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Best icon packs for Android in 2023
Pick one of these icon packs for your Android launcher and start customizing the look of your home screen.
You get a ton of options when it comes to customization on Android phones, but using a fresh set of icons is a guaranteed way to change the overall look of your device quickly. You can always pair them with other customization for your home screen, like changing the launcher, wallpaper, widgets, etc., but simply getting a new set of icons for your Android home screen can also make a huge difference. Finding the right icon pack, however, can be a bit tricky due to the sheer number of options that are available on the Play Store. Not all the icon packs are worth considering, which is why we wanted to highlight some of the best ones you can grab for your device right now. So here are the best ten best icon packs you can download from the Google Play Store right now.
Repainter goes freemium, v2 update brings custom theme sharing support
Repainter, the Material You theme customizer app by well-known developer kdrag0n, has been updated with a new freemium payment model. Read on!
For those who like to tinker with the Material You dynamic color theming on a regular basis, the Repainter app from Danny Lin is a great way to style your rooted device with seemingly endless possibilities. The app also works without root access on Samsung Galaxy devices and select Google Pixel phones. Its $4.99 price tag, however, made it a little bit unattractive to those who chose not to pay. Fortunately, Repainter 2.0 takes a wrecking ball to that paywall and makes a few other key changes.
Android 13 Beta 1 brings new color and theming options to the Wallpaper & style app on Pixel devices
Android 13 Beta 1 rolled out for Pixel devices yesterday and it includes new color and theming options in the Wallpaper & style app. Read on to learn more.
Google dropped the first Android 13 beta release yesterday, introducing quite a few notable features. As mentioned in our original coverage, the first beta build brings more granular permissions for media file access, better error reporting in Keystore and KeyMint, and anticipatory audio routing. But Android 13 Beta 1 seems to have more in store for users. A closer look at the beta build has revealed that it also brings fun new animations for media controls and a couple of other features. In this post, we'll take a look at the new Material You styling options that Google has added for its Pixel devices.
Repainter, the Material You theme customizer, is now out of beta
Repainter, the app that allows you to customize the Material You theme engine in Android 12, is now out of beta.
Material You dynamic theming was one of the highlight features of Android 12, as it could change the colors used in applications and across the system based on your current wallpaper. However, it's not super customizable, which is where the Repainter application comes in. After a short time in beta, the first stable release of Repainter is now available on the Google Play Store.
Repainter brings customizable dynamic Material You theming to Android 12 and 12L
If the built-in dynamic theming in Android 12/12L aren't versatile enough for your tastes, then check out Repainter for more customizations.
Android theming has come a long way, from applying custom overlays via Substratum and now Android 12's Material You wallpaper-based theme engine (codenamed "monet"). Despite all of its high points, Google has yet to publish the resources and libraries on the dynamic theming component of Material You, which is why most third-party apps don’t support this feature yet. Fortunately, Google's implementation has already been reverse-engineered. Danny Lin, aka XDA Senior Member kdrag0n successfully recreated the Pixel-exclusive dynamic theming and made it open source, so that custom ROM developers can easily incorporate it in their builds. Now, kdrag0n has released a new theming app called Repainter to give end users even more customization options for the Material You's colors.
This app lets you tweak hidden settings and use custom themes in Gboard
Rboard Theme Manager is an all-in-one companion app for Gboard which lets you easily modify hidden settings and use custom themes. Read on!
Google’s Gboard is among the most popular keyboard apps for Android, and it been updated quite a lot over the years. Recently, the app gained the ability to use the colors generated by Android 12's “monet” theme engine to dynamically change the appearance of its UI elements. Despite this added customizability, power users may still find Gboard's default theming options a bit inadequate. If you're a modding enthusiast looking to spice up the look and feel of your keyboard, check out Rboard Theme Manager, an app that lets you use custom themes on the Gboard app and modify a plethora of hidden settings.
Peafowl Theme Maker helps you make custom themes for Huawei and Honor devices running EMUI
Peafowl Theme Maker is an app from XDA Senior Member hamzio7 that lets you create fully custom themes for Honor and Huawei phones.
Theming is an integral element of Android customization. Many OEMs that ship a custom flavor of Android on their phones bundle a theming engine to let users decorate their phones as they like. Similar to MIUI and ColorOS, Huawei also offers theming functionality on its custom skin EMUI through the Themes app. The app offers a wide selection of preset themes to choose from. But what if you wanted to build your own custom theme?
Download the Xiaomi Mi 9's Official Stock Wallpapers
The Xiaomi Mi 9 was announced just a few days ago, but we've already got the Mi 9's official stock wallpapers ready for download. Check them out!
On February 20th, Xiaomi officially unveiled the Mi 9, Mi 9 Transparent Edition, and Mi 9 SE. The Mi 9 launched in China already with Android Pie-based MIUI 10 and at the event, Xiaomi announced software features like a dynamic wallpaper, Sunlight Mode 2.0, Reading Mode 2.0, Game Turbo, Dark Mode, and more. While it's up to Xiaomi to decide whether or not those features will be ported to older devices, we've gone ahead and extracted the Mi 9's firmware to bring you its stock wallpapers. Xiaomi typically releases these wallpapers on their Mi forums, but since they haven't done that yet you can grab them here.
Download ASUS ROG Phone Wallpapers, Live Wallpaper, and Theme
We have extracted the wallpapers, theme, and live wallpaper from the ASUS ROG Phone. If you can't afford the ROG Phone but want the look, download these!
