For years, one of many advantages of selecting Android over iOS was that you could possibly transfer away from the inflexible grid of app icons you had used on your iPhone house screens: Handsets with Google’s cellular working system on board allow you to mess around with totally different layouts, drop in interactive widgets, and even revamp the entire interface with a launcher.
The customization hole has been closing just lately, and it’s smaller than ever with the discharge of iOS 18. The brand new software program rolling out now to tens of millions of iPhones provides to the present customization choices to convey you much more management over how the interface seems to be—and there are three separate areas to look into.
Customise the house screens
You’re going to be spending plenty of time taking a look at your property screens, so it is smart to get them trying the best way you need them to. Latest variations of iOS have seen the introduction of house display screen widgets and the choice to cover a few of your property display screen from view (with the App Library holding all the things you’ve acquired put in), however iOS 18 takes house display screen customizations even additional.
Now you can depart gaps wherever you want within the house display screen grid—no workarounds or third-party apps are required. Lengthy press on a house display screen shortcut till all of the icons begin shaking, and you may take away an app shortcut by tapping the – (minus) icon and selecting Take away from House Display. You possibly can then drag icons round to depart gaps, and iOS received’t mechanically fill them.
In case you’ve acquired a wallpaper you just like the look of, you would possibly wish to maintain all of your app icons down on the backside or up on the high of the display screen. You too can tweak the colours of those icons and alter how they adapt as you turn between gentle and darkish modes. Use an extended press on any app shortcut to get all of the app tiles transferring, then faucet Edit (high left) and Customise.
You’ve acquired 4 choices: icons which are 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 Giant choices to vary the scale of the icons, too.
Customise the Management Heart
The Management Heart continues to change into extra helpful with every passing model of iOS, and iOS 18 isn’t any totally different. In case you open the Management Panel within the ordinary means, with a swipe down from the highest proper nook of the display screen, you’ll see there at the moment are 4 screens by default, and you may swipe up and down by means of them.
These screens are Favorites, Music, House, and Connectivity, and you may customise any of them by tapping the + (plus) icon within the high proper nook. On the Favorites display screen, for instance, you’ll be able to drag controls round, use the handles on the edges to vary the scale 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 means, 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 screen, the widget is full display screen by default, however you’ll be able to shrink it down and match in additional controls alongside it if you wish to—every display screen has an Add a Management choice.
There are small icons down the suitable of the show displaying which display screen you’re at the moment 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 screen, which you’ll configure as you want. Lastly, by way of 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 screen).
Customise the lock display screen
Apple gave the iPhone lock display screen an actual overhaul with iOS 16 again in 2022, and whereas the adjustments aren’t fairly as dramatic in iOS 18, there’s nonetheless one tweak value mentioning: For the primary time, you’ll be able to change the flashlight and digital camera shortcuts on the lock display screen or take away them altogether.
With the lock display screen seen, faucet and maintain someplace on it, then select Customise and Lock Display. The acquainted choices for dropping widgets into the lock display screen present up, and you may faucet on the time and date to vary the format of those components 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 possibly can faucet the – (minus) button subsequent to both the flashlight or digital camera shortcut to take away it from its default place. You possibly can depart the spot clean or faucet the + (plus) button to place one thing else as a replacement. Whenever you’re performed along with your modifying, faucet Executed to save lots of your adjustments.
With regards to changing the flashlight and digital camera buttons, you’ve acquired a wealth of choices: You possibly can 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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