HOW TO
Change your favourite app’s icon
Are you the sort of person who uses a paint chart to make sure their cup of tea is just right? Or who organises their sock draw by colour? Then we've got a trick you’re going to want to learn about.
Did you know that some of your favourite apps allow you to customise their icon so that they fit better with your home screen feng shui? Well they do, and it’s not just the colour scheme that some let you tweak, but their entire design. There are hundreds of apps with this fun feature, these are a few of our favourites and how you can make use of their interchangeable icons.
Smile whatever the weather
Easily the sassiest weather app on the App Store, it’s no surprise then that Carrot Weather’s range of interchangeable icons are more entertaining than most. As well as being brilliantly designed and with options to suit all tastes and colour pallet preferences, the app’s options are also hilariously titled. Accessed by tapping Settings > iPhone > App Icon for the menu in the upper right hand corner, Carrot packs more than 20 potential icon options, including the brilliantly titled Purple Rain and less appealing sounding Unicorn Barf.
Work on your workouts
Looking to get fit but the visual reminder that sit ups are on your workout plan putting you off? Don’t worry, Streaks Workout lets you alter its icon to something you find far more palatable. The exercise app not only offers a variety icon colour options, but each hue features six distinct exercise choices from crunches to pushups with users able to unlock the various options by tapping Settings > App Icon. You could choose one you like the look of or pick the squats icon to make sure you never forget about leg day again.
Upgrade your education
Calculators might not be the most exciting bit of kit, but PCalc manages to make them cool. As well as playing host to a hidden AR game, this customisable scientific calculator also offers one of the most extensive and diverse range of app icon options on the App Store. With 40 icons to choose from – found by tapping App Icon – there’s an option to suit all tastes. Our favourites? Give the retro packing ‘1992’ or tech-loving ‘Circuit’ icons a look.
Show off your hipster ways
One of the first photography apps many will have used, Hipstamatic has gone through a number of major upgrades and improvements through the years, with its icon having moving to a minimalist yellow and black design along the way. With the developer now switching between the two designs, you can do the same. Whether you want the modern look or the hipster-appeasing, vintage camera-inspired icon swiping down from the front-on camera view and tapping Edit > App Icon from the pop-up settings menu lets you make your selection.
Get the personal touch
Ever wished you could make emojis that look like you just by taking a photo of your face? That’s exactly what Emoji Me Animated Faces does and it lets you give its icon a makeover too. Tapping More > Change App Icon lets you pick a range of face options. And although you can’t set your own custom-made faces as the icon art, with 10 different pre-sets to choose from, finding one that has a resemblance to your own appearance is easy enough.