Apple released the fifth public beta for iOS 18 on Aug. 20, more than two months after the tech giant announced the software at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The beta update brings many new features to the iPhones of developers and beta testers, like RCS messaging and a way to remove the flashlight control from your lock screen. One big change -- and one that's overdue in my opinion -- is the ability to customize your home screen.
With iOS 18, beta testers and developers can remove app labels, change the color of app icons, arrange apps around the screen in new ways and much more.
Read more: An Expert's Guide to the New Features in the iOS 18 Betas
I recommend downloading a beta only on something other than your primary device. Because this isn't the final version of iOS 18, the update might be buggy and battery life may be short. It's best to keep those troubles on a secondary device. I downloaded the beta onto my old iPhone XR to keep these issues away from my iPhone 14 Pro.
Note that the beta is not the final version of iOS 18, so more features could land on your iPhone when iOS 18 is released. Apple said iOS 18 would be released to the public this fall, but there's no definitive date yet.
Here are all the ways you can customize your home screen to make it as fun and unique as you are.
How to remove app labels in iOS 18
Tap Large to make your apps a little larger and to remove app labels.
Apple/Screenshot by CNET1. Long-press on your background to enter jiggle mode -- where your apps are shaking.
2. Tap Edit in the top left corner of your screen.
3. Tap Customize.
4. Tap Large in the new menu that appears at the bottom of your screen.
Your app icons will grow, and the labels beneath them will disappear. This looks much cleaner to me, and I don't plan on ever displaying the app labels again.
If you don't like this, follow the above steps again but tap Small. The apps will revert to their normal size and the labels will reappear.
How to change the color of your app icons
1. Long-press on your background to enter jiggle mode -- where your apps are shaking.
2. Tap Edit in the top left corner of your screen.
3. Tap Customize.
4. Tap the icon in the far right of the menu across the bottom of your screen labeled Tinted.
This will pull up a gradient scale at the bottom of this menu, and you can slide them until you get just the right hue.
The icon on the far right shows what a tinted app would look like
Apple/Screenshot by CNETYou can also tap the eyedropper icon in the top right corner of the menu to select a color from your background that matches your icons more closely. That way you're not moving the sliders and getting frustrated because the colors aren't matching -- not that this happened to me, definitely not. This change will affect all your app icons.
You can also give some of your apps a darker background.
1. Long-press on your background to enter jiggle mode -- where your apps are shaking.
2. Tap Edit in the top left corner of your screen.
3. Tap Customize.
4. Tap the icon left of center in the menu across the bottom of your screen labeled Dark.
Apple's first-party apps, like Messages, Safari and more, will now have an almost-black background. This change applies to first-party Apple apps and some third-party apps, like the YouTube and Bluesky apps. Other third-party apps, like Instagram and Snapchat, are unchanged.
Choosing Dark will darken your background, which could reduce the amount of power your iPhone uses and extend your battery life.
How to only darken your background
If you've tinted your app icons, or like the icons with a lighter appearance, you can darken your background to make the icons stand out. Here's how.
1. Long-press on part of your background to enter jiggle mode -- where your apps are shaking.
2. Tap Edit in the top left corner of your screen.
3. Tap Customize.
4. Tap the sun icon in the top left corner of the new menu.
This will only darken your wallpaper and won't affect your app icons.
How to arrange apps around your home screen
Arranging apps on your home screen is the same process as before. You can either enter jiggle mode by long-pressing on a blank portion of your background and then dragging apps where you want them to go, or press and drag an app to a new location.
Would never think about putting an app over this sweet baby's face.
Apple/Screenshot by CNETYou can place all your apps near the bottom of your screen, have them frame your screen or arrange them in any other number of patterns. This makes it easy to ensure you see your background if it's a picture of a loved one or a pet.
The grid is still present, so you can't place apps on top of each other or too close together. And if you enlarge your apps, there will be a sizable gap between your dock across the bottom of your screen and the lowest row of the grid. It looks like it's big enough to fit another app icon, but you can't -- I tried to no avail.
Don't forget, iOS 18 is still in beta so these features could be buggy or not work properly. I ran into issues where trying to tint icons would either remove app artwork altogether or some icons would be tinted and others wouldn't. There will likely be more betas before the OS is released to the public, so there's plenty of time for Apple to address any issues. As of now, there's no word on when Apple will release iOS 18.
For more on iOS 18, here's my hands-on experience with the iOS 18 public betas, what to know about RCS messaging on iOS 18 and what to know about the new text effects. You can also check out our iOS 18 beta cheat sheet.
Watch this: Apple's Big Blunders a Decade Ago: U2, Bendgate, Botched iOS 8
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