How to change the color of your Apps iOS 14?

Every time you buy something, you always want to claim it yours. Either by attaching some non-tangible memories to it or going the easier way to customize it according to your preference. From your choice of shades to that of your favorite pair of shoes, you want them to reflect your persona and individuality. Similarly, you do that with your choice of mobile. From your choice of the device to that of its color, it all depends on your preferences. So, why not go beyond the external features of your phone and customize it from the inside. Check out this article on how to change the color of your Apps iOS 14.

For years now, Android devices provided their users with the ability to customize almost everything. From the notification tray, its widgets to the way the app icons look on the phone. The freedom of customization on Android (on most devices) led many to choose it over Apple’s iPhone. One reason for the early integration of customization in Android devices might be the way how Android was built as an OS. Simply, Android as an OS was constructed over further customizing Linux.

For changing the look of apps on Android devices, you could install numerous launchers and icon packs available on the Play Store. This enlarged the scope of customization of your device so much that not just the look of the phone changes. But the feel of you using it is vastly different from the stock version you get when you first buy it.  Check out our tutorial: Black Widget on iPhone.

How to change the color of your Apps iOS 14
How to change the color of your Apps iOS 14?

However, Apple doesn’t go this far with the customization of its devices, yet. With the iOS 14 update, Apple has finally introduced the feature to customize your app icons. Well not technically. You can make it seem like you have customized your app icons according to your preference. Let’s discuss more about the new feature that arrived with iOS 14 and knows how to make your device reflect your preferences.

Why Customize App Icons on Your iPhone?

For years, looking at the same icons on your iPhone might have subconsciously led you to rely on your muscle memory, to guide you through the apps without even thinking about its look. However, you might just not like the way an app looks on your Home Screen in contrast to your favorite wallpaper. Or you just must make your phone aesthetically pleasing as per your standards to make it a certain color.

This is where the new update shines. It lets you put your favorite color on your app icon. Now, you can do more than just save your favorite image as the background image for your Home Screen. This was introduced with the Shortcuts app, and that is why you can’t technically customize the original app icon. You are just able to customize the shortcut you made for the app to your choice.

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Changing the Color of App Icon before iOS 14

If you and still not running your iPhone or iPad on iOS 14 you lose out on changing your app icons to different colors. You are provided with just two options to change your app icon’s colors from the native settings, Inverted and Grayscale.

Follow the steps to Change App Icon Color from the Settings:

  • Open your iPhone’s settings.
  • Tap on the General option available on the list of options.
  • Go to Accessibility and select it.
  • In the Accessibility menu, you can toggle on/off the options for Inverted Colors or Grayscale.

How to Change/Customize your App Icons on iOS 14

To make sure you can customize or change your app icon, you need to make sure you have updated your device to at least iOS 14 or iPadOS 14. You also need to make sure that you have the Shortcuts app installed on your device, otherwise, you can’t customize your app icons. The last thing to remember is that you can either change the color of your Apps on iOS 14 or prefer a picture in place of your app icon. To put a picture as an app icon, make sure you have the necessary images in your Photos app.

Follow the steps to Customize your App Icon Color:

  • Launch the Shortcut App on your device.
  • Tap on the + option in the top right corner of the app and tap on the Add Action.
  • Search got Open App and tap on it to select that option.
How to change the color of your Apps iOS 14
  • Next, select the Choose option.
  • A Choose App page would appear. Scroll through the page to find the app you want to change the color of. For example, you want to customize the app Safari. You need to select Safari from the Choose App option.

You can also, search the app’s name and choose the app more easily than finding it through scrolling.

  • After choosing your desired app, you would return to the New Shortcut page. Tap on the three dots to open the Details page.
  • You can change the name of the shortcut to anything you want on the Details page. Preferably, put the actual app name to make it easier to get to. To change the name, type in the Shortcut Name field.
  • Now to customize your app icon, tap on the left of the shortcut name on the Details screen.
  • On the new page that opens, you can now choose both the color of your app icon and the image that you want the shortcut to have, to represent the app. To change the color of your Apps iOS 14, go to the Color option by tapping on it.
  • Now select the color you prefer the shortcut should have
  • Next, you need to select a Glyph for the app icon. Remember, you cannot keep your Glyph empty, and it would not let you get your customized app icon. Select the Glyph you want the app icon to have and select Done after.
  • Now you need to add this shortcut to your Home Screen to replace the actual app icon. For that tap on the Add to Home Screen and then select Add. You can restart the iPhone if you found required.
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Enjoy your newly customized app icon that reflects your persona and makes your Home Screen look more aesthetic than before. However, we are not done yet. Now you have two of the same application on the Home Screen. There are more aesthetic ways to organize your apps on iPhone.

