What you can change about how apps appear on your iPhone

You can change how apps look on your iPhone in three main ways: by rearranging them on your home screen, by organizing them into folders, and by changing your phone's overall display settings like text size and color scheme. You cannot change the icon design itself through iPhone settings — the app icon is controlled by the app maker — but you can use the Home Screen customization tools to alter the layout, grouping, and visual theme of your entire phone.

The most visible changes come from moving apps around, creating folders to hide less-used apps, and switching between Light Mode and Dark Mode, which changes the background color and text appearance across your whole phone. Some of these changes take seconds; others take a few minutes to set up properly.

Key Takeaways

  • You can move apps by pressing and holding them, then dragging them to a new spot on your home screen or to a different screen entirely.
  • Folders group multiple apps under a single icon, reducing clutter and making your home screen look more organized.
  • Dark Mode and Light Mode change the background and text colors across your entire phone, which affects how every app appears.
  • Text size and display zoom settings let you make app labels and content larger or smaller without changing the app itself.
  • App icon badges (the red circles with numbers) can be turned off per app if you want a cleaner look.

Moving and rearranging apps on your home screen

To move a single app, press and hold the app icon until a menu appears. Tap "Edit Home Screen" from the menu. The app icons will start to jiggle, showing they are ready to move. Drag the app to a new location on the current screen, or drag it to the edge of the screen to move it to an adjacent screen. When you are done, tap the X or press the Home button to stop editing.

You can also move multiple apps at once by continuing to hold and drag while in edit mode. If you want to move an app to a screen that is not visible, drag it to the edge of the screen and hold it there — the screen will scroll automatically. This method works for moving apps between any of your home screens, including the lock screen if your iPhone model supports it.

Creating folders to group apps together

Folders let you put related apps under a single icon, which makes your home screen less crowded. To create a folder, press and hold an app icon and tap "Edit Home Screen." While the icons are jiggling, drag one app directly on top of another app. Your iPhone will automatically create a folder and suggest a category name based on the app types — for example, dragging Photos onto Camera might create a folder called "Photography."

You can rename the folder by tapping the name field at the top of the folder and typing a new name, or you can keep the suggested name. To add more apps to the folder, drag them onto the folder icon. To remove an app from a folder, open the folder, press and hold the app, and drag it out onto your home screen. Folders can hold as many apps as you want, and you can create as many folders as you need.

Using Dark Mode and Light Mode to change your phone's appearance

Dark Mode changes your entire phone's background to black or dark gray and makes text white or light gray. Light Mode keeps the traditional white background with dark text. To switch between them, go to Settings, tap Display & Brightness, and select either Dark or Light. You can also set your phone to switch automatically at sunset and sunrise by tapping "Automatic" at the top of the Display & Brightness screen.

Dark Mode affects not just the home screen but every app that supports it, including Mail, Messages, Calendar, and most built-in Apple apps. Third-party apps vary — some follow your phone's Dark Mode setting, and others have their own brightness controls inside the app. Switching modes takes effect when ready across your entire phone.

Adjusting text size and display zoom

If you want apps and text to appear larger or smaller without changing anything else, you can adjust the text size or use display zoom. Go to Settings, tap Display & Brightness, and scroll down to find "Text Size." Drag the slider left to make text smaller or right to make it larger. This affects text in Mail, Messages, Notes, and other apps that use the system text size.

For a more dramatic change, go to Settings, tap Display & Brightness, then tap "View" and select "Zoomed" instead of "Standard." Zoomed mode makes everything on your screen larger — icons, text, and buttons — but it also means fewer items fit on each screen. You can switch back to Standard view at any time using the same menu.

Turning off app badges and notification dots

Red circles with numbers (called badges) appear on app icons to show unread messages, updates, or other notifications. If you find these distracting, you can turn them off for individual apps. Go to Settings, tap Notifications, select the app you want to change, and toggle off "Badges." The red circle will no longer appear on that app's icon.

You can also turn off the small red dot that appears when an app is using your location, microphone, or camera. Go to Settings, tap Privacy, select the permission type (Location, Microphone, or Camera), and toggle off the indicator dot for apps where you do not want to see it. The app will still have permission to use that feature — the dot just will not display.

Customizing your lock screen appearance

On iPhone X and newer models, you can customize your lock screen by adding widgets, changing the font and color of the time display, and adding app shortcuts. Press and hold your lock screen until the customization menu appears, then tap the plus button to add widgets or tap the time to change its appearance. You can create multiple lock screen designs and swipe between them.

Lock screen widgets show live information from apps like Weather, Calendar, or Reminders without opening the app. To add a widget, tap the plus button on the lock screen customization screen, select an app, and choose which widget you want to display. This is different from home screen customization but gives you another way to control what you see when you pick up your phone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change the actual app icon design?

No. The app icon is designed by the app maker and cannot be changed through iPhone settings. However, you can use the Shortcuts app to create custom icons that launch apps, which gives the appearance of a different icon. This requires creating a shortcut for each app you want to customize.

Will moving apps around affect how they work?

No. Moving, organizing, or hiding apps does not change how they function. The app will work exactly the same way whether it is on your first home screen or buried in a folder on your fifth screen.

What happens to apps in a folder if I delete the folder?

The apps do not get deleted. When you remove a folder, all the apps inside it return to your home screen. You can then move them individually or create a new folder for them.

Does Dark Mode use less battery on my iPhone?

On iPhones with OLED screens (iPhone 12 and newer), Dark Mode uses slightly less battery because black pixels require less power than white pixels. On older iPhones with LCD screens, there is no battery difference between Dark Mode and Light Mode.

Can I have different home screen layouts on different lock screens?

No. Your home screen layout is the same regardless of which lock screen you are using. However, you can add different widgets to different lock screens, so each lock screen can show different information even though the home screen stays the same.