Things to know before changing app icons on the iOS home screen:
- Make sure you already have the images or icons you want to set as the app icon.
- Individual app icons will not display notification icons.
- You won’t be changing the default iOS app icons. Instead, you’ll create iPhone desktop shortcuts with a custom icon to launch this app.
iOS 16 brings a lot of options to personalize your iPhone. You can change the background on the home screen. So why not make your own app icons? Apple has never officially allowed users to change app icons. But you can do it with the built-in Apple Shortcuts app. Now let’s learn how to change app icons on your iPhone.
How to Customize App Icons on iPhone
- Launch the Shortcuts app on your iPhone.
- Now tap the plus sign (+).
- Select Add Action.
- Then type “Open Application”in the search bar and select it under “Scripts”.
- Now you can see that the application word is blurry. Click on it.
- After that, a list of applications will appear. Select the application for which you want to make a shortcut. Here I chose Basecamp.
- Now tap the information icon (i) on the bottom toolbar of the screen.
- Then select Add to Home Screen.
- A new window will appear where you can change the app icon on iOS. Tap the icon under HOME SCREEN NAME AND LOCATION.
- Now select “Select Photo”or “Take Photo”and select the icon image you already have in Photos. Then click “Select”.
- Finally, click Add.
You will see an app shortcut with the desired app icon you have set on the iPhone home screen. Repeat this process for all other apps you want. To open the app, tap the new app icon.
What to do after changing app icons?
After you follow the above steps a few times and create some custom app icons, you’ll want to get rid of the actual stock app icons to have a breathtaking look. Because what’s the point of having two app icons for the same app?
Click the actual app icon and tap the minus sign (-) → Remove from home screen. Now this app icon will no longer be on the home screen, but in the app library.
Then use a combination of iOS widgets, third-party widgets like Widgetsmith, and custom app icons to get a truly unique iPhone home screen look! It takes a lot of time, but the result is amazing!
Additional Info: Some apps like Reddit and Over offer an internal way to use a different (non-custom) app icon. You will find this in the relevant app settings.
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Have you changed the app icon on your iPhone? If so, what did you set as the application icon? Share your answers in the comments below.