To Remove the Original App Icon

  • Long Press the original app icon.
  • Choose the Remove App option and then select Remove from Home Screen.

You have now successfully customized an app icon and the original application doesn’t clog up your Home Screen. However, if you want the original app back, it’s present in the App Library on the last page.

  • You are just done with one app icon for now. To make every app icon, look the same way and match the aesthetic, you must repeat the same method for each application.

Third-Party Method to change the color of your Apps iOS 14

Using Color Widgets

  • Install the Color Widgets application from the App Store.
  • Long press with your finger on your Home Screen.
  • Upon the wiggling of the apps, tap on the + icon on the top left corner of the screen.
  • Select the Color Widgets option and choose the Add Widget option.
  • Choose from the list of available widgets that suits better for you to put on your Home Screen.
  • Tap on the Edit Widget button and customize your widgets according to your color preferences and font choices.
  • Select the Set Widget to confirm the process.

Using Widgetsmith

  • Install the Widgetsmith app from the App Store on your iPhone and iPad.
  • Open the app and customize the widget according to your preferences. Such as, choosing the size of the widget between the options of small, medium, or large.
  • Tap on the widget next to choose the color and font and select the best one that suits your persona or your device’s look.
  • Save your customizations when you are done by tapping the Save button.
  • Long press the home screen over any app and tap on the Edit Home Screen and select the + icon situated on the top left side corner.
  • Then, search for Widgetsmith on the list of available widgets and select it.
  • Now put the widget on the preferred page of your choice and choose the size of the widget you want to view it in.
  • Now you can edit the widget as per your choice by just long pressing down on the app.

Conclusion

We have covered how to change the color of your Apps iOS 14, thereby Apple is taking steps to let you customize your device but at a very slow pace. It might take a lot more years and many major updates to make customization of the app and the look of the classic iPhone easy, just like Android. But we know how Apple won’t do anything until they produce the best version of it. So, we can just hope to see an update like that. Always use automatic updates iPhone.

If you were unaware of the new feature iOS 14 brought to you, I hope this was useful. I hope, in order to customize your iPhone or iPad you can follow these steps and show off your desired look to others.

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FAQ

Can Change Color of App Icons Affect Performance?

Every time you wish to put more thought into adding something to your phone you run a risk of affecting your device’s performance. You sometimes sway away from incorporating any app or any setting because you want your device to run without any issue.
You are actually not affecting your device’s performance by customizing your app icons to grayscale or inverted colors because they are native to iOS’s Accessibility settings. Also, when changing the app icons through Shortcuts, you aren’t affecting the performance because it just provides an additional shortcut to the preferred application and doesn’t affect the original app tile. However, there’s no practical data on the third-party applications Color Widget and Widgetsmith so you can’t be sure if they affect the performance of your device.

Why there’s a Limit to the Option for Customization?

Apple has always been keen on providing security over serving looks to its users. Because of that reason we have never seen many updates to the customization to the appearance of your devices. However, with the updates in recent quarters, more and more features are arising that help you customize your device to suit you better.

Can I Change My App Icon Color if My iPhone isn’t Updated to iOS 14?

If you are looking for ways to update your app icons to a different color, you have been updated with the iOS 14. The new Shortcut isn’t available on the previous versions and the only option you really can change the color scheme is through the native settings. Through the native settings, you can change the color scheme to either Grayscale or Inverted Colors
To change the app icons to the above-said modes you can refer to the tutorial mentioned above for devices that are not updated to iOS 14.

Can I Root My iPhone to Customize the App Icons like that in Android?

Rooting an Android device means going past the restricted levels set up by the OEM of the device to gain privileges that regular users can’t access. Rooting is generally done to customize your device’s performance and looks according to your preferences.
However, rooting doesn’t exist on iPhones or iPads to gain additional access to the operating system. However, a similar method is present in the Apple ecosystem, known as Jailbreaking. But unfortunately, you can’t jailbreak your iPhone to customize your app icons and change the colors and you must simply adhere to the tutorial mentioned above to make your Home Screen look the way you want it to be.