Apple released iOS 26 in September and he presented Liquid glass design for your device. As part of the redesign, you can make app icons and widgets on the home screen clearer. These changes are based on the Home screen customization options that Apple introduced with iPhone iOS 18.
Apple released iOS 18 in 2024, and it brings a major (and long overdue) change to your iPhone: the ability to customize your home screen. In iOS 18, you can remove app shortcuts, change the color of app icons, and rearrange apps on the screen in new ways. You can design your background with your own apps, or give your iPhone a more personalized look by using different colored apps.
Here are ways you can customize your home screen to make it as fun and unique as you are.
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How to remove application shortcuts
1. Tap and hold on the background to enter jiggle mode, which shakes all your apps.
2. Tap Edit in the upper left corner of the screen.
3. Tap Tune.
Clicking “Customize” opens a new menu.
4. Tap the two differently sized squares in the top right corner of the new menu that appears at the bottom of the screen.
Clicking on the small and large squares resizes your apps.
Your app icons will grow larger and the shortcuts underneath them will disappear. This seems much cleaner to me: I don't plan on displaying app shortcuts anymore.
If you don't like it, repeat the above steps again and touch the different sized squares again. Apps will return to their normal size and shortcuts will appear again.
How to change the color of your app's icons and widgets
1. Tap and hold on the background to enter jiggle mode, which makes your apps shake.
2. Tap Edit in the upper left corner of the screen.
3. Tap Tune.
Then you can choose between Default, Dark, Transparent And Toned application icons and widgets.
These options can change the color of your apps and widgets.
If you choose Dark In this top menu, third-party Apple apps like Messages and Safari will now have a nearly black background. This change affects both Apple's own apps and some third-party apps such as YouTube and Bluesky. Other third-party apps like Instagram and Snapchat remain unchanged.
Choice Dark will also darken the background, which can reduce the amount of power your iPhone uses and extend battery life.
Transparent Makes your app icons and widgets almost transparent.
If you choose Tinted, you can color your apps and widgets any other color. Tapping Toned causes a gradient scale to appear at the bottom of the Settings menu. You can adjust the scale until you get the shade you want. You can also tap the eyedropper icon in the bottom right corner of the menu to choose a background color that more closely matches your icons. This way you won't have to move the sliders around and get frustrated that the colors don't quite match – a complete hypothetical, I swear.
Tinted allows you to tint your apps and widgets almost any color you want.
If you choose Transparent or Tonedyou can also give app icons and widgets a light or dark tint. There is also an Auto option that automatically changes the hue depending on whether Light or Dark mode is active. These options appear at the bottom of the Setup menu. Personally, my new favorite color scheme is Clear with Dark Tint.
The Clear option also has Light, Dark, and Auto Tint options.
How to Arrange Apps on the Home Screen
The arrangement of applications on the main screen is the same as before. You can either enter jiggle mode by tapping and holding an empty part of the background and then dragging apps where you want them, or tap and drag an app to a new location.
You can arrange applications according to a template or in any form you wish.
You can place all your apps at the bottom of the screen, fit them in a screen frame, or arrange them in any number of other templates. Since I'm right-handed, I placed most of my apps on the right side of the screen so I can easily tap them without fear of dropping my phone. It also makes it easy to make sure you can see your background if it's a picture of a loved one or pet.
The grid is still present, so you can't stack apps on top of each other or too close to each other. If you enlarge your apps, there will be a significant gap between the dock at the bottom of the screen and the bottom row of the grid. It looks like it's big enough to fit another app's icon, but that's not possible – I tried, but to no avail.
For more iOS news, it's all here iOS 26.2 And iOS 26.1 transferred to your iPhone and my review of iOS 26. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet.
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