Henry Ford is often quoted as saying his Mannequin T was obtainable in “Any color the customer wants, as long as it’s black.” Apple has usually been accused of taking this method to its merchandise, with the unique iPhone solely obtainable in a single end.
Through the years, iPhone shade decisions would broaden…to black and white, then including silver, then gold, and finally all types of shades.
The iOS expertise has adopted the same route, at first providing virtually no strategy to customise your telephone aside from to reorder the app icons, however finally permitting wallpapers, folders, widgets, lock display photographs, and extra.
The iPhone has all the time had far fewer customization choices than Android telephones, and that’s nonetheless true immediately, however Apple is beginning to actually embrace personalization. The widgets and app library of iOS 14 was a giant step ahead. Customized lock screens gave us one other massive leap in iOS 16. And with iOS 18, Apple has given customers the flexibility to vary the appear and feel of their iPhone greater than ever earlier than.
Listed below are all the key methods you may personalize your iPhone to make it look and act the way in which you wish to, utilizing solely options constructed into iOS with no third-party apps.
iOS 18 customization: Dwelling Display screen
On the time of this writing, iOS 18 remains to be in beta, however we already understand how its new Dwelling Display screen customization options will work. Listed below are the brand new methods to personalize your iPhone’s foremost display within the massive replace coming within the fall of 2024.
Icon placement
You’ve been in a position to reorder the icons on your own home display for ages, however with iOS 18 you may put them anyplace on the grid, leaving as a lot empty area as you need.
Press and maintain on an empty space of the house display till the icons jiggle to enter edit mode. Then simply drag your icons wherever you need. You may even faucet further icons after you begin shifting one (utilizing a second finger) to seize a gaggle and transfer them collectively.
You can too drag an app icon on prime of one other one to make a folder, which could be positioned wherever you’d like. You may title the folder, and drag different icons out and in as desired.
For extra, see our article Tips on how to put app icons, widgets, and folders anyplace you need.
Icon dimension
iOS 18 allows you to make your Dwelling display icons greater—it simply scales them up, eradicating the icon names, so the grid dimension stays the identical.
It’s a clear look and it’s simple to do. Put your Dwelling display in edit mode (long-press an empty space till the icons jiggle), then faucet the Edit button within the higher left, then Customise.
Choose Massive from the icon choices menu that pops up on the backside of the display. Faucet Small to return to the unique dimension.
For extra, learn: Tips on how to make your app icons giant and label-free.
Icon shade and darkish mode
That very same menu from the final tip additionally allows you to change your icon colours. Automated will present mild icons when your display is in mild mode and darkish icons in darkish mode. However you may drive mild or darkish icons on a regular basis by tapping the suitable buttons.
The Tinted button permits you to mechanically tint all your icons to a single shade. A tint shade is mechanically recommended primarily based in your wallpaper picture, however you may choose any hue and brightness you need. There’s even an eyedropper software to allow you to precisely match one of many colours in your wallpaper.
For more information, learn: Tips on how to change the colour of the app icons on your own home display
Widgets
Along with the 4 restricted widget spots in your Lock display, you may add numerous interactive widgets from apps on to your Dwelling display. These have been added in iOS 14, and whereas the capabilities of widgets have grown in later releases, utilizing them stays kind of the identical.
In iOS 18, you may resize widgets by dragging them and make them seem bigger by eradicating the textual content beneath,
Faucet and maintain an empty area in your Dwelling display till the icons all wiggle. Then faucet Edit within the higher left nook of the display and choose Add Widget. You’ll see a listing of assorted widgets, a lot of which have completely different show choices and sizes. You may reposition these widgets simply as you’ll app icons, and even drag them on prime of one another to kind a “smart stack.”
For extra, learn: Tips on how to add, take away, and customise widgets.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
Cover pages and apps
There are various methods to arrange your Dwelling display–you don’t simply must take care of web page after web page of app icons.
