, and they can organize the Control Center and add custom actions from third-party apps, provided that the developers support this feature. Moreover, Apple allows users to customize the layout, grouping, and size of controls according to their personal preferences.

Source:

techcrunch