iOS 18 Will Extend Dark Mode to Home Screen App Icons, Sources Say - MacRumors
Skip to Content

iOS 18 Will Extend Dark Mode to Home Screen App Icons, Sources Say

iOS 18 will extend Dark Mode to the iPhone's Home Screen app icons, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

light-dark-mode
Introduced with iOS 13, Dark Mode already darkens some Home Screen elements, such as the dock and folders. iOS 18 will go further by automatically giving app icons a dark/black tint when Dark Mode when is turned on. The feature will initially be limited to built-in Apple apps, but perhaps there will be an API that allows third-party apps to support it.

We believe that the dark app icons paired with a dark wallpaper will give the Home Screen a full-blown Dark Mode appearance for the first time.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently reported that iOS 18 will let users change the colors of app icons, and this dark tint is related to that feature.

Another last-minute iOS 18 leak we recently reported about is the ability to lock individual apps behind Face ID for the first time.

Apple will unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on Monday. The first iOS 18 beta will likely be made available to Apple Developer Program members immediately after the keynote, and the update should be widely released in September.

Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18

Popular Stories

iPhone Handoff Feature

iOS 27 Introduces New 'iPhone Handoff' Feature

Wednesday September 2, 2026 12:35 pm PDT by
Apple has added a new "iPhone Handoff" feature to iOS 27 that will allow you to switch between two iPhones while using the same phone number on each device. This functionality was briefly mentioned during the WWDC 2026 keynote in June, on a slide that listed hundreds of new features coming in iOS 27 and corresponding software updates, but Apple never shared any further details at the time. ...
Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Prices Estimated Ahead of Apple Event Next Week

Thursday September 3, 2026 3:41 am PDT by
Less than a week before Apple debuts new iPhone 18 Pro models, research firm TrendForce has estimated the prices of the devices based on the latest hardware cost environment. TrendForce's price estimates compared to last year's models look like this: Model Starting Price Model Starting Price Change iPhone 17 Pro $1,099 iPhone 18 Pro $...
Apple Foldable Thumb

iPhone Ultra's Very High Price and Features Revealed in New Report

Thursday September 3, 2026 7:33 am PDT by
Ahead of Apple's event on Wednesday, September 9, where it is expected to unveil its first-ever foldable iPhone, Taiwanese research firm TrendForce today outlined the device's estimated price range, features, and some other key details. In the U.S., TrendForce estimated that the foldable iPhone will have a starting price of $2,099 to $2,299 and said the highest-end configurations could...

Top Rated Comments

contacos Avatar
29 months ago

Don't the included wallpapers respond to dark mode already? Not sure what's new here - unless it does something with the icons?
It’s literally in the article that you apparently didn’t even read 😅
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Justin Cymbal Avatar
29 months ago
That’s awesome

I use dark mode for every one of my apps (that allow dark mode)

There still are a few large companies that for whatever reason don’t support dark mode - Amazon (store app) and Uber Eats even though the regular Uber (ride share app) does support dark mode
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
29 months ago
battery life improved definitely
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
29 months ago
You mean this wasn't already the case?

*Crosses out 'great attention to detail' from my resume.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
deuxani Avatar
29 months ago
I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time! A couple of years ago many devs decided “let’s make our app icons completely white” (all apps from Google, Microsoft, many of Apple, etc) so when you switch to dark mode you still have a lot of white icons on your Home Screen blinding you.

It would be very welcome if the white background of those apps would turn black or grey when in dark mode, let’s hope so!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
29 months ago

1. still stuck on dark mode changes in 2024? This is way long overdue
2. And this is considered a feature???
Long overdue? Are dark-mode icons so critical that we couldn’t live without it and Apple should prioritise it over the hundreds of similar things they could do? Besides that, building a dark mode that always looks great without much action from 3rd party developers is not an easy thing.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)