7 Home Screen Customization Features on iOS 18​

Another year, another iOS version. Apple is focusing on making iPhones more customizable. Today I gonna tell you about some cool and new features like home screen and lock screen Widgets and Dynamic Wallpapers, and recent updates have added many new ways to personalize iOS. The latest update, iOS 18, is no exception. Here are the exciting new customization features in iOS 18.

Important: Here is a list of all iPhones, iPads, and Macs that will receive the latest OS versions announced.

1. Place Apps and Widgets Anywhere on the Screen

Up until now, the iPhone’s home screen didn’t allow blank spaces. If you wanted an app at the bottom for easy access, you had to fill the screen with apps or widgets.

With iOS 18, that limitation is gone. Now you can place any app or widget anywhere on the screen. Just touch and hold the app icon, tap Edit Home Screen, and when the apps start to jiggle, drag and drop them wherever you want. You can even select multiple apps and move them all at once.

2. Change App Icon Colors

You can now change the color of app icons with the new tinting feature! Simply touch and hold any blank space on the home screen, tap Edit, and then select Customize. Choose the Tinted option to pick your desired color and intensity. You’ll see a live preview, and the color will be applied instantly. Plus, a color picker icon matches colors from your wallpaper.

In addition to tinting, there’s a new dark app icons option in the same menu. However, third-party apps don’t turn dark yet in the developer beta 1.

3. Large Icons on the Home Screen

iOS 18 lets you make app icons larger on the home screen. To do this, touch and hold any blank space, tap Edit, then Customize. Choose the Large option to increase the icon size. You can see the changes instantly, just swipe up to go home and the changes will be applied instantly.

I wish we could make the app icons smaller. There aren’t many size options right now, but hopefully, we’ll see more customization in future updates.

4. Redesigned Control Center

The Control Center has been completely revamped. Now, it supports multiple pages you can scroll through to see all your options. Different controls like Home devices and Now Playing have their own pages by default. Apple is also allowing third-party app developers to create their controls for their apps.

To customize the Control Center, just long-press on any blank space in the Control Center to enter edit mode. Tap Add a Control at the bottom to add controls, just like adding widgets to your home screen. You can also move controls around just like on the new home screen. Plus, you can now change the size of each control to three different sizes.

5. Change Lock Screen Shortcuts

By default, the iPhone has Flashlight and Camera shortcuts on the lock screen. But with iOS 18, you can change these shortcuts to the ones you use most often. For example, I use the Timer every day and like to keep it handy on the lock screen. You can choose from many options like Translate, Calculator, Siri Shortcuts, Accessibility Settings, Voice Memos, Apple Wallet, and more.

To customize, long-press on the lock screen, tap Customize, and select the lock screen option. Here, you can remove the existing shortcuts and add the ones you prefer.

6. Lock Apps With Face ID

If you hand your phone to someone—whether they want to play a game, check your trip photos, or make a call—they can access all your apps since your phone is already unlocked. But with iOS 18, you can lock individual apps like banking or chat apps to keep them private. Even if someone has your unlocked phone, they can’t open these locked apps without authenticating with Face ID.

To lock an app, simply long-press on the app icon on the home screen, select the Require Face ID option, and finally click Require Face ID in the pop-up to lock it.

7. Hide Apps From the Home Screen

Besides locking apps, iOS 18 also lets you hide them. Hidden apps won’t appear on your home screen or in the settings app. To access them, you need to go to the Hidden Apps folder in the App Library and use Face ID to unlock the folder.

To hide apps, just long-press on the app icon, select the Require Face ID option, and then select the Hide and Require Face ID option in the pop-up to hide the app.