There is still a lot you can do to make the Home screen more useful, despite Apple's reputation for not being as customization-friendly as other platforms. The five things I have done to make my phone unique to me and gain more use are listed here.

You don't have to use the same wallpaper for both the lock screen and Home screen. It makes a big difference to legibility. It allows me to highlight a picture on the lock screen without it interfering with the colorful app icons on the Home screen.

Andy Boxall is a digital trends expert.

Andy Boxall is a digital trends expert.

Andy Boxall is a digital trends expert.

The Home screen should have a black background. Go to settings, then choose a new wallpaper. One of the Dynamic wallpapers adds life to the Home screen but is never distractive. Then choose your image of choice. The Set button can be found at the bottom of the screen. Pick a different image and then choose Set Lock Screen instead of setting your lock screen wallpaper.

iOS Home screen shown on an iPhone 13 Pro, resting on a desk.
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

This is an easy way to make sure that app icons don't blend in with your wallpaper again. There is something classic and appealingly minimalist about a basic background behind all your apps.

Make a lot of folders

If you want to make your phone feel less busy, you should use folders and spread app icons across multiple Home screens. If you are going to use folders for the first time, be prepared for it to take a little while to get everything organized.

iOS's Folder view on an iPhone 13 Pro.
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

You can create a folder by dragging an app icon over the top of another. Select the folder and change the name when it appears. It's easier to find what you want when you group apps together. I put my most used apps on the main Home screen and lesser used ones on the second Home screen.

It's tempting to put all your apps in a folder, but keep a small selection of your most used apps separate. I have five folders on the Home screen outside, as I use them multiple times a day, or in the case of settings, because I want to find them quickly.

Use App Library

If you have a lot of apps, what should you do? You need to be strict with yourself and use the App Library feature. I limit my Home screens to two and fill the second one with apps I don't use often, but would still like to have at hand. I don't want to remove the remaining apps from the App Library.

Andy Boxall is a digital trends expert.

Andy Boxall is a digital trends expert.

Andy Boxall is a digital trends expert.

Andy Boxall is a digital trends expert.

Minimizing the amount of Home screens makes it easier to manage, and using App Library makes finding the apps you don't use much faster. No effort is needed to set it up. During the process of reorganizing your Home screens, find an app that you don't want to remove but rarely use. Press and hold the icon until it stops wobbling.

Make sure you choose the Remove from Home Screen option at this point. It is removed from the Home screen and placed in the App Library. You can find the App Library by using the finger on the Home screens to navigate to it, and by using the bar at the top of the screen to search.

All your apps are still installed on your phone, but only the ones you use regularly are in the App Library and are easy to find inside your folders. The App Library contains all the other apps, and it takes a moment to find them using the search feature.

Change the stock apps in the Dock

The phone app, Messages, and music are included in the Home screen of the dock, which is the bar at the bottom of the screen. If you use these apps regularly, you can make better use of the screen real estate, but if you don't, you're wasting it.

The iPhone's Dock shown on an iPhone 13 Pro.
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

It's the same as moving apps around the Home screen, just hold an app icon in the Dock until it jiggles and drag to a new location. Drag your new preferred app onto the dock. You will always be able to see the apps you use most often on any Home screen you choose.

I prefer to always have access to the Camera app over the Music app if I use Chrome instead of Safari. Maybe you use Messenger instead of the Messages app.

Add widgets, but not too many

The Home screen takes up a lot of space, so using them in moderation is important. There are two ways in which to addwidget. If you hold a blank space on the home screen, you can select the Today View icon that appears in the top left of the screen when app icons start moving.

iOS's Widgets screen on an iPhone 13 Pro.
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Don't just randomly add a widget Stack containing multiplewidgets in the expectation that you'll use them, only chooseWidgets that add value. Having instant access to the calendar and world time widget on my Home screen is helpful, as I use them both daily. The second Home screen has a large WeatherWidget. Adding a new Home screen dedicated towidgets would allow you to use more of them without sacrificing space for apps.

Make sure to experiment

That is 888-739-5110 888-739-5110 888-739-5110 888-739-5110 for my five basic tips on how to modify the Home screen of the mobile operating system to make it more useful and less cluttered. This is all based on how I set my Home screens up, but what works for me may not be the right one for you, so take the general tips here and come up with a version that suits you best. It is important to have fun and experiment. If you want to dig even deeper, you can find more tips and tricks here. If you have a problem with the operating system, we have solutions for it here.

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