Apple will announce its biggest update for iPhone in June at its WWDC 2024 event along with watchOS 11, macOS 15, and many other updates to its products. While Apple has invested heavily in bringing generative AI technology to the platform, it may not be the only addition you should be excited about. According to recent news, iOS 18 will finally give users the option to create free spaces on the iPhone home screen with more customization controls.
iOS 18 to allow customization of app icons on the iPhone home screen
iOS 18 will be Apple’s biggest update for the iPhone, and generative AI utilities will help make the update the biggest since the phone’s debut. Analyst Mark Gurman recently noted in his latest Power On newsletter that Apple plans to add more customization options for the iPhone home screen with the release of iOS 18. While he couldn’t pinpoint the details, we’re now hearing more details about changes and how they will affect the user experience.
According to sources familiar with the matter, iOS 18 will allow users to create empty spaces on the home screen, including empty columns and rows (via MacRumors). Currently, app icons on the iPhone home screen are tied to an imaginary grid that cannot create empty space. What this means is that app icons will fill any empty space automatically, making your home screen look a little cramped. However, this is about to change with the next update as Apple finally decided to allow the home screen to create free space without any apps.
Note that sources suggest that apps will still stick to the grid, but users will have the option to customize the layout more freely. MacRumors suggests that users will be able to create free space on the home screen, which can be an entire row or column. It will be a big problem for the iPhone as Apple has never allowed empty spaces on the iPhone home screen before.
If you like playing with the default settings, you will know that it is currently possible to create black spaces on the iPhone running iOS 17. However, it requires the use of Shortcuts and Widgetsmith, which offer a workaround but are not official features announced by Apple. . Aside from this, iOS 18 will be packed with new generative AI features for iPhone, including revamped Siri and Spotlight Search. All of these features combined could make iOS 18 Apple’s biggest update for iPhone yet.
