6 Tips to Organize and Customize iOS with Folders and Widgets

The iPhone home screen (iOS) gained another customization option with the arrival of widgets, integrated into the system in iOS 14. The function became a success among users, who soon began to look for ways to organize apps and create folders on the iPhone. Among the new features of iOS 14 to organize the smartphone is the application library and the option to hide apps or entire pages from the phone without removing the applications permanently from the phone.

Besides the native tools, there are apps like Widgetsmith, which offer fun ways to customize the start screen of the Apple smartphone. Check out the following, 6 tips gathered by Techidence to organize the iPhone’s home screen with system features or with external apps.

1. Hide Home Screen Pages

Hide Home Screen Pages

iOS 14 allows the user to hide an entire page of applications at once. Doing so saves time, as there is no need to hide each program or folder individually. The feature makes life easier for those who want to quickly hide an apps page from the mobile phone or want to leave usage more dynamic, with few screens side by side.

The action is possible through a new system customization menu, which allows selecting or deselecting all the screens the user wants to display. It is worth mentioning that removing a screen does not erase the apps installed on the iPhone, just hides all of them from the user’s view. All icons will be displayed again when the user restores the screen to the mobile.

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2. Using the App Library

App Library

Another way of organizing apps on the iPhone is with the new iOS 14 app library, which works in an automated way: the system itself identifies the apps according to categories and automatically organizes the icons into folders, making it easier for the user to locate the items. The system groups the apps by genre, such as social networks, utilities, entertainment, and games, among others, displaying the gallery on the last screen of the system, located on the right.

This way, people who have many applications installed can find a specific app faster. It is worth remembering that the apps hidden from the home screen can also be found in the library to be reactivated.

3. Arrange Apps in Folders

Creating folders on the iPhone is the most traditional way of organizing applications on the screen to find them faster. The feature, present in iOS for years, also solves the problem of those who download many apps and want to leave the mobile interface cleaner, decreasing the number of screens side by side during navigation. To facilitate the identification of the folders, all groups can receive names created by the user himself.

4. Change App Icons

Change App Icons

To organize the iPhone home screen, many people change application icons. iOS does not allow us to perform the action natively, but a trick using Apple’s Shortcuts app can help in this task. To make custom icons, the user must create a shortcut for the action of opening applications by selecting the desired application during creation. At the end of the procedure, the user will be able to choose any photo from the gallery to illustrate the icon, including memes, photos, and drawings.

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For the shortcut to work, the original app must be kept installed on the mobile. A tip to hide it is to hide the main application after creating the shortcut. Thus, only the custom icon will remain on the screen for use.

5. Use the Smart Stack

Just like many applications can bother some users, using many widgets on the iPhone screen can be a problem for those who prefer a cleaner view while using the phone. To get around this problem, it is possible to create a Smart Stack, which is a kind of “widget folder”. To create one of these groups, just select a widget and place it on top of another. The widgets will be combined immediately, allowing the user to navigate between them by sliding their finger inside the folder.

The user has the freedom to create sets with the widgets they want, but iOS also offers some ready-made templates. Even so, it is possible to choose which applications the user wants to leave in the group, as well as their display order on the screen.

6. Customize the Widgets

Some external applications allow you to customize your iPhone widgets, changing colors, and fonts of new iOS shortcuts. This way, the user can leave the mobile screen with his style. Free apps like Widgetsmith allow the user to use widgets with different sizes and background colors different from iPhone standards, creating a personalized and individual screen.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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