Customize an iPhone, what iOS things can be changed?

The fame that iPhones are less customizable than Androids does not come from any myth. Is a reality. Now, that’s not to say there aren’t tweakable visual and sound aspects of Apple‘s system. In this post we review all those sections that can be customized in iOS so that, ultimately, you can adapt the device more to your liking.

Customize an iPhone, what iOS things can be changed

On the home screen

The iPhone does not have menus like some Androids, so its main screen is at the end where the most time is spent on the interface. And there are several things that can be customized in this area.

Create more pages

We actually found at least three different screens in iOS. To the far left is the widgets section, in the center the applications section and to the far right the library in which all the apps are intelligently joined. Now, when it comes to applications, we can configure several.

To do this, you simply have to drag icons, folders or widgets to the right so that new pages are created and then organize them there as you see fit. It should be noted that there will always be a main one, which is always the first one after the widget section. On the other hand, it is important that you also know that apps can be hidden , just having to press and hold the points in the lower central part and unchecking the page that you want to keep invisible.

mover iconos carpetas ios

main dock

The dock is that section of up to four applications in which you can pin your most used apps or the ones you want to always have at hand, since regardless of the page you are on, they will always be available. As a curious fact, the name of the apps does not appear in this section, unlike the legend that appears below them when they are on any page.

Although the dock allows you to have a maximum of four apps, you can also have three, two, one or even none. In order to have applications in this section, all you have to do is drag them and place them in the way you want. It’s not too complicated.

dock ios

Wallpaper

If there is a basic in any device of this type, it is to be able to change the wallpaper. In the case of iOS we find the possibility of having two backgrounds : one of them on the application pages and another for the lock screen, which is the same as the notification screen.

To be able to change any of them there are two possibilities. The first and most common is from the Photos app , choosing the one you want to put, clicking on the share button (bottom left) and clicking on “Wallpaper”. Once you do, you can set the frame, if you want it to stay in Live Photo format and if you want it to have depth. When you have it, click on “Define” and choose if you want it for the lock screen, the home screen or both.

The other possibility is by going to Settings and then Wallpaper. In this section you will not only be able to choose one of the photos from your reel as in the previous case, but you will also find the native wallpapers for both iOS and your iPhone, which you can only find in this section.

cambiar fondo iphone

Zoom of apps and widgets

To move apps and widgets, all you have to do is press and hold your finger somewhere on the home screen where there are no icons and wait for the icons to start “vibrating”. Once they do, you can move them from one space to another. You can even move several at the same time , for which you have to move one and then, without releasing it, select the others.

To add widgets you only have to click on the ‘+’ icon in the upper right. You will be able to choose the size you want and then you will have the same possibilities as with the applications to move them, only in this case you will not be able to move several widgets at the same time. And, by the way, you can if you want to delete those from the widgets section itself, although this section will not be deleted despite this.

Another interesting customization option in this regard is to choose the number of icons per screen and line. Although it is true that depending on the iPhone you have you could have more or less, within the same terminal you have two possible views. It is not allowed to modify the size of these as such, but if you go to Settings> Display and brightness, you will see an option at the end called “Screen zoom” and that will allow you to have a standard or enlarged view, applicable to the entire system. .

zoom pantalla iphone

Create folders

From very early versions of iOS, it is possible to create folders in which to store applications. To do this you simply have to drag the icons of these on top of others. The folders admit name changes and to be able to alter the order of the applications inside as if it were the home screen. And then the folders themselves are treated as individual icons and can be put on any screen.

As for the Apps Library folders , you should know that they do not support customization. Since it was introduced with iOS 14, there have been many requests from users to change them, but Apple still does not allow it. However, it can be useful to find them grouped quickly and to remove apps from other screens without them being completely uninstalled, since they will always remain in this section.

