Gurman: iOS 18 Will Allow Users to Recolor App Icons and Place Them Anywhere

Apple's iOS 18 update will introduce new features for further customizing the iPhone's home screen, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.


In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman claimed that Apple will allow users to change the color of app icons in ‌iOS 18‌. For example, "you can make all your social icons blue or finance-related ones green." This kind of home screen customization is currently only possible by creating single-action shortcuts with a custom icon that serve to launch an app.

Gurman also corroborated previous reports that ‌iOS 18‌ will allow users to place apps anywhere on the home screen's grid. This will enable users to arrange icons more freely, similar to how widgets can currently be placed.

‌iOS 18‌ is expected to be previewed alongside Apple's other major software updates at WWDC in June, before officially releasing to the public in the fall.

Related Roundups: iOS 18, iPadOS 18
Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
iPhone SE Dynamic Island Majin Bu

iPhone SE 4 Leak Shows Dynamic Island, Casts Doubt on Rumored 'iPhone 16E' Name

Monday January 20, 2025 9:01 am PST by
A new iPhone SE is widely rumored to launch this year, and the device has potentially been confirmed today by known leaker Evan Blass. In a private social media post, Blass shared an image of what appears to be source code mentioning an iPhone SE (4th Gen), which casts doubt on the alternative "iPhone 16E" name rumored for the device. However, the name in the source code could be a...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.3

Tuesday January 21, 2025 4:31 pm PST by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes. The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
ipad pro 2024

New iPad Pro Reportedly Launching This Year

Tuesday January 21, 2025 6:40 am PST by
Apple plans to release at least one new iPad Pro model this year, according to a supplier-focused report today from Korean website The Elec. It is likely that the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models would be updated simultaneously. After receiving an OLED display last year, the report said the iPad Pro will receive only "minor" changes this year. Overall, the next iPad Pro is expected to...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them 'Imminently'

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

Dulcimer Avatar
9 months ago
Tim Cook finally pressed the emergency “let Apple users customize their iPhone” button after seeing dwindling iPhone sales.
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coolfactor Avatar
9 months ago

I never understood why people wanted to be able to put blank spaces on their home screens. Wouldn't you want your home screen filled with apps so you don't have to scroll home screens as much?
I prefer organizing my most-used apps into folders rather than swiping from screen-to-screen. But most of my navigation is done via Search anyway. Pull down and type, if the app is not already smartly suggested. Smart suggestions are very smart. If I've driven into my local McDonald's, it suggests the McDonald's app. ?
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jb310 Avatar
9 months ago
This is awesome news; as soon as iOS 18 drops, I'm gonna put on some Eiffel 65 and get to work...

? 'Cause I'm blue, da ba dee da ba dye, da ba dee~ ?
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tothemoonsands Avatar
9 months ago
Assuming this will be up to the given app developers to enable? Would be very interesting if it’s a forced global option.

More customization is awesome, but I think about other major necessities like a keychain.app to compete against dedicated password managers etc
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hovscorpion12 Avatar
9 months ago

but I think about other major necessities like a keychain.app to compete against dedicated password managers etc
iOS already has a password manager.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
maxrest Avatar
9 months ago
Damn seems like some can never be satisfied in these threads.

Anyways, I’m really looking forward to this WWDC. Can’t believe it’s only 2 weeks away.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)