iOS 18 may finally let you truly customise your iPhone’s home screen

We’ve already had a few reasons on why iOS 18 may be shaping up to be the biggest iOS update in years. However, a new rumour may add even more to that list. That’s because iOS 18 is reportedly going to add a granular home-screen customisation mechanism, something iOS has not had since the first iPhone.

The change would mean that iPhone users will be able to customise their home screens at a level close to most Android phones have been able to for years. Here’s what we know so far about it.

iOS 18 customisation: What to expect?

As per a Bloomberg report via MacRumors, iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons and widgets anywhere they want on the home screen. With current iOS versions, users can arrange on-screen elements only to an extent, before iOS 18 will auto align them, to its own order.

ALSO READ: iOS 18 set to come with major visual changes

For example, iPhones will finally be able to set frequently used app icons on the bottom of the screen, something that cannot be done now unless the top rows are full. Custom alignment would also allow users to place icons vertically or in any other order to aesthetically match their wallpapers, or simply their preference.

For context, Android phones have had this feature for as long as we can remember, and users of both stock Android phones and custom skins like Oxygen OS or One UI are able to place any icon or widget wherever they like on their home screens.

Android is losing its ‘Pros’ over iPhones

Enter any Android vs iOS debate and customisation and flexibility is usually the main trump card Android has against iPhones. The ability to pick any Android device, entry-level or flagship, and customise the layout as per your taste has been an Android-speciality for years.

ALSO READ: Evolution of the iPhone

With the new change however, iPhones will finally have caught up with Android in terms of iOS customisation. Compared to more rigid home screens from years ago, recent iOS versions have been more open to handing users the ability to change the look and feel of their devices. iOS 16, for instance, brought widgets to iPhones for the first time. Now, icon placement will be on most iPhones in a few months.

Clubbed with iPhones gaining support for USB-C, and even third-party app stores in the EU earlier this year, Apple is slowly catching up with Android’s main strength pointers against iOS. Whether this actually affects Apple’s growing market share, however, remains to be seen.