One of the exciting new features in Apple’s latest update, iOS 18, is app icon customization, and while the iOS 18 update it is currently still optional (at time of writing), you can download it manually.
The update offers tons of new customization features, but in this post we’re going to focus on what options are available to customize the app icons, and how to enable them.
How to access the app icon customization
To access these settings, hold down on an icon and click edit home screen.
You can also hold your finger down on any empty space until the apps start wiggling.
Once this wiggling happens, press the edit button on the top left of the screen.
Then choose the “customize” option.
This brings up a menu on the bottom of the screen that has all of the options available.
What customization is available?
iOS 18 offers 4 main options for the way app icons look.
The options are Light, Dark, Automatic, and Tinted.
Light is the developers normal app Icon and it is the same as it has always been.
Dark turns the screen brightness down a bit, and adds black backgrounds to supported apps.
Automatic will choose between light and dark automatically.
Tinted most resembles dark mode, but allows you to customize the color of the non black parts of the icon.
This allows you to really enhance the theme of the phone.
There is also a small sun on the lower left of this customization area that allows you to dim the background.
You can also change the icon size by clicking the small/large switch on the top of the menu.
Keep in mind the Large icons remove the text at the bottom that tells you the name of the app. Maybe this will change in a future update.
For more iOS 18 features click here or wait for some more upcoming posts about the latest iPhone features.
If you have questions about iOS 18 app icon customization, or our services in general, just call or email. We’re happy to assist you! Feel free to use our contact form to send us a message. Thank you!