icon customization Archives

AppWizard

December 24, 2025

Google releases Android 16 QPR3 Beta 1.1 to fix app crashes on Pixel phones

Google has released a patch called Android 16 QPR3 Beta 1.1 to address app crashes affecting Pixel devices in the Android 16 QPR3 beta. This update focuses on restoring app stability rather than introducing new features. The issues arose after the rollout of Android 16 QPR2, which introduced system-level instability. The patch aims to prevent apps from crashing at startup and is approximately 58 MB in size. It is available to devices enrolled in the Android Beta Program, including the Pixel 6 series and newer, Pixel Fold, Pixel Tablet, and Pixel 8, 9, and 10 lineups. Users can install the update through the standard over-the-air process or manually using OTA images and ADB tools.

AppWizard

October 3, 2025

Android 16 Revolutionizes App Icons with Material You Customization

Google's Android 16 update introduces innovative app icon customization features, allowing users to modify app icons with various shapes, styles, and thematic integrations. The QPR2 beta mandates monochrome filters for all applications, ensuring a cohesive aesthetic across the home screen. Users can choose from five distinct icon shapes, addressing feedback on rigid designs. The update also includes forced dark mode and auto-theming for legacy applications, enhancing the overall user experience. Customizable Quick Settings panels and live notifications improve efficiency for power users. Starting October 15, 2025, developers will be required to provide adaptive icons due to new mandatory theming rules. Privacy features, such as protections against SMS one-time password hijacking, are also included.

AppWizard

August 20, 2025

Android 16 QPR2 Finally Can Lightly Theme All of Your App Icons

Google has introduced "Auto-Themed App Icons" in the Android 16 QPR2 Beta 1, allowing users to customize their home screens with three options: "Default," which keeps original icon colors; "Minimal," which adapts icons to the phone's theme and applies a light color mask to unsupported apps; and a non-functional "Create" button that may lead to additional customization features in future updates.

AppWizard

July 29, 2025

Google is working on AI-powered custom icon themes for your Pixel phone

Google is enhancing the customization capabilities of its Pixel phones, particularly regarding app icons. The current "Themed icons" feature only works well with monochromatic icons, leading to mismatched visuals for many popular apps. To improve this, Google is reportedly developing new AI-powered options for icon customization, which may allow users to create custom icon themes independently of app developers. The new options discovered in the Android Canary build include: - 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. Additionally, Google is working on allowing users to customize icon shapes. The timeline for these features is uncertain, but they may be part of a broader theme support initiative. Third-party Android launchers that support custom icon packs are available for users seeking immediate personalization options.

AppWizard

May 31, 2025

OK Google, it’s time to support app icon packs on Pixel phones

The Android 16 QPR1 Beta 1 update introduces new features, including Material 3 Expressive and a "Themes" tab in the Wallpaper and Style app, indicating potential customization through unreleased "Pixel Customization Packs." While the full capabilities of Pixel themes are unclear, they may include new wallpapers, fonts, and app icon designs, addressing the current limitations of app icon customization on Pixel phones. Future updates promise customizable app icon shapes, but lack of support for third-party icon packs remains a significant drawback compared to competitors like OnePlus and Samsung. The introduction of Pixel themes raises hopes for enhanced personalization, particularly regarding icon pack support, which has been a long-standing request from Pixel users.

AppWizard

March 17, 2025

Hands-on: Google will soon let you customize icon shapes on your Pixel’s home screen

The Pixel Launcher will soon allow users to customize the shape of their app icons, introducing six distinct shapes, including a traditional circle. This feature aims to enhance personalization options, which have been limited in the stock launcher compared to third-party alternatives. The capability for icon shape customization was previously available in Android 11 but was removed. Initial hints of this feature appeared in November, and it has been activated in the third beta of Android 16. The customization process applies a mask to all app icons on the home screen, app drawer, and folders, but does not affect their appearance in other contexts. The six available icon shapes are: “circle,” “square,” “four-sided cookie,” “seven-sided cookie,” “arch,” and “complex clover.” This feature is part of ongoing development for the Pixel wallpaper app, which has been in progress since August of the previous year.