These are all the ways you can customize your Android home screen.
How to Change Android Home Screen Settings
Long press on the home screen and tap Home settings from the pop-up menu. There are several options here:
Notification dotsAt A GlanceAdd icon to Home screen (for new apps)Display Google appSuggestionsAllow Home screen rotation
Notification dots are small icons that appear on the top of the screen when you have a new alert. At A Glance lets you see upcoming meeting alerts, flight information, and traffic alerts. You can set it to add an icon to the Home screen automatically for any new app you download. Display Google app means when you swipe right, you’ll see your Google Newsfeed. The Suggestions setting has two options: Apps and Overview selection. For Apps, if you turn it on, it will display your most frequently used apps. For Overview, it enables a menu when you long-press on an app, in which you can select, copy, and paste text, share it, and other options depending on the app. Allow Home screen rotation lets it switch from portrait to landscape when you rotate the phone.
How to Add and Remove Home Screens
You can create more than one home screen depending on how many apps, widgets, shortcuts, and other elements you want to add. Removing home screens is also possible if you’ve gone overboard.
How to Change the Home Screen
As mentioned above, you can add and remove elements from the home screen and move them around as you wish. You can also resize certain widgets and play around with app icons’ look and feel. If you run out of room on your home screen, you can create more.
How to Change Home Screen Wallpaper
You can customize your home screen background with your favorite photos or find an image built into your Android phone. You can also download a wallpaper app to access thousands of designs, photos, and other images.
How to Add and Remove App Icons
You can add app icons for your favorite apps to your home screens and remove them when it gets too crowded. This way, it’s easier to find your most-used apps.
How to Add a Shortcut
Some apps have shortcuts available, which enable you to go directly to a part of the app rather than navigating manually. For example, Evernote has four shortcuts: Camera, Audio, Simple Note, and Search. These shortcuts let you quickly capture a note using images, audio recordings, or plain text. And, of course, Search gives you a direct shortcut to Evernote’s search function.
How to Add Widgets and Resize Them
Android has built-in widgets for apps like the Clock and Calculator, and many apps also offer them. Widgets are like shortcuts but have even more functionality. Evernote has a widget that enables you to add five actions to your home screen, including Simple Note, Camera, Audio, Handwriting, Reminder, and Attachment. You can also choose which notebook to save notes you’ve created through the widget. Here’s how to access all of your widgets.
How to Create Folders
If your home screen gets too crowded or you’d like to group similar apps and shortcuts, you can create folders. You can make as many folders as you want and give each one a name.
How to Move Objects on the Home Screen
Once you’ve added app icons, shortcuts, widgets, and folders to your home screen, you can move them around as you see fit. You can also remove any items you no longer need.
Consider Downloading an Android Launcher
The best Android launchers let you go beyond what the built-in home screen offers. Launcher features include icon packs, custom themes, and various ways to change the interface’s look and feel. They also provide different ways to interact with the screen, including custom gestures. These apps often offer features ahead of stock Android, such as night mode.
