For years, one of many advantages of selecting Android over iOS was that you can transfer away from the inflexible grid of app icons you had used to your iPhone residence screens: Handsets with Google’s cellular working system on board allow you to mess around with completely different layouts, drop in interactive widgets, and even revamp the entire interface with a launcher.
The customization hole has been closing lately, and it’s smaller than ever with the discharge of iOS 18. The brand new software program rolling out now to thousands and thousands of iPhones provides to the prevailing customization choices to convey you much more management over how the interface appears to be like—and there are three separate areas to look into.
Customise the house screens
You’re going to be spending lots of time taking a look at your private home screens, so it is smart to get them wanting the best way you need them to. Latest variations of iOS have seen the introduction of residence display widgets and the choice to cover a few of your private home display from view (with the App Library holding all the pieces you’ve acquired put in), however iOS 18 takes residence display customizations even additional.
Now you can depart gaps wherever you want within the residence display grid—no workarounds or third-party apps are required. Lengthy press on a house display shortcut till all of the icons begin shaking, and you’ll take away an app shortcut by tapping the – (minus) icon and selecting Take away from Dwelling Display. You may then drag icons round to go away gaps, and iOS received’t mechanically fill them.
In the event you’ve acquired a wallpaper you just like the look of, you would possibly wish to hold all of your app icons down on the backside or up on the prime of the display. You may also tweak the colours of those icons and alter how they adapt as you turn between gentle and darkish modes. Use a protracted press on any app shortcut to get all of the app tiles shifting, then faucet Edit (prime left) and Customise.
You’ve acquired 4 choices: icons which might be all the time in gentle mode, all the time in darkish mode, all the time following the sunshine or darkish mode system setting, or that use a particular coloration tint set by you (faucet Tinted to convey up the colour picker). Above these choices, you’ll be able to change between the Small and Massive choices to vary the dimensions of the icons, too.
Customise the Management Heart
The Management Heart continues to turn into extra helpful with every passing model of iOS, and iOS 18 is not any completely different. In the event you open the Management Panel within the common method, with a swipe down from the highest proper nook of the display, you’ll see there are actually 4 screens by default, and you’ll swipe up and down by means of them.
These screens are Favorites, Music, Dwelling, and Connectivity, and you’ll customise any of them by tapping the + (plus) icon within the prime proper nook. On the Favorites display, for instance, you’ll be able to drag controls round, use the handles on the edges to vary the dimensions of the management widgets and faucet the – (minus) icons to take away controls. Faucet Add a Management on the backside so as to add one thing new.

The opposite screens work in the identical method, with some slight variations (you’ll be able to’t edit particular person entries on the Connectivity web page, for instance). On the Music display, the widget is full display by default, however you’ll be able to shrink it down and match in additional controls alongside it if you wish to—every display has an Add a Management possibility.
There are small icons down the best of the show exhibiting which display you’re at present on, and on the backside of this column, you’ll see a small dot—faucet on this to create a brand new Management Heart display, which you’ll configure as you want. Lastly, through Management Heart in Settings, you’ll be able to set whether or not or not Management Heart is accessible once you’re inside apps (in addition to on the house display).
Customise the lock display
Apple gave the iPhone lock display an actual overhaul with iOS 16 again in 2022, and whereas the modifications aren’t fairly as dramatic in iOS 18, there’s nonetheless one tweak price mentioning: For the primary time, you’ll be able to change the flashlight and digital camera shortcuts on the lock display or take away them altogether.
With the lock display seen, faucet and maintain someplace on it, then select Customise and Lock Display. The acquainted choices for dropping widgets into the lock display present up, and you’ll faucet on the time and date to vary the format of those parts as nicely. The buttons for turning the depth impact on and off and switching between gentle mode and darkish mode are additionally right here.

The change is down on the backside: You may faucet the – (minus) button subsequent to both the flashlight or digital camera shortcut to take away it from its default place. You may depart the spot clean or faucet the + (plus) button to place one thing else as a replacement. While you’re achieved together with your modifying, faucet Completed to save lots of your modifications.
In terms of changing the flashlight and digital camera buttons, you’ve acquired a wealth of choices: You may drop in shortcuts for a stopwatch or a timer, to report a voice memo or to open Apple Pockets, to leap to the Calculator, to activate the iPhone hotspot, and rather more apart from. Choose Open App, and the shortcut can level to any app you want.
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