Download How to Change App Icons in iOS 15 for free
Your iPhone’s home screen deserves a more eye-catching look. Apart from using fully customizable widgets, you need to use custom app icons on your iPhone to design the home screen to your liking. Whether you want to go for a monochrome layout, decorate the screen with the color coded theme, or go dockless, custom app icons come into play. If you’re ready to boost your customization game, I’ll show you how to change app icons in iOS 15 or later with ease.
How to use custom app icons on an iPhone with iOS 15 or later
What are the requirements for creating custom iPhone app icons?
If all you need is a decent app icon changer for your iOS device without having to pay any money, the Shortcuts app is more than capable of fulfilling your expectations. However, if you prefer a bunch of cool themes and custom app icons, then you should use third-party icon changers. While most icon changers are available for free, to unlock all themes you need to upgrade to the premium version.
How to Change App Icons on iPhone with Shortcuts App
1. To get started, start Shortcuts App on your iPhone, then tap the “+” button in the top right corner of the screen.
2. Now tap the “+” Add action knob.
Remark: As the Open app option will appear under the Next Action Suggestions, choose it. Otherwise, go to the next step.
3. Then enter “Open app” in the search bar at the top and select it from the search results.
4. Then tap “App” and then select the app for which you want to create a custom icon. I’m going to create a custom icon for the App Store.
5. Next, give a suitable name to the app, then tap Done in the lower right corner of the screen.
Set a Glyph as Custom App Icon on iPhone
Shortcuts app has an ever-growing library of objects and symbols that you can use to create a variety of custom app icons.
- Tap on the icon to the left of your app name and then choose the color for your app icon.
- Now tap Glyph and then choose from a ton of options. Use the custom categories like Objects, symbols and people at the bottom to explore different glyphs.
- After selecting the desired icon, tap Done in the top right corner of the screen.
- Then tap the menu icon in the top right corner of the screen and select Add to home screen.
- Note that you can also show this custom app icon on your Apple Watch, pin it to the macOS menu bar, and even use it as a Quick Action on your Mac.
- Finally tap To add top right to finish. Your custom iPhone app icon will now appear on the home screen.
Use an image as iPhone app icon
If you want to further personalize the app icon, you can choose to use a custom image as your iPhone app icon.
- Press menu icon in the top right corner of the screen, then choose Add to home screen.
- Now tap the default app icon and select Choose photo.
- It is important to note that if the image is in the Files app, tap Choose File and then select the image. And if you want to capture an image, tap Take a picture.
- Next one, select an image from the photo library. Afterwards, adjust the image and tap Select in the lower right corner of the screen.
- Your image will now be set as your iPhone app icon. Finally, hit To add in the top right corner of the screen to finish.
That is it! The custom app icon will now appear on the home screen. In the future, you can launch the app by tapping this icon.
Remark:
- While this hack works fairly reliably, it activates the Shortcuts app first before launching the app.
- If you want to open the app without invoking the Shortcuts app, disable shortcut notifications. Go to Settings App -> Screen Time -> View All Activities -> Notifications -> Shortcuts. Now put the switch next to . from Allow notifications.
Best Third-Party Apps to Create Custom Icons for iPhone Apps
To fully customize, you should try out the third-party app icon changers for iPhone and iPad. Packed with fascinating app icons and themes, they give you more flexibility to design icons to your heart’s content.
1. Aesthetic Kit
Aesthetic Kit is a feature-packed app icon changer for iPhone and iPad. What sets it apart from other icon changers is a huge collection of icons (over 10,000 icons and widgets). This way you have all the freedom to experiment. Moreover, it also comes with a solid library of widgets that you can use to design eye-catching layouts.
To install: (free, $9.99/month)
2. Brass: Custom Icons and Widgets
Another app icon changer that deserves a look is Brass (5+ million downloads). It also comes with a wide variety of custom app icons, themes, and widgets that allow you to decorate your home screen with different layouts. While Brass is available for free, unlocking all icons and themes will cost you $2.49 per week or $6.99 per month.
To install: (free, $6.99/month)
3. Icon theme and icon changer
“Icon Themer & Icon Changer” has all the bases covered to be your one-stop platform for app icons and themes. You can use this app to customize your iPhone app icons with the color and background you want. With the professionally designed themes and widgets at your disposal, creating a stunning layout will be quite easy for you. Like the aforementioned icon changers, it also offers a limited freemium version and you can unlock all icons and themes through the premium tier ($9.99/month).
To install: (free, $9.99/month)
Create custom app icons to design your iPhone and iPad home screen
There you have it! So that’s how you can customize app icons on your iPhone and iPad. As I mentioned above, the Shortcuts app is more than good enough to let you create beautiful app icons for your iOS device. However, if you want a plethora of professionally designed app icons and themes, the third-party icon changers are always there to quench your thirst. That said, be sure to share your feedback and let us know your favorite icon changer for iOS.
