Customization is Android’s key strength. You can personalize the best Android smartphones as you like by using a custom launcher, changing the system font, and trying different system themes. That’s not it, though. You can even change app icons on your Android phone as per your liking. Wondering how? Read the guide below to find out.
What to know about changing app icons on your Android phone
The stock launcher of most Android phones and tablets does not support icon packs or changing the app icons, including Google’s Pixel launcher. In such cases, you must use a third-party launcher to change how app icons look on your phone. If your phone’s stock launcher supports changing app icons, it is unlikely to support third-party icon packs from the Play Store.
There’s a way to change app icons on the stock launcher of an unsupported Android phone, but it is cumbersome and not intuitive. The time-consuming process involves changing each app’s icon individually.
How to change app icons on Samsung phones
Samsung’s built-in One UI theme manager supports changing app icons, so you can customize your phone’s homescreen to your liking. The catch here is that the One UI theme manager only supports changing the first-party app icons, which leads to an inconsistent experience.
- Open the Settings menu on your Samsung Galaxy phone.
- Scroll down and select Themes.
- Tap Icons from the bottom tab.
- The Featured tab displays the app icon packs picked by Samsung.
- Switch to the Top tab to see the popular icon packs.
- Tap the app icon pack you like and download it.
- Select Apply to apply the icon pack.
Most icon packs in the Galaxy Themes store cost money. It would be best to try out some of the limited free options before paying for an icon pack that you like.
The icon pack change appears in the stock One UI Home launcher but not in third-party launchers.
You can apply third-party icon packs from the Google Play Store on all apps on your Samsung device using a Good Lock module. Follow our guide on how to use custom icon packs on Samsung One UI to learn more. This process is more convoluted, and you might prefer to use a third-party launcher instead.
How to theme app icons on Google Pixel phones
Google’s Pixel launcher does not support app icon packs, but it does have themed icons. With this feature, the launcher themes all icons based on the wallpaper colors used by the system’s dynamic theming engine.
- Open the Settings menu on your Pixel phone.
- Scroll down and tap Wallpaper and style.
- Enable the Themed icons option.
- You can also change the Wallpaper colors used by the dynamic theming engine to tweak the look of the themed icons.
All app shortcuts that support icon theming are updated on your homescreen.
Themed icons are limited to the homescreen of your Google Pixel phone. App icons retain their original look in the app drawer.
How to change app icons on your Android phone
Don’t worry if your phone’s stock launcher doesn’t support changing the stock icons. That’s the case with the majority of Android devices. However, you can use Shortcut Maker to change individual app icons on your phone, irrespective of whether they are first-party or third-party apps.
Download your preferred icon pack from the Play Store before following these steps.
- Download Shortcut Maker on your Android device.
- Tap Apps.
- Select the app whose icon you want to change.
- Select Icon from the settings menu that opens.
- The available icons for that app from the various icon packs installed on your phone appear under the Available Icons section.
- Select the one you like.
- Customize the app icon’s style and theme from the Style and Themed tabs.
- Tap the checkmark in the upper-right corner to confirm your choice.
- Select the Create Shortcut option to add the new app icon to your homescreen. Depending on your Android phone, you may have to confirm this action by tapping Add from the dialog box that pops up.
While Shortcut Maker works to change the app icon on your Android phone, it is not an ideal solution. You cannot apply icon packs using it. So, if you want to change the icons of multiple apps, you must do it manually.
Also, Shortcut Maker creates a new app shortcut with the app icon, and its changes are limited to that shortcut. This means you will continue seeing the original app shortcut with its original logo in your phone’s app drawer, leading to an inconsistent experience.
Use third-party launchers to apply icon packs easily
Ideally, you should use a third-party launcher if you want to use icon packs on your Android phone. The best Android launchers support custom icon packs. Coupled with the best icon packs on the Play Store, you can change the look of the app icons on your phone in a few taps. And unlike the stock launcher of most Android phones, third-party launchers change the icons of both first-party and third-party apps.
The steps to change app icons varies depending on which custom launcher you use. But the general guidelines remain the same. Download the icon pack from the Play Store that you want to apply, and then jump into the launcher’s settings menu. From there, select the custom icons option followed by the icon pack.
How to change app icons in Nova launcher
- Long-press an empty area of your Nova launcher homescreen.
- Tap Settings.
- Select Look & feel.
- Tap Icon style.
- Tap Icon theme.
- Select the icon pack that you’d like to apply. This automatically changes all the app icons on your phone.
- Go to the Icon style menu to find additional options that tweak the app icons’ style and shape.
- Go to your Nova homescreen to see the changes.
If you want to change the icon of a particular app on your Nova homescreen, follow these steps:
- Long-press the app icon you want to change.
- Tap the pencil button to edit the shortcut.
- Tap the app icon.
- Select the icon pack from which you want to apply the icon.
- Select the icon you want to apply.
- Tap Done after choosing the icon you like.
Changing individual app icons in Nova launcher is a handy option when you are looking to mix and use two or three icon packs together.
The steps to apply an icon pack or change individual app icons are mostly the same across all third-party launchers.
Custom app icons are a great way to customize your Android phone’s homescreen. It lets you personalize the look and feel of your device as you want. Ideally, you should use a third-party launcher if you are a fan of icon packs, as they make applying them easier. Apart from using custom app icons, check out the best and most useful Android widgets to make your homescreen beautiful and useful to look at.
