Gear

How to Customize Your Home Screen With iOS 18

You can finally change the color and size of app icons, rearrange them anywhere on the screen, and more.
Two mobile phones with their screens showing different arrangements of app icons. Decorative background purple dotted...
Photograph: Apple; Getty Images

if you're bored with your home screen, I have good news for you. With iOS 18, you can finally personalize it however you'd like. You can now change the color of app icons and widgets (and even match them to your wallpaper), change the size to make them look larger, and place them anywhere you'd like on the screen. Below, we break down all the simple steps on how to customize your home screen.

Be sure to also check out our iOS 18 roundup for a full list of all the top features in Apple's latest mobile operating system, as well as our guides to the Best iPhones and Best iPads.

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How to Make the Icons Bigger

  1. Long-press on the home screen until the app icons start to wiggle.
  2. Tap Edit in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, and then tap Customize.
  3. Choose between Small or Large at the bottom of the screen.
  4. Tap on the home screen again to save the changes.

How to Change the Color of App Icons

Photograph: Brenda Stolyar
  1. Long-press on the home screen until the app icons start to wiggle.
  2. Tap Edit in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and then tap Customize.
  3. Choose between Light mode, Dark mode, or Automatic (which changes depending on whether it's day or night).
  4. There's also a Tinted option, which allows you to use the sliders to customize the color and saturation. You can also tap the eyedropper tool to select a color from your wallpaper to apply to the icons.
  5. You can tap the sun icon on the left to darken the background. This will make it easier to see the icons, depending on the colors you choose.
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It's important to note that if you have widgets on the screen, the same changes will be applied simultaneously.

How to Rearrange Icons and Widgets

Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

Apple has finally gotten rid of the fixed list of grids, and, for the first time, you can arrange your apps and widgets however you'd like. To rearrange them:

  1. Long-press on the home screen until the icons and widgets start to wiggle.
  2. Drag the app icon or widget anywhere you'd like on the screen.
  3. Tap on the home screen again to lock in the changes.

How to Remove App Labels

If you're particularly picky about your aesthetic and want to hide the app labels, you have the option to do that. Simply follow these steps:

  1. Long-press on the home screen.
  2. Tap Edit in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, and then tap Customize.
  3. On the bottom, tap the Large option and you'll see the labels automatically disappear.