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One of the biggest differences between iOS and Android has always been customization. Google’s mobile operating system allows more control over how the software looks and feels, while Apple limits these changes in the name of consistency and usability. But with the release of iOS 14 last week, iPhone and iPad owners are suddenly discovering how to make their phones and tablets look and feel really different.
Search for “# ios14” or “# ios14homescreen” on Twitter, for example, and you’ll see hundreds of examples of themed designs that combine custom app icons, wallpapers, and widgets. (Be careful though, as a couple of results from those searches are largely NSFW.) On TikTok and YouTube too, people show custom home screens and layouts.
Many are themed with pop culture phenomena like Animal crossing, Steven Universe, Harry Potter, Minecraft, and Bts, while others focus on a single aesthetic, such as line drawings or neon icons. Some even recreate older user interfaces, extracting the PlayStation 2 memory card screen, for example, or doing iOS 14 looks like iOS 6. All in all, it’s the kind of beautiful visual mayhem you normally associate with custom PC themes or Winamp skins.
Why is this happening now? It is partly due to the release of iOS 14, which gave the option to add widgets to your home screen. Widgets are typically used to add quick access functionality to your home screen, allowing you to view information about reminders, weather, or calendar appointments at a glance. But you can also use them to display any image of your choice, which has led users to turn them into photo frames for their digital reception rooms. You can also, with the appropriate application, customize the appearance of the default widgets.
The other customization options that users are taking advantage of are much older. Choosing your own wallpaper is obviously an option that has been around for decades, but creating custom app icons was only possible thanks to Apple’s Shortcuts app. This was first introduced in 2018 in iOS 12 and allows you to automate certain actions in iOS. People have been using shortcuts to create custom app icons for years, but it seems that with the release of iOS 14 and the advent of widgets, many people are discovering this functionality again.
Creating your own custom home screen is easy but time consuming. The main thing you will need is the actual images – a custom wallpaper and an attached icon pack. Some designers are already sharing them in easy-to-download packages (as with the Animal crossing example above), but a little googling will usually get you what you need.
For the Windows 98 layout I made for the top image of this article (inspired by this tweet) I found all the background images and app icons I needed through some quick searches. Although it must be said that getting all these assets into shape, including coloring the transparent PNG icon backgrounds by hand, was a complete pain and took at least an hour. Definitely go for pre-made packages if you can.
To add custom widgets to your home screen, you will need to download an app called Widgetsmith. Once you’ve downloaded it, just open the app and click to create the widget size of your choice. You can then customize the default iOS widgets, such as the clock and calendar, with different fonts and colors, or create a widget that displays a static image. Once you’ve created your widget, head over to your home screen, long-press on the screen to bring up customization options, then click the + sign at the top left of the screen to add a widget. Scroll down to find his Widgetsmith creations.
Lastly, to add custom app icons, you’ll need to download the Apple Shortcuts app. Once you have it, open it up and click the + sign in the upper right to create a new app. Then go> Add Action> Scripting> Open Application> Choose and select the application you want to customize. Once you’ve done that, click “Next” at the top right, name the application, and click Done.
Then to customize the icon and add it to your home screen, click on the three-dot menu next to the shortcut action you just created, then click on the three-dot menu again and then select “Add to Home Screen”. Then click on the icon below the “Home Screen Name and Icon” panel and select the image you want to use from your roll. Phew! All ready.
You will now have an app with a custom icon, although there is a very annoying caveat: every time you click on an app it will jump to the Shortcuts app first and then to the application of your choice. This means there is a slight delay every time you open an app, but who said getting the #esthetic of your choice was easy? However, if you know of a way around this, please let us know in the comments and share any creation that you were inspired to do yourself.
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