iOS 18 will allow greater control over the layout of app icons on the home screen

The next major update to Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 18, promises new features and improvements for iPhone users. One of the most anticipated additions is the ability to customise the Home Screen more freely, creating spaces, rows and columns between app icons.

According to sources familiar with the matter, iOS 18 should give iPhone users more freedom to arrange app icons on the Home Screen, instead of being limited to an invisible grid. Users will be able to organise their favourite apps with more flexibility and creativity, creating columns, spaces and rows between icons.

Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman predicted that the iPhone Home Screen would become “more customisable” in iOS 18. Although some apps, such as Shortcuts and Widgetsmith, already allow customisation of the Home Screen and the creation of empty icons, Apple’s own options will be more convenient.

Since the launch of iOS 16, iPhone users have already had the ability to customise the Lock Screen, including widgets, which are small apps that display useful, up-to-date information. So it is expected that the iOS 18 Home Screen will receive similar treatment, with more customisation options and deeper widget integration.

At Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, iOS 18 will very likely be announced as a major leap forward for the iPhone. The update is expected to introduce a new generative AI feature for Siri and other apps, RCS support in the Messages app to improve communication between iPhones and Android devices, design changes and several other updates.