What you can change on your iPhone screen

Your iPhone display has several settings you can adjust without replacing the screen itself. You can change the brightness, color tone, text size, refresh rate (on newer models), and the overall appearance of your home screen and lock screen. Most of these changes take seconds and live in the Settings app.

If your screen is physically cracked, discolored, or unresponsive to touch, that is a hardware problem that requires repair or replacement — this guide covers software and appearance changes only. If you want to know whether your screen needs physical repair, look for cracks, dark spots that do not move when you restart, or areas that do not respond when you tap them.

Key Takeaways

  • Brightness, color temperature, and text size are all in Settings > Display & Brightness, and changes take effect when ready.
  • You can customize your lock screen and home screen background, app icons, and widget layout without any technical knowledge.
  • Dark Mode reduces eye strain in low light and saves battery on iPhones with OLED screens (iPhone 12 and newer).
  • Refresh rate on iPhone 13 Pro and newer can be set to 120Hz for smoother scrolling or lowered to save battery.
  • Text size changes affect most apps, but some apps have their own separate text size settings you may need to adjust separately.

Adjusting brightness and color temperature

Open Settings, tap Display & Brightness, and you will see a brightness slider at the top. Drag it left to dim or right to brighten. Below that is a toggle for True Tone, which adjusts the screen color to match the light around you — turn it on if your screen looks too blue or yellow depending on the room.

If you want automatic brightness, turn on Auto-Brightness in the same menu. Your phone will then adjust brightness based on the ambient light sensor. Some people find this distracting; if you do, turn it off and adjust manually or use Control Center (swipe down from the top right) to change brightness on the fly.

Night Shift is another color tool in the same menu. It makes the screen warmer (more orange) in the evening to reduce blue light before bed. You can set it to turn on and off at specific times, or turn it on manually whenever you want.

Changing text size and display zoom

Go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Text Size and drag the slider to make text larger or smaller across most apps. This affects Mail, Messages, Notes, and many third-party apps, but not all — some apps like Safari have their own text size controls inside the app itself.

If you want to enlarge everything on the screen (not just text), go to Settings > Display & Brightness > View and choose Zoomed instead of Standard. This makes icons, buttons, and text all larger, but you will see fewer items per screen. Standard view is the default and shows more content at once.

Text size changes take effect when ready, but you may need to close and reopen an app to see the change in that specific app.

Turning on Dark Mode

Dark Mode changes your entire interface to a dark background with light text. Open Settings > Display & Brightness and toggle Dark Mode on. You can set it to turn on automatically at sunset, at a specific time you choose, or keep it manual so you turn it on only when you want it.

Dark Mode is easier on the eyes in dim lighting and uses less battery on iPhones with OLED screens (iPhone 12 and newer). On older iPhones with LCD screens, the battery savings are minimal. Some people prefer the look; others find it harder to read. You can switch between Light and Dark Mode as often as you want.

Customizing your lock screen and home screen

Long-press your lock screen to edit it. You can change the wallpaper, add widgets (small app shortcuts that show live information), and adjust the color and style of the clock and notifications. Tap Customize at the bottom, then tap the wallpaper preview to choose a new image from your photo library or Apple's built-in options.

To customize your home screen, long-press any empty area and tap Edit. From there you can rearrange app icons, create folders by dragging one app onto another, or change the overall look by explore a different wallpaper. You can also add widgets to your home screen by long-pressing an empty area, tapping the plus button, selecting an app, and choosing which widget you want.

App icons themselves can be changed using the Shortcuts app if you want custom icons instead of the default ones. This is optional and takes more steps, but gives you full control over how your home screen looks.

Adjusting refresh rate on newer iPhones

If you have an iPhone 13 Pro, 14 Pro, 15 Pro, or newer, your screen can refresh at up to 120Hz for smoother scrolling. Go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Motion and toggle on or off as you prefer. At 120Hz, scrolling and animations look fluid but use more battery. At the standard 60Hz, battery lasts longer but motion looks slightly less smooth.

Your phone can also automatically lower the refresh rate to save battery when your battery percentage is low. This happens without you having to do anything, but you can turn off the automatic feature in Settings > Battery if you want to control it manually.

Reducing motion and flashing

If animations make you dizzy or uncomfortable, go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size and turn on Reduce Motion. This removes or simplifies animations throughout the system — app opening, scrolling, and transitions will feel snappier and less fluid.

You can also turn on Reduce Transparency in the same menu, which makes backgrounds more solid and less blurred. This can make text easier to read if you find transparency distracting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will changing display settings drain my battery faster?

Brightness is the biggest battery drain. Keeping brightness low or using Auto-Brightness saves the most power. Dark Mode saves battery only on OLED screens (iPhone 12 and newer). Lowering refresh rate to 60Hz on Pro models also extends battery life. Text size and motion settings have no meaningful impact on battery.

Can I have different lock screens for different times of day?

Yes. Long-press your lock screen, tap the plus button at the bottom, and create a new lock screen with a different wallpaper, widgets, or time style. You can then set up Focus modes (Settings > Focus) to automatically switch between lock screens at specific times or when you open certain apps.

What if an app does not respect my text size setting?

Some apps have their own text size controls that override the system setting. Open the app, look in its settings menu, and adjust text size there. Safari, for example, has its own text size control in the menu. If an app has no text size option, you can try zooming in by pinching the screen, though this is not a permanent fix.

Does Dark Mode work on all iPhone models?

Dark Mode is available on iPhone XS, XS Max, XR, and all newer models. If you have an older iPhone, you will not see the Dark Mode toggle in Settings. You can still adjust brightness and color temperature on any iPhone.

Can I change the display without going into Settings?

Yes, for brightness. Swipe down from the top right corner to open Control Center and drag the brightness slider. You can also add Dark Mode, Night Shift, and other toggles to Control Center by going to Settings > Control Center and tapping the plus button next to the features you want quick access to.