Begin with a tap-and-hold on an empty area in your Dwelling display till the icons all jiggle. You may faucet the (-) button within the higher left of any icon to delete that app or to maintain the app however take away the app icon out of your Dwelling display. You can too faucet the dots close to the underside of your display to see thumbnails of your entire Dwelling screens. From there you may cover whole screens from view.
You may apps which can be hidden from view within the App Library or by way of Highlight search.
iOS 18 customization: Management Heart
You’ve all the time been in a position to customise Management Heart just a little within the settings, however iOS 18 allows you to take it to the following degree.
Swipe down from the upper-right fringe of your iPhone to open Management Heart, then faucet and maintain on an empty area to enter Edit mode.
Right here you may rearrange controls, faucet the (-) icon within the higher left nook of a management to delete it, or drag the bottom-right nook of a management to resize it.
Faucet Add a Management on the backside of the display so as to add a brand new management. You may make some controls so massive they take up whole pages!
Swipe up and down to modify to further management pages. You’ll discover numerous new controls in iOS 18, and for the primary time, third-party apps will be capable of add their very own Management Heart controls as nicely.
iOS 18 customization: Lock Display screen
Flashlight and Digital camera. These have been the 2 controls in your Lock Display screen endlessly, and there was nothing you might do to vary it…till iOS 18. Now you may change each of the controls to virtually any Management Heart management!
Faucet and maintain on the Lock Display screen, then faucet Customise on the underside. Select Lock Display screen slightly than Dwelling Display screen.
From this display you may modify your time and date widgets, the row of widgets beneath them, and sure, the 2 controls on the underside left and proper corners. You may faucet (-) to take away them and change them with dozens of various Management Heart capabilities.
With iOS 16, Apple made a giant change to the iPhone lock display—you may customise the time show, select customized widgets to offer at-a-glance information, and naturally, select the wallpaper you need with a cool depth impact.
Begin by long-pressing your lock display to enter into the edit mode. You may swipe aspect to aspect to modify to completely different Lock display setups and faucet Customise to vary your Lock display time, date, and widgets.
For extra, take a look at: Tips on how to customise your Lock Display screen with widgets and wallpaper kinds
iOS 18 customization: Different options
Whereas the most recent model of iOS provides some massive new methods to personalize your iPhone, there are additionally some older customization choices you may not learn about. Some are highlighted above, however listed here are a few older customization choices.
Motion button
With the iPhone 15 Professional and Professional Max, Apple changed the mute change that has been in place because the unique iPhone with an Motion Button that you just maintain right down to carry out considered one of eight actions, together with turning on the flashlight, launching the digicam, and translating speech.
These choices are nonetheless there, however in iOS 18, the record of capabilities has drastically expanded with the inclusion of a brand new “Controls” choice. This allows you to select one of many Management Heart controls because the perform of your Motion button: Rapidly allow Airplane mode, open Calculator, report a fast word, scan a QR code… there are many potentialities.
Open Settings, and choose Motion Button from the primary menu. Simply swipe via the choices to select the one you need.
Contact poster
Beginning with iOS 17, you may create a brand new customized “contact poster” that may present up on different iPhone customers’ gadgets while you name them and can seem in your entry of their Contacts.
Begin by opening your personal Contact card–both within the Telephone app or Contacts app–and search for the Contact Photograph & Poster entry underneath your image. Faucet that to get began creating your customized contact card.
Within the Contact Poster creator, you’ll additionally be capable of select considered one of two choices, both Contacts solely so your contacts will all the time see your customized poster, or All the time ask, which can immediate you to share it each time.
For extra, learn: Tips on how to create and customise your Contact Poster in iOS 17.
Again Faucet
Although not a standard iPhone personalization choice, the Again Faucet accessibility characteristic allows you to assign a perform to a double-tap or triple-tap of the again of your telephone. It’s type of like having an invisible button on the again of your iPhone and could be very useful.
Open Settings, then faucet Accessibility, then Contact. Scroll down and choose Again Faucet. Right here you may select a perform or characteristic to activate while you double-tap the again of your telephone and one other one while you triple-tap.
For extra, learn: ‘Back Tap’ characteristic in iOS 14 turns rear of iPhone right into a button.