Biblioteca de Apps iOS 14

Application icons

There are some applications that already natively support various types of configurable icons within their own settings. Telegram, the messaging app, is one of the best known, but only one example of many out there. Now, we do not find an option in the settings that allows us to change the icon to any app . Although power, it can.

And how? Well, through the Shortcuts app. What you should do is open the aforementioned app, create a new shortcut and choose the action to be “Open app”. Then, you must give this shortcut a name and create a direct shortcut to it from the home screen, for which you will be asked to choose an image and that is where you must choose the icon.

Of course, this action has certain disadvantages, since it is not really a real direct access to the app you have chosen, but rather an execution within the Shortcuts app. Therefore, when you try to open it, it may take a few seconds longer, in addition to a banner appearing at the top indicating that the shortcut has just been executed.

Regarding the notices

Notifications, whether in the form of a visual, audible or vibrating alert, are also an aspect that every iPhone user should try to customize. In fact, it is one of the aspects that is first reviewed with the initial configuration of an iPhone.

Notifications

Regardless of the format in which you receive the notification, you should know that each and every one of the applications that you have on the iPhone can send you one. Of course, in the same way, you can also make none of them send you anything. To be able to see which ones have these permissions and configure them to your liking, you must go to Settings > Notifications.

Notificaciones MAIL

In this section you can enter each of the apps and see what types of notices are allowed. You can disable all of them with the tab that appears at the top, but you can also disable them partially. In other words, you can choose the visual warning style if you want to receive them, but also configure other things such as whether you want to receive a preview of it and if you want it to be grouped when there are several notifications from the same application.

Concentration modes

Since iOS 15, the classic Do Not Disturb mode has multiplied and now you can create several states in which you can choose which apps you want to notify you at each moment. For example, you can configure a focus mode dedicated to work in which only apps related to the professional field send you notices. Conversely, you can also create others for your leisure time and not get them from those others.

A very interesting extra to this functionality is that of being able to also have different app screens . That is, for each mode you have access to one or the other applications, with a different order for the home screens. All this is configured from Settings> Concentration modes, where you can also make these universal for the rest of the Apple devices you have.

concentracion

Coming back to the matter of home screens, you should know that from the App Library you can drag apps to a new home screen, even if those apps are already on another screen. Combining this action with the one of hiding screens, you will be able to make that in the end you only have the precise screens in each concentration mode.

Ringtone and SMS

What is more personal than a ringtone? Considering how many iPhones there are and that most tend not to change the default ringtone, many times you will go crazy if it sounds to another person who is nearby because you will be confused. In Settings > Sounds and vibrations you can change it, including the tone of messages, reminders and calendars.

It should be noted that by default you cannot put a ringtone that is not one of those that are already installed, but through Garageband, editing any song, you can export it so that it stays in the same format and is eligible from the aforementioned control panel. settings.

cambiar tono de llamada iphone

And if what you want is to change the tone in WhatsApp and other similar apps, you must do it from their settings. In this section you will have tones that are normally the same as those of the iPhone, but in others they also have their own sounds and even allow you to add one that is even more personalized.

Vibration

Whether you have a mobile with sound or not, vibration is a key element to find out when you receive a notification or a call. Either because of the tremor of the table if you have the iPhone on you or because of your leg if you carry it in your pocket. In the same way, we find some parts of the system where, when making a certain touch, we receive a haptic response.

In the aforementioned Settings panel> Sounds and vibrations you can configure all this. And you can even, if you wish, disable the vibration completely. This would also allow you to have a completely silent mode of the iPhone when you use the switch, since by default it only restricts the sound and keeps the vibrations.

vibracion iphone

Other customizable aspects

We’re not done and we still have more customization options for the iPhone such as the control center, the interface mode (dark and light) or even being able to choose the size and type of text.

Control center

This is one of the spaces that has been on iOS for the longest and that characterizes it so much. It is a panel in which you can have quick access to certain actions such as activating or deactivating WiFi, mobile data, Bluetooth, Airplane Mode… It also allows you to increase and decrease the volume, increase the brightness, activate the modes of concentration and even control the music or video player.

