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Apple has never been a fan of users customizing their operating system experiences within their eco-system. With the expectations of wallpapers and dark/light themes, Apple is very much in control of the appearance and presence of its products. However, over the last year or two, Apple is slowly building a bridge to accessibility, budget offerings, and custom functionalit
The Shortcuts app on iOS 15 allows users to make their own paths to apps, which technically allows users to change their app icons. It’s a shame that users need to faff around in such a way in 2021 amidst the height of the smartphone revolution, but here we are.
How to change app icons iOS 15
Before starting, make sure you are running at least iOS 14 and have custom icon images or vector set ready to use alongside the Shortcuts app saved to your iPhone. Sorted? Brilliant, let PC Guide show you how to change app icons in iOS 15:
How to change app icons iOS 15 – Add a new Shortcut
Start things off by opening the shortcuts app and tapping the add icon on the top right corner. After this, select ‘+ Add Action’ to continue.
How to change app icons iOS 15 – Create an action path
In this step, we’re going to be telling the Shortcut app the action we want to take and which app it will relate to. Search for ‘Open App’, then tap on ‘App’ next to it when found.
Here, we need to select the app you wish to change the icon for. For example, if you wanted to customize the app icon for Facebook, you would select the Facebook App. Tap the ‘Open App’ text at the top of your screen and rename it to the app you just selected.
How to change app icons iOS 15 – Set a glyph icon
Glyphs are ready-made icons for Shortcuts. If you wish to select one, tap the top-left shortcut icon, pick your color, finally the Glyph you’d like to use. Then click ‘Done’ which will take you back to your Shortcut creation screen. We need to tap the menu icon next, which is the three sliders icon, and select ‘Add to Home Screen’. Tap ‘Add’ on the next screen and you’re done!
How to change app icons iOS 15 – Use a custom icon image
This option is a bit quicker. Hit the menu button on the Shortcut creation screen, followed by ‘Add to Home Screen’. A default shortcut icon will show in the preview window, tap this and select ‘Choose Photo’ and select the image or vector you’ve saved to your iPhone previously. You’ll want to Zoom and crop the selected image to display correctly as an icon, then tap ‘Choose’. Finally, tap ‘Add’ to get that custom app icon on your home screen.
How to change app icons iOS 15 -turning off software notifications
Don’t worry, we’ve got a how-to guide for that too, simply click here to learn how to turn off notifications on iOS 15.
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