Apple is finally embracing Android’s chaos

For years, I’ve kept a beauteous spare iOS homescreen. Two oregon 3 rows of icons connected the apical of the screen, sometimes arranged successful specified a mode that the app icon colors complement each other, and 3 apps successful the dock. Because of Apple’s absorption to letting its users muck with the homescreen’s look and feel, I haven’t been capable to marque things rather arsenic elemental arsenic I would like.

I’ve looked astatine much customizable Android homescreens with jealousy. I’ve had an iPhone since the time the archetypal 1 came out, and portion Apple’s smartphones person since go wildly much powerful, capable, and larger, the institution has forced maine to signifier my apps starting from the apical of the surface for 17 years.

Sure, my homescreen usually looked nice. But I’ve wanted options to adhd much of my ain flair to my homescreen that I spot dozens of times a time — the types of tools Android users person had for a precise long time — adjacent if it meant I’d marque my telephone look worse. iOS 14’s widgets were a measurement successful the close direction, and with some Siri Shortcuts wizardry, you could bash a just magnitude of theming.

But iOS 18, the dam is yet breaking loose: arsenic portion of the caller bundle update, Apple gives users immoderate tools to easy customize the app icons connected their homescreen, nary jailbreaking oregon Siri Shortcuts required. You’ll beryllium capable to marque each of your apps the aforesaid wide colour with a tinting tool, and icons tin get dimmer erstwhile you flip to acheronian mode. You tin besides — again, finally — enactment your app icons wherever you want, meaning you tin marque them easier to scope oregon put them truthful they amended acceptable with your wallpaper.

How did I usage these newfound powers? At agelong last, I could marque my imagination minimalist homescreen. Here it is:

I emotion it. It’s however I’ve wanted to plan my iOS homescreen for years: a fewer apps wrong casual scope of my thumb with small other to clutter things up. Best of all, it lone took a fewer minutes to enactment together.

Let maine interruption it each down.

First, I instantly made my app icons grey and boring truthful they would lucifer my grey and boring wallpaper. The grey tint makes apps harder to discern from 1 another, and that’s the point: I wanted to adhd immoderate friction to my telephone truthful that I don’t discarded arsenic overmuch clip connected it.

Then, I moved my apps from the apical of the surface to the bottom. This makes them much accessible erstwhile I request them connected my iPhone 12 Mini. (I tin spot this being really utile with a Plus oregon Pro Max iPhone.) An unexpected payment has been that immoderate caller apps I download are added to the top of the screen, wherever they instrumentality out.

I’ve already gone connected the grounds astir however I effort to person as fewer apps connected my telephone arsenic possible. Any apps hanging retired astatine the apical of my surface are glaring reminders that I request to signifier them into my homescreen, shove them into my App Library, oregon delete them from my phone. (Usually, it’s the latter.)

I besides hid the labels connected my apps truthful there’s fundamentally nary substance connected the screen. I privation I could region the connection “Search” from the fastener supra the dock truthful determination would beryllium nary words astatine all. Maybe we’ll get that by iOS 36.

I’ve utilized iOS 18’s caller Control Center features to marque my telephone much boring, too. You tin present marque a autochthonal toggle for the Color Filters accessibility setting, which I crook connected to marque everything connected my telephone grayscale. I’ve recovered this makes my telephone little interesting, and I instrumentality the grey arsenic a ocular cue that I should beryllium doing thing other alternatively of utilizing my phone. But erstwhile I privation to spot a photograph of my kid successful afloat colour for conscionable a second, I tin property the toggle to crook the grayscale off. 

Yes, the changes I’ve made are disfigured and sometimes irritating. But they’re my choices, and I’m blessed Apple has fixed maine these tools astatine all. People enactment oddball stuff connected the extracurricular of their phones each the time, and with iOS 18, that chaos tin bleed implicit to what’s connected their homescreens. When the update comes retired for everyone this fall, I’m expecting an detonation of delightful and wacky designs.

And if I get bushed of my grayscale, minimalist iPhone? It’s easier than ever to marque thing new.