iOS 14 has opened Pandora’s box for iPhone users because, for the first time, widgets allow them to customize how their Home Screens look. No longer are apps confined to the size and layout constraints of the classic app gridlock. Instead, widgets allow apps to take up more real estate on the Home screen and display more information. It’s great and fun (and a feature that Android devices have been able to do for years).
iOS 14 has given rise to a number of third-party apps that can help you get creative with these widgets. Widgetly is a free app that lets you customize how your widgets and apps look, and it even allows you replace app icons with a photo of something else. For example, you can change the Instagram icon to be a photo of your dog or of your favorite actor, like Keanu Reeves. The options are pretty much limitless as you can customize any-sized widget.
Widgetly — along with a few other third-party apps, like Widgetsmith and WidgetPack — can also help you create different themes for your Home screen. Like if you want your background and every app to be a different character from Batman the cartoon, like @jacque_bischoff, who posted this photo on Twitter.
Many of these third-party apps provide template that can help you customize widgets and the overall layout your Home screen. But beware: widget and Home screen customization can be very time intensive, but it could also help your iPhone feel personal to you than ever before. If you’re looking for inspiration, go to #ios14homescreen on Twitter and you’ll see how everywhere is customizing their Home screens.