The ASUS ROG Phone is ASUS' first Android smartphone with a gaming focus. It has an overclocked Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, a display capable of 90Hz refresh rate, a couple of really neat accessories, and other high-end specifications. This gaming phone will certainly cost you a pretty penny once it eventually launches outside of China, but for those of you who want the look and feel of the software without spending a dime, you can now download the ROG Phone's wallpapers, live wallpaper, and theme.
Pluvius themes system UI and accent color based on the wallpaper [Giveaway]
Pluvius is a new app that uses OMS on rooted Android devices to dynamically theme the System UI and accent color based on the current wallpaper.
With Android 8.0 Oreo, Google introduced Sony's native theme framework called the Overlay Manager Service (OMS.) Overlays can be built to target the resources of any application, including the SystemUI and Android framework, and override them with their own values. This allows us to theme almost any part of Android to our liking on Android 8.0 Oreo and Android 8.1 Oreo. Unfortunately, Google blocked access to the OMS APIs in Android P, stating that OMS is only intended to be used by OEMs. However, if you have root access such as through Magisk, you can still install custom themes on Android P. A new app called "Pluvius" has just been released, and it uses OMS in a really clever way: Dynamically theming system UI and accent colors based on the current wallpaper. It requires root access to work, but if you pass that basic requirement then you can enjoy personalized themes on any Android 8.0 Oreo, Android 8.1 Oreo, or Android P device like the Google Pixel 2 or Essential Phone.
Custom themes now possible on rooted Android P devices with Substratum
Substratum, the popular third-party theme manager, has been updated to support rooted Android P devices like the Google Pixel, Google Pixel 2, and more.
Android P's user interface changes were initially met with some controversy (mostly due to perceived similarities with iOS and obvious accommodations for devices with notched displays), but it seems that the criticisms have died down some as people have gotten used to the changes. There's one missing feature that Android enthusiasts have begging for over the past few years: custom themes. Android Oreo introduced Sony's theme framework which the popular third-party Substratum theme manager hooked into to provide rootless custom themes. Unfortunately, Android P blocked third-party overlays from being installed by requiring overlays to be signed by the system. For those of you itching to get a system-wide dark theme on Android P, however, the Substratum team has just released a new beta that supports rooted devices.
Samsung Good Lock addon brings new Always on Display/Lock Screen clock designs
An addon for Samsung Good Lock adds new Always on Display & Lock Screen clock designs for the Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, & Samsung Galaxy S9.
Samsung released a revamped version of Good Lock last week with a new addon system for UI customization. It was first released to just South Korea, but then it was expanded into the United States on Monday. Today, Samsung Good Lock has been updated with a new app called ClockFace. It works on any Samsung Galaxy smartphone running Samsung Experience 9.0 (Android 8.0 Oreo) such as the Samsung Galaxy S7, Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, or Samsung Galaxy S9.
Meet Substratum, the Future of Theming That'll Take over Layers
Check out the latest in Android theming, and why Substratum will likely be customizing your device in the near future!
Layers has seen a gradual rise to power, becoming a feasible and potent replacement for the CyanogenMod Theme Engine. Layers builds up on the RRO framework developed by Sony as it allows more complex resource switching and the possibility to theme more elements than RRO originally did.
From the Community to AOSP: Root-Only Features that Made the Cut
Learn about which of the features you take for granted actually originated from the enthusiast and developer community!
Android is by far one of the most widely loved mobile operating systems, owing its disruptive growth not only to the Open Handset Alliance, but also to the host of useful features that the system packs, features that are actually productive rather than just bells and whistles.
Change Your Sony Xperia Device's UI
Learn how to change the look of your Sony Xperia device's user interface by following this comprehensive guide. You're just a few steps away from theming!
Nothing tastes better than the product of your own hard work. This applies everywhere, from cooking to Android, where you can modify almost every element of the UI either by editing smali code or by using an Xposed Framework modules. XDA is your source for a limitless supply of guides explaining what needs to be done in order to achieve the desired effect on your device.
Android is extremely popular largely due to the fact that users can easily modify its look, which applications to use, and basically anything else. Changing your look is not only a wallpaper, launcher, or new icons. Rather, some deep changes can be done with custom themes that are not so hard to create.
So much of our Android experience is dependent on modifying various APKs. Modding, theming, ROM and app developing in one way or another often require some sort of tweaking, modifying, or refashioning of an APK. So XDA Senior Member XperienceD has decided to create a 'Definite APK Modding and Theming' thread intended for everything to do with modding and theming.
One of the first steps to theming brilliance for any aspiring themer is the changing of application icons, a skill that any experienced themer will undoubtedly need in their endeavors. And the great thing is, the process of doing so is not that difficult. Because of this, any novice can have a crack at it without the risks of the more complex activities.
There are still quite a few of folks who run Gingerbread on their devices---either because their devices have started to age a little bit, or the stability of ports of later versions is just not cutting it. However this doesn't mean that they should be left out in the cold in terms of new functions and features, as XDA Recognized Themer and Contributor SpaceCaker has created a guide to get the Samsung Android 4.2.2 status bar and toggles on your Samsung device running Android 2.3.
Just recently, we featured a guide on how to decompile, recompile and sign APKs that has been of appreciable help to many Android users. However, if you're stuck and don't know how to put this into practice, and you've always wanted to either change the icons or names of apps on your Samsung's TouchWiz UI, look no further than XDA Recognized Developer M_J_Nazari's guide on how to do such simple modifications.