You sent us screenshots of your iPhone home screen layouts, many of which were customized if you know how to use iOS 18 to change the appearance and placement of apps. Some were the pinnacle of creativity, while others had me straight-up scared. I rated the submissions from 1-5 to come up with the best and worst iPhone home screen inspirations. Whether your need some ideas on what to set as your home screen wallpaper, or simply how to arrange the home screen on your iPhone in interesting ways, I think you’ll see a few set ups you like.
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00Uh, what is with these b*****s and their beach photos?
00:03No, no thanks.
00:04Before the Android fanboys come at me with,
00:07oh, Apple's copying what we've had for years.
00:09Yes, I know.
00:10Fully aware Apple is playing catch up
00:12when it comes to customizing your home screen.
00:14In fact, iOS 18 was a big leap forward
00:17when it comes to how you can personalize
00:19the appearance of your app.
00:20So I was curious what you guys out there
00:23are doing with your new home screen powers
00:25and asked you to send in yours.
00:27Now, Steve Jobs might turn in his grave
00:29at the sight of these,
00:30but we also might find some iOS 18
00:32home screen masterpieces.
00:34Let's find out.
00:35I love this.
00:36This is like a cool photo.
00:38I bet you whoever's home screen this is,
00:40they took this photo.
00:41This little all trails app
00:42is kind of hiding down there.
00:43I feel kind of bad.
00:44It's like left out from the party,
00:46but I don't hate it.
00:47Really minimalist down here.
00:48I don't mind it, actually.
00:50I kind of like that the person
00:51just knows they have their camera.
00:53They have their Spotify.
00:54What else do they need?
00:55We have like a subtle green powder going on.
00:57I like this.
00:57This gets a four.
00:59This one's so boring.
01:00Generic beach.
01:01OK, cool.
01:02You work out.
01:02And why are all your apps
01:04hidden down there?
01:05Why? What's the point?
01:05You can't.
01:06I don't like that.
01:07No, there should only be
01:08four apps across the bottom.
01:10No folders on the bottom.
01:12OK, I think we can agree on that.
01:13I give it a two.
01:15Oh, God.
01:16What is with these bitches
01:17and their beach photos?
01:19Come on.
01:20No, this is bad.
01:21Boring.
01:22This honestly looks like anyone's mom.
01:24No one.
01:25No.
01:25No, thanks.
01:26What's that emoji?
01:26It's like me watching this
01:28with my beach background.
01:29OK, yo, I know I was just
01:31hating on the beach photos,
01:32but I don't.
01:33How could you hate this?
01:34It's like a sunset.
01:35Maybe it's like the daytime
01:37beach photos that are boring.
01:38This like sunset vibe.
01:40I want to be there.
01:40I love that.
01:41But it also could be helping
01:42that there's Pokemon Go app.
01:44You rock.
01:45Also, this baby's so cute.
01:47And look at that Duolingo streak.
01:49881.
01:50You go, Glen Coco.
01:52Look, I know it's not the most creative,
01:53but I know I like the person
01:54behind this home screen.
01:55So I'm going to give it a three.
01:57OK, this one's definitely
01:58better of the boring ones.
02:00This dog is like kind of ugly.
02:03Cute.
02:03You know I'm talking about like
02:05I can't hate the dog,
02:06but like he's kind of ugly.
02:08Come on.
02:08OK, no, he's cute.
02:09He's cute.
02:10Guys, please don't come with for me.
02:11But like, you know what I'm trying to say.
02:12These apps are like
02:13pretty organized up here.
02:15I don't hate that.
02:16I think it's still kind of boring.
02:18I would love to know
02:18what this laps app is.
02:20This whole thing is giving
02:20like really boring,
02:21but then they have this one app
02:23where they do like their secret drugs.
02:24Like that's what it looks like to me.
02:25It's like a hippie app.
02:26You get like the holographic thing.
02:27That's there's something.
02:29There's something going on
02:30in that laps app.
02:30If you guys know what that app is,
02:32let me know.
02:32I'll give it a three
02:33because I'm intrigued.
02:36Also boring one.
02:38OK, now we have a kitty cat.
02:40This kitty cat is so cute.
02:41What kind of cat is this called?
02:43You have a cat.
02:44Tuxedo cat.
02:46Is that a tuxedo cat?
02:47That's a cute kitty.
02:48I love the kitty.
02:50I wish just like some notes.
02:53I would move some of these apps
02:54like around here
02:55to like frame the cat's face.
