Google is reportedly enhancing the customization capabilities of its Pixel phones, particularly in the realm of app icons. Currently, users face limitations with the existing “Themed icons” feature, which attempts to harmonize app icons with the dominant color of the wallpaper. However, this feature only functions effectively for apps that have adopted monochromatic icons, leaving many popular applications with mismatched visuals on users’ home screens.
AI-Powered Customization
To address this inconsistency, Google appears to be exploring innovative solutions. Recent findings from the latest Android Canary build suggest that the tech giant is developing new options for icon customization that leverage artificial intelligence. This could potentially allow users to create custom icon themes without relying solely on app developers to provide compatible designs.
Currently, the only option available for icon customization on Pixel devices is the aforementioned Themed icons. This feature has not gained widespread adoption among app developers, leading to a patchwork of themed and unthemed icons on users’ devices. Google’s new approach may include several distinct styles for app icons, as indicated by newly discovered code strings in the Wallpaper & Style app:
- Default: Keeps app icons unchanged.
- Minimal: Displays monochromatic versions of app icons.
- AI icon: Utilizes AI to generate a custom icon style automatically.
- Create: Empowers users to design their own custom icon styles.
While the “Minimal” style aligns with the existing monochrome feature, the functionalities of the “AI icon” and “Create” options remain unclear, as they have yet to be implemented in the current version of the app. This suggests that these features may still be in the experimental phase or reserved for future updates.
In addition to these icon styles, Google is also working on allowing users to customize icon shapes, further enhancing the personalization of the Pixel experience. Although the timeline for the rollout of these new features remains uncertain, there are indications that they may be part of a broader theme support initiative currently under development.
For those eager to customize their home screens without waiting for Google’s updates, third-party Android launchers that support custom icon packs are readily available, offering an immediate solution for personalization enthusiasts.