However, it also allows you to add other accesses such as the calculator, the dark mode or the flashlight. All this can be configured from Settings > Control Center, where you can also set the order in which you want them to appear.

Shazam centro de control

Remember that to open this panel you must slide from the top right of the iPhone down, if you have an iPhone X or later. If, on the other hand, you have an iPhone with a Home button, this control center is accessed by sliding from the bottom of the screen to the center.

dark mode

Although it took a while to arrive, this mode has been available on iOS for several versions and allows, as its name suggests, to have a dark interface with a clear predominance of black. This has several effects, since on the one hand it darkens the system interface and native apps, as well as the wallpaper, which is also dimmed.

On the other hand, we find many apps that are compatible with dark mode and that can receive information from the system so that, if this mode is activated, it is also activated in it and alternates with light mode depending on how we have iOS configured.

modo claro y oscuro ios

Dark mode can be enabled from both Control Center and Settings > Display & Brightness. Precisely in this section you can configure it to activate automatically at sunset or set a custom schedule. That way you can continue to enjoy the light mode and have it alternate with the dark at certain times of the day and night.

animations

Surely you have not noticed because it is something common, but the system has several animations. For example, when you close an app, it moves towards the center, getting smaller and smaller until it disappears. These types of animations do not support customization. That is, you will not be able to find other effects .

However, and this is where the crux of the matter lies, they can be deactivated by going to Settings> Accessibility> Movement and clicking on “Reduce movement”. If you also have an iPhone 13 Pro or 13 Pro Max, you can limit the refresh rate to 60 Hz instead of 120 Hz. However, these are settings that ultimately detract from the “elegance” of the system and make it feel strange in the use.

Battery percentage

Being able to see the remaining percentage of the iPhone’s battery at the top of the screen, right next to the battery icon, is something very useful and that is not configured by default. Of course, it is only available on some iPhones , more specifically those that have a Home button (iPhone 8 and earlier, including the ‘SE’).

If you have one of those iPhones, you just have to go to Settings> Battery and activate the corresponding option to see the percentage. On iPhone X and later you will have to settle for seeing this indicative when you access the control center.

porcentaje bateria iphone 7

Kind of text

Not all of us have the same preferences when it comes to viewing content, in the same way that we do not have the same vision capacity. You may want to see your iPhone text larger, even though less content will fit. Or maybe just the opposite and you want the text in a very small size so that there is more content on the screen.

You want it as you want it, by going to Settings > Screen and brightness > Text size you can regulate it thanks to an intuitive bar. Both the system and native Apple applications will adapt to it instantly, as well as other apps that support these settings. Of course, there are others that will have to be configured in their own settings.

Pantalla y tamaño del texto

And although you can’t change the font , that is, the font, you can make it bold . To do this you can also go to the aforementioned Settings panel > Screen and brightness, also having access to this option from Settings > Accessibility > Screen and text size.

Button highlights

Without leaving the panel that we mentioned just in the previous point (Accessibility > Screen and text size), you can configure a very interesting option such as highlighting the buttons. More specifically, activating the ” Button outline ” option. This will make back buttons and the like underlined to make them much more visible.

Here you can also change other aspects, such as whether the option buttons include the “I” and “O” symbols as a reference to whether they are on or off in the purest style of a power strip.

Assistive Touch

We do not leave the Accessibility panels, since in this case you will have to go to “Touch” and activate the Assistive Touch. This is a virtual button that will always be on your screen so you can access various options: from returning to the main screen, to being able to have direct access to take screenshots or open certain applications.

AssistiveTouch iPhone

It should be noted that in the aforementioned settings panel you can configure all the actions for it, being able to choose up to a maximum of 8 actions and even add your own gestures to perform those actions. The button itself, although transparent, is always present and can be annoying, but you can move it anywhere on the screen easily.