02:57But I like what you're going for.
02:59You have a cute background.
03:00That's really what's carrying
03:01this for you right now.
03:03Oh, but folders right here.
03:07Three.
03:08Oh my God.
03:09Oh my God.
03:10Oh my God.
03:11Oh my God.
03:13This one's good.
03:14This one's really good, you guys.
03:15OK, I think we might have
03:17our first five.
03:18These apps are on the dark mode,
03:19which is nice.
03:20I think a few more apps
03:21still need to catch up to that.
03:22But what's really getting me
03:24about this is that the person
03:25made custom icons
03:26on the bottom with dogs
03:28and there is a black lab.
03:30I think that's another black lab.
03:32And that is my favorite dog.
03:34So automatic five.
03:35Love it.
03:37Oh my God.
03:37What am I looking at?
03:39This is horrible.
03:40Well, there are one, two, three,
03:42four, five, six, seven, eight,
03:44nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,
03:4515, 16, 17, 17.
03:48Did I count that right?
03:4917 folders on your homepage.
03:53What?
03:54Like some people will say,
03:55oh, I'm super organized.
03:56Like, oh, I have my little emojis
03:57next to them.
03:58I'm organized.
03:59But that is too many folders, girl.
04:01Guy, person, too many folders.
04:04And also you have 47 unread texts.
04:06Your friends must hate you.
04:08One.
04:10It's Zelda.
04:11It's Zelda.
04:12I love the echoes
04:13of wisdom background.
04:14Taylor Swift again.
04:16Love that.
04:17This is interesting.
04:18Very aesthetic.
04:19I wonder if it's one of those things
04:20that's just like there
04:21because it looks cool.
04:22I'm doubting it
04:23actually serves any purpose,
04:24which that's OK.
04:26Things in life don't always
04:27need to serve a purpose
04:28to look good.
04:29These widgets are really cool.
04:30I love the transparent widgets.
04:32Can you guys let me know
04:32where I can get those?
04:33Because I've not seen them
04:35quite like that before.
04:36We're also using
04:37the color match apps.
04:38Oh, no.
04:40Oh, no.
04:40I really, really wanted
04:41to like this one,
04:42but they have the folders
04:43on the bottom.
04:44And I told you guys,
04:45I don't like the folders
04:46on the bottom.
04:47I think they look weird.
04:49Oh, no.
04:50Oh, no.
04:50See, what I would do
04:51is I would move this there,
04:53this there, this here, this here,
04:55move one of these
04:55that you don't need
04:56to another page.
04:57Bam.
04:57That would have been a five,
04:58but I have to give you a four.
05:01All right.
05:01That was really boring.
05:02Oh, whoa.
05:05I've never seen
05:06anything like this before.
05:07Are you guys seeing this?
05:09We this is sick.
05:11It's like Wednesday
05:13with Thing and Halloween
05:15and Spooky and Bats
05:17and Coffins and Care Bears.
05:19Not sure how they fit into here,
05:21but I love this.
05:22I've never seen people do.
05:24It's like a little bookcase,
05:25like shelves,
05:26but it's coffin shaped.
05:28That is so cool.
05:30And I love that they used
05:31the whole like black and white.
05:33You can color the apps,
05:34change the tint
05:34as part of iOS 18.
05:36This is what people
05:37should be doing with their apps.
05:39Is this spooky aesthetic
05:40for everyone?
05:41No, but I'm here for it.
05:42I love it.
05:43It's the right time of year.
05:45This is a five.
05:47Oh, another bookshelf.
05:52Wait, wait.
05:53I'm totally going to do
05:54this to my phone.
05:56Loving the bookshelf.
05:57I do think having these
05:58folders here kind of
05:59messes with the aesthetic.
06:01I don't know that
06:03this would be my vibe.
06:04I do see folklore,
06:05so maybe it's giving Taylor.
06:06Oh, Evermore.
06:08OK, I was starting to
06:09like not like this,
06:10but then I see the
06:11Taylor Swift references
06:12and it just went from like
06:13a three to a five in my book.
06:15Let's see.
06:15You have the essentials,
06:17calendar, clock, wallet,
06:20camera settings.
06:22You know what?
06:23For my Taylor Swift fan,
06:24you get a five.
06:26If you're liking this video,
06:27let me know your favorite
06:28fall time Taylor Swift
06:30song in the comments.
06:33Ooh, sterile.
06:35That's what I'm getting.
