iOS 18’s icon theme isn’t Material You, but it’s a step in the right direction

Apple’s neglect of customization in iOS has been a sore point for both long-time iPhone users and dual Android and iPhone users like me. With iOS 18Apple is finally addressing this issue and has introduced a host of new features, such as the ability to move icons wherever you want on the home screen, a new design control center and finally, a way to customize app icons. Many of these additions are features that Android users have enjoyed for years, but, in typical Apple fashion, they have their own unique twist or set of limitations.

Now, I’ve been using the iOS 18 Developer Beta since its release, and I’ve been wanting to talk about its customization features ever since. But I decided to wait until some of my most used apps, like Instagram, supported iOS 18’s tint feature to get a better read on how most apps will behave with it. I’ve also been keeping a close eye on my Pixel 8a‘s Material You customizations to see how the two compare. Here are my first impressions of Apple and Google’s two very different approaches to personalization, which, surprisingly, have a lot in common.

Functionally similar to Material you Themed Icons: iOS 18’s new icon theme aims to create cohesion across the entire interface by giving all apps and widgets a uniform look. However, in typical Apple fashion, the implementation is a mix of customizable options and rigid restrictions.

First, let’s look at the similarities. Finally you can change the color of the application icons. There’s the usual dark mode and light mode, but also the ability to shade all icons in a uniform color. Apple calls it tinting. Like Material You, iOS 18 supports dynamic color extraction, selecting an icon shade based on the dominant color in a wallpaper. Users can also use a color picker to extract a shade from the wallpaper or manually choose another from the color slider. From there, it offers extensive customization via a saturation slider and, of course, the ability to completely change the color to whatever you want.

But that’s where the similarities end. While Material You focuses on cohesion, creating a custom palette of matched icons based on color science and implementing it across the entire interface, iOS 18’s take on App Colors does the same thing but offers only a single color option. What’s more, iOS 18’s color tint only applies to home screen icons and widgets. The limitations don’t end there: The tint appears to apply only to dark mode variations of widgets. So, for example, there’s no way to turn the Google Calendar widget in light mode peachy. Instead, you’ll have to settle for a dark mode widget with a peach filter over it. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t look great. It’s surprising to see image-conscious Apple remove the barriers to app tint, knowing that it can portray the iPhone in a negative light on the internet.

However, unlike Material You, iOS 18 lets you choose any color to tint the interface using a color slider, with results ranging from aesthetic to outright garbage. Do you want to create a theme with a green wallpaper and red icons for Christmas? Surely it can. Apple gives users more control, even more than Android, allowing them to find the exact shade needed for their app icons. However, I’m not entirely sure this was the best option.

Unfortunately, the control center, settings, app menus, and other aspects of the interface are not affected by the tint. This creates a rather disjointed experience, very different from Apple’s. In its current implementation, you’ll notice the gap between the tinted home screen and the colorful Control Center every time you open the new Control Center.

However, there is one area where the color nuance of iOS 18 stands out. Android Material You won’t touch any app icons that haven’t been updated to support themes. This can create a somewhat disjointed home screen experience unless you use custom icons. iOS 18, on the other hand, applies a uniform tint even if the app hasn’t been updated yet. This may make some app icons appear unreadable or difficult to distinguish, but it creates a uniform appearance throughout. You can see the difference in the Instagram app, where the larger icon has been updated to support tinting, but the smaller one has not. This issue should be largely resolved when iOS 18 launches later this year, and popular apps will update their icon sets to support the feature.

As for cohesion, I’m surprised Apple hasn’t done more with this feature. While Material You uses the extracted color to paint the system interface, notification center, and other elements in shades that match the color, the shade of iOS 18 feels like it’s an early beta (and it is) or a system that has been deliberately limited to reinforce Apple’s point of view that it knows best.

From widgets to full-blown themes, Apple has come a long way from its strict enforcement of design principles. However, the latest iteration, app tinting, falls a bit short of Apple’s typically well-thought-out design approach. It’s all too easy to create a color scheme that ruins the aesthetic, doesn’t cover enough of the interface, and lacks clever additions like a custom color palette similar to Material You. Despite that, though, I’d say it’s a welcome step in the right direction. While my orange-on-orange color scheme above was an extreme example of exploring the scope of tinting possible, I did enjoy sporting a desaturated look with blacked-out icons. Hopefully, this represents the beginning of more granular customization for iOS 18. How about upcoming custom icon packs, Apple?