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.

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

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Top Rated Comments

contacos Avatar
11 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
11 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)
NapZzz Avatar
11 months ago
battery life improved definitely
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AlexESP Avatar
11 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)
deuxani Avatar
11 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)
obamtl Avatar
11 months ago
You mean this wasn't already the case?

*Crosses out 'great attention to detail' from my resume.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)