Organizing the home screen of your iPhone or iPad can be an unpleasant experience. Even if you have a design in mind, Apple’s rigid approach to icon placement can be imprecise and frustrating.
Fortunately, Apple’s iOS 14 update will make the home screen much better later this year. However, in the meantime, here are some tips for organizing your apps and making the home screen a more functional space.
How to organize your home screen
To rearrange the app icons on the home screen, press and hold one until all the icons start moving. You can also touch and hold one, and then touch “Edit Home Screen” from the menu that appears.
Then start dragging the icons to where you want on the home screen.
Dragging an app to the left or right border will move to the previous or next screen. However, sometimes this happens when you don’t want to. Other times, you’ll have to scroll for a second before your iPhone changes to the home screen.
You can create folders by dragging an app and holding it on top of another for a second. While the apps are moving, you can rename the folders by touching them and then the text. You can also use emojis on folder labels if you want.
Dragging icons around the screen one by one can be time consuming and frustrating. Fortunately, you can select multiple icons at once and deposit them on a screen or in a folder. As the icons move, pick up an app with one finger. Then (while holding down the app), tap a different one with another finger. You can stack multiple applications in this way to really speed up the organization process.
When you’re done organizing, swipe up from the bottom (iPhone X or later) or press the Start button (iPhone 8 or SE2) to stop apps from moving. If at any point you want to go back to Apple’s iOS organization, just go to Settings> General> Reset> Reset Home Screen Layout.
RELATED: How iOS 14 is about to transform your iPhone’s home screen
Put important apps on the first home screen
You don’t have to fill out a full home screen before moving on to the next one. This is another useful way to create divisions between certain types of applications. For example, you can put the apps you use most often in the Dock and the rest on your home screen.
Every time you unlock your device, the home screen is the first thing you see. You can make the most of this space by placing the applications you want to be able to access quickly on the first screen.
If you prefer a cleaner look, consider not filling the screen completely. Folders take time to open and scroll, so it would be best to locate them on the second home screen.
You can put folders on the dock
One way to make the Dock more useful is to put a folder in it. You can even fill the Dock with folders if you want, but that’s probably not the smartest use of space. Most people unconsciously trust the Dock to access applications like Messages, Safari, or Mail. However, if you encounter this limitation, create a folder there.
You will now have access to these applications, regardless of the home screen you are browsing. Folders display nine apps at a time, so adding one can increase the capacity of the Dock from four to 12, with the only penalty being an added touch.
Organize folders by application type
The most obvious way to organize your applications is to purposefully divide them into folders. The number of folders you will need will depend on how many applications you have, what they do, and how often you access them.
Creating your own organization system tailored to your workflow will work best. Take a look at your apps and find out how you can group them in a practical and meaningful way.
For example, you may have a healthy coloring habit and some mindfulness apps. You can group them all in a folder called “Health”. However, it probably would make more sense to create a separate folder for “Coloring Books” so you don’t have to scroll through unrelated applications when you want to color.
Similarly, if you make music on your iPhone, you may want to separate your synthesizers from your drum machines. If your labels are too wide, it is difficult to find things when you need them.
The iOS 14 update, which will be released in the fall of this year, will feature an “App Library” that automatically organizes your apps in this way. Until then, organizing them is up to you.
Organize folders based on actions
You can further classify applications based on the actions they help you perform. Some common folder tags in this organization system may include “Chat”, “Search” or “Play”.
If you don’t find generic labels like “Photography” or “Work” very useful, try this. You can also use emojis to indicate actions, as there is one for almost everything now.
Organize alphabetically
Organizing your apps alphabetically is another option. You can easily do this by resetting the home screen; just go to Settings> General> Reset> Reset Home Screen Layout. Stock apps will appear on the first home screen, but everything else will appear in alphabetical order. You can reset at any time to rearrange things.
Since folders in iOS don’t have a strict limit for apps, you can also organize them alphabetically within folders. However, as with organizing your applications by type, it is important not to create a barrier by putting hundreds of applications in one folder.
The best thing about this method is that you don’t have to think about what an application does to find it. You will know that the Airbnb app is in the “AC” folder, while Strava is in the “MS” folder.
Organize app icons by color
You probably already associate your favorite apps with the color of their icons. When searching for Evernote, you may be looking for a white rectangle and a green drop. Apps like Strava and Twitter are easy to find because their strong, vibrant brand stands out, even on a crowded home screen.
Grouping apps by color is not for everyone. It is primarily an option for applications that choose not to save to folders. Also, it will only work well for those you use more frequently.
A twist on this approach would be to do it by folder, using colored emojis to indicate which apps belong in that folder. There are circles, squares and hearts in various colors in the symbols section of the emoji picker.
Use Spotlight instead of app icons
The best approach to organizing apps is to avoid it entirely. You can find any application quickly and efficiently by simply typing the first letters of its name in the Spotlight search engine.
To do so, pull down the home screen to display the search bar. Start typing and then tap the app when it appears in the results below. You can even go a step further and search for data within apps, like Evernote notes or Google Drive documents.
This is by far the fastest way to interact with applications outside of the Dock or the main home screen. You can search for app categories (such as “games”), settings panels, people, news stories, podcasts, music, bookmarks or Safari history, and much more.
You can even search the web, App Store, Maps, or Siri directly by typing your search, scrolling to the bottom of the list, and then choosing from the available options. For best results, you can also fully customize the Spotlight search to only show you what you want.
RELATED: How to use Spotlight Search on your iPhone or iPad
