It seems cliché to say, but only because it’s never been more true: Your phone is the most personal computer you possess. It’s the first (and often the only) place people go to obtain information, connect, and create. It’s also so portable that you can almost “wear” it in your pocket or backpack. It should feel better to use your phone if you make it seem like your own, or at the very least, it will feel more worthy of the significant role it plays in your life.
Although not all smartphones provide the same degree of personalization, both Android and iOS have improved over time in terms of how simple it is to alter the appearance and functionality of your phone (iOS has made significant progress). If personalization is your top priority, an Android phone will still give you the most flexibility. Here are some of the procedures I take to personalize the home screen of my phone, which should work for anybody else with a contemporary Android phone, in an attempt to have the coolest—or at least the most “me”—Pixel out there.
1 Change the background.
Changing the wallpaper on your phone is one of the easiest ways to personalize its home screen. It goes without saying that a wallpaper may significantly alter the look and feel of your phone as it serves as the backdrop for almost every open application. You can rapidly switch things up by long-pressing on the home screen of your Android phone, which should bring up a menu.
Google has some good built-in choices for where your wallpaper should originate from, but you can also acquire a lot of fresh wallpapers by using a custom launcher. You could find what you’re looking for among the many wallpaper applications available. The important thing is that you are satisfied with your choice.
2Install a fresh launcher
Your home screen and app drawer are controlled by our launcher. One of the most noticeable adjustments you can make to your phone is to use a new one. With the Pixel launcher on Google’s first-party hardware, most users can create a home screen that looks the way they want it to and have just the appropriate amount of functionality to make their phone more functional than annoying.
With a scrollable list of applications instead of a grid, Niagra Launcher is a fantastic choice for a more minimalist approach if you have a particular goal in mind. The adaptable widget system in Smart Launcher 6 (referred to as a “Fluid Grid” system) and the app drawer’s organizing capabilities, which automatically arrange your applications according to their use cases, are the main reasons I’ve been exploring with it. It’s important to acknowledge that there may be a learning curve for new launchers as you become used to them, and regrettably, the most of them demand a lifetime license or a paid membership in order to use all of its capabilities. Nevertheless, of all the choices in this list, a launcher will alter your home screen the quickest.
3. Incorporate fresh icons
After you’ve chosen a launcher and wallpaper that you like, you may want to think about changing the icons for your apps, which, apart from widgets, occupy the most space on your home screen. Icon packs are supported by the majority of popular third-party launchers. You add them to your launcher from inside the icon app itself after downloading them as a basic app from the Play Store.
With the help of the icon-making software Icon Pack Studio, the creators of Smart Launcher have made it very easy to build custom packs or even just modify the pre-existing choices on your phone. Make sure you have the time to devote to getting your icons to appear the way you want them to since it might take some time. Fun, pixelated program icons that I felt looked very decent are provided by Retro Mode — Neon by Moertel Pixel Art as a pre-built alternative. Just be advised that not every software you may desire has an icon.
4. Try out different widgets.
Android uses widgets to enable you to access information and functionality from your applications without actually opening them. Information that can be seen and interacted with. Widgets have size restrictions by default. Unless you have a launcher that offers you additional options or has its own widgets, you’ll often be limited to the sizes that app developers supply.
Most large applications include some kind of widget, so depending on the developer, you may be able to get away with utilizing a widget instead of launching an app for the majority of your phone’s functions. The alternative is to download an app called KWGT, which enables you to make your own widgets, including ones that can access your data and connect to your Google account. Once again, it takes some trial and error, but I’ve discovered that the more widgets you can utilize, the more comfortable using your phone will be.
5 Draw inspiration from other people.
This kind of home screen customization requires a great deal of creativity and a lot of opinions. You may wish to model your setup after someone else’s if that becomes overwhelming at any stage. In addition to browsing subreddits like r/Homescreens, several launchers and app icon creators allow you to see and even use other people’s designs as a starting point.
One of the greatest ways to utilize KWGT, for instance, is to start with some work completed for you; nevertheless, this is also a good practice in general. Taking influence from someone else’s home screen might eventually help you avoid producing something unsightly, which you presumably desire.
Customize your phone.
It’s true that creating something that looks ugly is simple. There are so many methods to change the appearance of your home screen that you’re sure to end up with something that isn’t “good design.” However, it will be yours at least. You’ll be OK as long as you think about how you really want to use your smartphone and keep functionality in mind.