- iOS 18’s new icon customization feel like an improved version of what Android has to offer.
- With icon tinting, Apple lets you access a full range of colors for icons, instead of limiting them to colors based on your wallpaper.
- There’s a dark theme for app icons, which adds a black-ish background to the icons and complements the system-wide dark mode.
This year’s WWDC event was jam-packed with features and improvements coming to Apple’s lineup of devices. The highlight has to be iOS 18 and all the new stuff coming to it like the revamped Control Center, and changes to the Photos, Messages, Maps, and the Notes app. Not to forget Apple Intelligence arriving later this year. However, the feature that got me excited about iOS 18 was icon customization.
Here’s a recap: On iOS 18, you can alter the app icon to match the dark mode theme of the UI. You may also customize the accent color and tint for all icons. By default, it will match the color of your background wallpaper.
Accented Icons Over Material You
I won’t deny that Apple took some major inspiration from Android’s Material You theming, which allows you to apply the same accent color as your wallpaper. Apple gives you more freedom to choose the colors that you want to apply.
Tinted icons on iOS 18
There’s a color picker tool that you can use to select and match with your wallpaper. Or you can use the slider to go with whichever color you like. Sure, it might not always look great, but it’s my home screen and should appeal to me. The theme applies to all app icons, even third-party apps , and widgets, bringing an overall consistency to your home screen.
Theme icons on Android
On Android, the color palette is constrained to your current wallpaper. Plus, the pastel-style colors of Material You have always looked quite dull to me. Several third-party apps still don’t support theming to this day. Not to forget that Themed icons on Android continue to be under the “Beta” label even after nearly three years of Android 12’s release.
iOS 18 Customization: Not Completely Perfect
The new customizations are surely nice to have and will offer a unique look to every iPhone home screen. However, there is room for improvement as it isn’t perfect. Apple needs to tweak it to look more refined, like removing the accent colors on every widget. As you can see, it applied the red tint on the Photos widget, making it look like a crime scene. And the Spotify widget is unrecognizable.
The tinted icons should also have a light mode option, as it defaults to dark and there is no option to change that.
Dark Theme Icons Complement Dark Mode
Apple also brings a dark theme to app icons. This preserves their original colors for the app icons, changing only the bordering areas to match the dark theme of your phone. Take a look at the difference in icons between the light and dark modes below.
Custom Icons – Light (Left) | Dark (Right)
Unlike accented icons, the dark theme is currently limited to stock apps . Hopefully, developers bring it to their apps later down the line. Not to sound like a broken record, but I wish that Android adapted this as well. I like the look of stock icons, and having them in a darker accent elevates the look of the dark mode and compliments it better to match the rest of the UI.
For the first time, I will say that Android could learn a few lessons from Apple when it comes to customization. I know I may sound like a complete Apple fanboy, but I have rarely used an iPhone all my life. But credit is where credit is due, these new customizations seem better to me than what we currently have on Android.
With over 4 year of experience under the belt, I cover all facets of consumer tech, from smartphones to other consumer electronics, our favorite social media apps, as well as the growing realm of AI and LLMs. As an Apps and AI writer app Beebom, I provide my expertise in all these areas, weaving stories that help you get familiar with the tech around you. But you will find me playing NYT daily puzzles in my free time.
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- Apple and Google have officially confirmed their team-up for the next-gen Siri AI.
- The Cupertino Giant will be using Google’s Gemini for a more personalized Siri model as well as Apple Intelligence features.
- We can expect the next-gen Siri to come out with iOS 26.4, sometime in March or April.
Apple has officially confirmed joining forces with Google to use its Gemini AI model to power the next-generation Siri. It will offer a more personalized experience and will be coming out with the iOS 26.4 update. Apple also plans to leverage Gemini’s capabilities for other Apple Intelligence features as well, later down the line.
The Next-Gen Siri will be powered by Google’s Gemini AI
Apple officially confirmed that it will be partnering with Google in a statement to CNBC . Here’s what it stated, “After careful evaluation, we determined that Google’s technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models, and we’re excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for our users.”
Later, Google also shared a post on X confirming the tie-up, “Apple and Google have entered into a multi-year collaboration under which the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google’s Gemini models and cloud technology. These models will help power future Apple Intelligence features, including a more personalized Siri coming this year.”
Image Credit: X/@NewsFromGoogle
Both statements clearly mention that the Cupertino Giant will be using Gemini to power its assistant Siri. This was already rumored, as Apple’s attempts to acquire Perplexity went nowhere. With Gemini, Siri will get a major AI update . It will be able to handle more nuanced conversations and provide better results. Something long-time Apple users have been asking for years.
The next-gen Siri will arrive with the iOS 26.4 update, which will launch sometime in March or April. And it is only going to be available for Apple Intelligence-supported devices .
Something else worth noting is how Google’s statement mentions that Gemini will power Apple Intelligence features. This leads us to believe that Apple could use Gemini’s multi-modal capabilities for its Writings tools , Image Playground , and Message summaries, too.
Elon Musk Not Happy With Apple and Google Tie Up
xAI CEO Elon Musk also responded to Google’s announcement post on X, sharing his thoughts on the matter by saying, “This seems like an unreasonable concentration of power for Google, given that they also have Android and Chrome.” Though we don’t expect either Apple or Google to respond to Elon, we will update the situation as it progresses.
It is worth noting that xAI is the company behind Grok, which is in hot water currently due to its inappropriate image generation fiasco , and has been getting backlash from multiple news outlets, X users, and even government authorities.
With over 4 year of experience under the belt, I cover all facets of consumer tech, from smartphones to other consumer electronics, our favorite social media apps, as well as the growing realm of AI and LLMs. As an Apps and AI writer app Beebom, I provide my expertise in all these areas, weaving stories that help you get familiar with the tech around you. But you will find me playing NYT daily puzzles in my free time.
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