You've probably seen the screenshots around that show iOS splash screens that differ greatly from Apple's stock options provides. Yes, if you are an Android user you're probably laughing at iPhone owners for finally (almost) achieving the customization features they've had for years, but if you're an iOS fan, you probably just want to know how to get involved. It's actually relatively easy - provided you have some free time and don't mind some slightly hacky workaround (don't worry, no jailbreak required).
Widget
The big news it is demanding from all screens shared on social media are home screen widgets, supported for the first time by iOS 14. They can be first or third party and are included in apps downloaded from the App Store. There are a number of developers who have pushed to make sure they're ready for or near iOS launch, and Sarah has created a growing list of some of the best to check out if you're unsure where to start.
One of my favorite widget apps is Widgetsmith, an app that, as the name suggests, was created pretty much entirely for the purpose of making them. It allows you a range of customization options, has a number of useful and practical features including calendar, weather and clock, and comes with several font choices to best suit your style. I have always aimed to create as clean and monotone as possible with iOS and Widgetsmith is the best I have found so far for creating homescreen displays that look borderless (provided the iOS wallpaper is solid color that matches one of those supported from the app).
Widgets are great for providing information at a glance that you typically don't want to retrieve in an app to retrieve, right on your home screen where you need it. Some can access useful features, like the search widget built into Google's iOS app, but most are primarily made to reduce the amount of time you actually spend within the apps themselves.
Custom app icons
While widgets are new, another big component of this customization push isn't: it's the ability to create custom home screen icons for iOS apps. It's been around since Apple introduced its Shortcuts app on iOS a couple of years ago, but many people are discovering the feature for the first time due to the increased focus on home screen customization with the introduction of widgets in iOS 14. .
Creating custom icons on iOS doesn't actually do this, strictly speaking: what you're actually doing is creating new shortcuts that trigger an app launch and using a custom image for that bookmark which then resides on your home screen. . This is not an ideal solution, because it means that A) you will not have any notification badges on your " apps " and B) the system first directs you to Apple's Shortcuts app, which opens for a split second before bump into the actual app selected to link.
Apple clearly didn't design this shortcut feature for this use (opening a target app is meant to be the start of a series of automated actions), but Apple has never seemed interested in allowing users to choose your own custom icons, so that's the best we can do for now. Fortunately, the process is relatively simple. Unfortunately, there are a lot of steps involved, so it's pretty time-consuming to customize your entire home screen.
Here is a video on how to do it in the simplest way possible:
There are some great examples of what creative people have been able to do with this, given a little time and a little elbow grease. With more widget options always online, we've probably only begun to see the limits of testing the boundaries of what's possible even under Apple's rules.