Apple has steadily expanded dwelling display screen customization on the iPhone over the previous few years, and iOS 26 continues that development with extra visible management over app icons. Constructing on the adjustments launched in iOS 18, the most recent replace enables you to resize icons, take away app labels, apply system-wide shade tints and make icons translucent utilizing Apple’s new Liquid Glass design language.
Most of those choices dwell in a single place: the Customise menu, which seems after coming into edit mode on the house display screen. Whereas iOS nonetheless doesn’t enable complete freeform icon placement or third-party icon packs with out shortcuts, the instruments Apple gives are actually versatile sufficient to dramatically change how an iPhone appears and feels. This information walks by the right way to customise app icons and layouts utilizing the choices accessible in iOS 26, with a give attention to icon dimension, shade, look and association.
The right way to customise your iPhone dwelling display screen
All dwelling display screen customization begins the identical manner.
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Go to the House Display screen.
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Contact and maintain an empty space of the House Display screen background till the apps start to jiggle.
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Faucet Edit within the high left nook, then choose Customise from the menu.
A customization panel seems alongside the underside of the display screen. Modifications made right here apply throughout all dwelling display screen pages directly, fairly than on a per-page foundation.
From the Customise menu, you may:
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Modify icon dimension
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Change look (e.g., Darkish)
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Make icons translucent with a transparent look
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Add a shade tint to icons and widgets
The right way to make app icons bigger and take away labels
One of many easiest adjustments in iOS 26 can also be one of the crucial visually impactful. From the Customise menu, faucet the icon exhibiting two app squares of various sizes. This switches the house display screen to Giant App Icons mode.
When massive icons are enabled, app labels disappear solely and the icons themselves develop to fill extra of the grid. This creates a cleaner look and makes apps simpler to faucet, notably on iPhone fashions with bigger screens. The tradeoff is that fewer icons match on every display screen and spacing between rows turns into extra pronounced.
To revert to straightforward icons with labels, repeat the steps and faucet the identical button once more.
The right way to change the looks of app icons
iOS 26 provides 4 icon look types: Default, Darkish, Clear and Tinted. These choices can be found from the highest row of the Customise panel. From the Customise panel, you may faucet the solar icon throughout all choices within the high left-hand nook to toggle wallpaper dimming. This typically makes app icons and labels simpler to learn.
The Default choice retains icons wanting because the builders supposed, with no system-wide shade or transparency utilized.
Deciding on Darkish applies a darker background to supported app icons and widgets. Apple’s personal apps absolutely help this mode, and a few third-party apps do as effectively, although many retain their authentic colours. When Darkish is enabled, iOS can even dim the wallpaper barely, which can assist cut back energy utilization on OLED shows.
The Clear choice allows translucency throughout all apps on the House Display screen. This removes all shade however retains app labels. The layered, frosted-glass impact adjustments relying on the background picture. Clear icons will be paired with Mild, Darkish or Auto types utilizing the choices alongside the underside of the Customise panel.
Tinted mode permits all supported app icons and widgets to tackle a single shade scheme. After deciding on Tinted, shade and saturation sliders seem on the backside of the display screen. Adjusting these adjustments the hue utilized throughout icons, making a uniform look that may vary from refined pastels to high-contrast monochrome themes.
If you would like a particular shade out of your iPhone’s wallpaper, choose the eyedropper software, then faucet and maintain whereas dragging the cursor throughout the display screen till you land in your chosen shade. Just like the Clear choice, you’ll have the ability to choose from Mild, Darkish or Auto when adjusting the Tinted settings.
The Auto choice permits icons to change between mild and darkish appearances based mostly on system-wide mild or darkish mode.
The right way to organize apps across the dwelling display screen
App placement works the identical manner it did earlier than iOS 26, however the visible adjustments launched by bigger icons and spacing make format decisions extra noticeable.
Apps will be rearranged by accessing an empty house on the House Display screen, then tapping and holding till the apps begin jiggling. From right here you may drag icons to new positions. The grid stays fastened, which means icons can not overlap or be positioned freely, however there’s extra flexibility in how empty house is used.
Icons will be clustered towards the underside of the display screen, aligned to 1 facet or organized to border a wallpaper. With massive icons enabled, the hole between the dock and the primary row of apps turns into extra pronounced, nevertheless it can’t be full of extra icons.
Modifications apply throughout all dwelling display screen pages, so reorganizing one web page doesn’t have an effect on icon dimension or look on one other.
What iOS 26 nonetheless doesn’t enable
Regardless of expanded customization, some long-standing limitations stay. iOS 26 doesn’t help per-app icon shade choice, customized icon packs with out shortcuts or freeform icon placement exterior the grid. Icon look settings apply globally, not per web page or per app.
Widgets, lock display screen customization and focus mode filters add extra layers of personalization, however these instruments sit exterior the scope of the house display screen Edit menu.
iOS 26 provides iPhone customers extra management over the look of their dwelling display screen than ever earlier than, even when Apple’s strategy stays structured. By combining icon resizing, look modes and cautious app association, it’s potential to create a format that feels cleaner, extra private and simpler to make use of with out counting on workarounds.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cellular/smartphones/how-to-customize-your-iphone-home-screen-with-ios-26-130000798.html?src=rss