Apple released the fourth public beta of iOS 18 on August 12, about two months after the company unveiled the software at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The beta update brings a host of new features to developers and beta testers' iPhones, including: RCS Messaging and, Remove flashlight control from lock screenOne of the big changes is the ability to customize your home screen (a change that's long overdue in my opinion).
With iOS 18, beta testers and developers will be able to remove app labels, change the color of app icons, arrange apps in new ways on the screen, and much more.
read more: An expert guide to what's new in iOS 18 beta
We recommend that you only download the beta on devices other than your main device, as this is not the final version of iOS 18. Updates may be buggy and may reduce battery lifeThese issues are best addressed on a different device, so I downloaded the beta onto my old iPhone XR to avoid these issues on my iPhone 14 Pro.
It should be noted that the beta version is not the final version of iOS 18, so more features may arrive on iPhones when iOS 18 is released. Apple has announced that iOS 18 will be released to the public this fall, but there is no confirmed date yet.
Here we'll show you all the ways you can customize your home screen to make it fun and unique.
How to Resize Icons in iOS 18
1. Long press on the background will put the app into shaking mode where it will jiggle.
2. Tap edit It's in the top left corner of the screen.
3. Tap Customization.
4. Tap big In the new menu that appears at the bottom of the screen.
The app icons get larger and the labels underneath them disappear. It looks a lot cleaner now, so I don't plan on showing app labels going forward.
If you don't like this, just follow the steps above again and small. The app returns to its normal size and the labels reappear.
How to Change App Icon Color
1. Long press on the background will put the app into shaking mode where it will jiggle.
2. Tap edit It's in the top left corner of the screen.
3. Tap Customization.
4. Tap the icon on the right side of the menu at the bottom of the screen. Colored.
A gradient scale will then appear at the bottom of the menu, which you can slide until you find the right shade.
You can also tap the eyedropper icon in the top-right corner of the menu to choose a color from your background that is closer to your icon. This way, you won't get annoyed by moving the slider and getting a mismatched color. This hasn't happened to me, but it never will. This change affects all app icons.
You can also have a dark background for some apps.
1. Long press on the background will put the app into shaking mode where it will jiggle.
2. Tap edit It's in the top left corner of the screen.
3. Tap Customization.
4. Tap the icon in the center-left of the menu at the bottom of the screen. dark.
Apple's first-party apps, such as Messages and Safari, will have a mostly black background. This change applies to Apple's first-party apps and some third-party apps, such as YouTube and Bluesky. Other third-party apps, such as Instagram and Snapchat, will remain unchanged.
Selecting Dark will darken the background, helping your iPhone use less power and extend battery life.
How to darken only the background
If you have colored app icons or you just want a brighter look for your icons, you can make them stand out by making the background darker. Here are the steps:
1. Touch and hold any part of the background and the app will go into a shaking mode where it will jiggle.
2. Tap edit It's in the top left corner of the screen.
3. Tap Customization.
4. Tap the sun icon in the top-left corner of the new menu.
This will only darken your wallpaper and will not affect your app icons.
How to place apps on your home screen
The steps to arrange apps on the home screen are the same as before: long-press on an empty area of the background to enter wiggle mode and then drag the app to where you want it, or press and drag the app to its new location.
You can arrange all your apps at the bottom of the screen, around the screen, or in different patterns, making it easy to see them even if you have photos of your loved ones or pets in the background.
The grid is still there, so apps can't overlap each other or be too close together, and when you zoom in on an app there's a pretty big gap between the dock at the bottom of the screen and the bottom row of the grid. It looks like it should be big enough to fit another app icon, but it's not. I tried, but it didn't work.
Remember that iOS 18 is still in beta, so these features may have bugs or not work properly. We've seen issues where trying to colorize icons resulted in app artwork being removed entirely, or some icons having color while others didn't. There will likely be more betas released before the OS is released to the public, so there's plenty of time for Apple to address any issues. At this time, there's no word on when Apple will release iOS 18.
For more details on iOS 18, check out my experience with it. iOS 18 Public Betathings you should know RCS Messaging in iOS 18 And our iOS 18 Beta Cheat Sheet.
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