06:36I know this person like
06:37was trying to be really
06:38aesthetic like ooh,
06:40black and white with like
06:41a little touch of purple
06:42and all the bookshelf thing.
06:43But this is not my
06:45favorite implementation
06:46of the bookshelf style
06:48app layout.
06:49It's not horrible.
06:51I do see just some
06:52very generic looking apps,
06:54I guess, if you have the basics.
06:55I don't know.
06:55I'm not inspired by this one.
06:57Three.
06:57If you're going to do
06:58a bookshelf layout,
06:59it should be like fun
07:01and playful and like
07:02have some cute little
07:03knickknacks or little
07:04odes to Taylor Swift in there.
07:06Sorry, I really like
07:06the Taylor Swift one.
07:08But yeah, that
07:09what are you doing?
07:10It's like you're halfway there.
07:11Just do the whole thing.
07:13Um, yeah, no one.
07:15Moving on.
07:17I'm going to blur it out
07:18for privacy, but there's
07:19a really cute little girl here.
07:20And I love how all the apps
07:21are like framed around her.
07:23That's cool.
07:24That's creative.
07:25I think I might try
07:26something like that.
07:27We also have the dark mode apps
07:28and the big apps,
07:29all the marks that
07:30I've been looking for.
07:32A couple of messages,
07:33which means people
07:33are looking for them.
07:34That's good.
07:35Belly, I know this app.
07:36This is supposed to help
07:37you like find restaurants
07:39and I'm a foodie.
07:39So I love that.
07:41This is going to go five for me.
07:44Five.
07:45I feel like people are
07:45going to debate that one,
07:46but the girl's really cute.
07:49Oh, OK.
07:50I have my first one
07:51that scares me.
07:55This is scary.
07:56This is a serial killers.
07:59Home screen.
08:01I'm really scared.
08:02Like what?
08:03Why are all your apps only there?
08:05What's there's nothing here.
08:08And there's only
08:09three apps down here.
08:10Three is a weird number
08:11to have down there.
08:15No, no, I don't like it.
08:18One.
08:20Only a serial killer
08:21can make their home screen
08:22this clean,
08:23not leave any crumbs around.
08:25They're an expert.
08:26They know what they're doing.
08:27Whoa, blue, blue, blue.
08:29You know what?
08:30If Tom's Guide
08:31because of our Tom's Guide
08:32Blue had a phone,
08:34it should look like this.
08:36I like that everything's matching.
08:37I can appreciate an aesthetic.
08:39I think it's kind of crazy
08:40to have a full color,
08:42one color monotone background.
08:43I didn't even know
08:44you could still make those.
08:45I thought like Apple
08:46automatically made it
08:47look more shadowy
08:48or something like that.
08:49So that's a little weird.
08:52I love this go.
08:53I think I can tell
08:54what you were trying to do here,
08:55but it's just not
08:56it's not doing what you think it is.
08:58That gets a two.
09:01This is cool.
09:02This is a really cool background.
09:05I would use that background.
09:06I think having the battery widget
09:09is awesome.
09:09This is things you need to know
09:11when you look at your screen
09:12or your AirPods charge
09:13is your watch charge.
09:14I like that.
09:15This is a nice weather app to calendar.
09:17Only one folder on the home screen.
09:20You know, I love to see that.
09:22These apps all look really nice
09:24and it looks like they were color
09:25matched to this really cool background.
09:27I can't see anything
09:28I don't like about this.
09:30This is nice.
09:31This is one of the best ones we've seen.
09:32This is a five for sure.
09:34Five. No notes.
09:36Guys, another one
09:38where it's like all in the same spot
09:42and it's a beach.
09:43But this beach background,
09:44I don't hate
09:44because this is like
09:45a cool shot from a drone.
09:46It's not like your basic little
09:48I went to the beach today, guys.
09:49Here's my picture.
09:50I guess we do have this widget up here
09:52that's kind of breaking it up.
09:53It's not as terrifying to me
09:55as the one from a few ago.
09:57It's it's good.
09:58I think I can see this person's vision more.
10:01So we're going to give them a four more
10:04for it rhymes perfect.
10:06And that is all of them.
10:08Thanks to everyone who sent them in.
10:10But let me know in the comments
10:12which one you thought was the best
10:13and which one you thought was the worst.
10:16After reading all of those home screens,
10:18I am equal parts scared
10:20and equal parts inspired,
10:21believe it or not.
10:22But if I had to choose one favorite,
10:24I think you guys can probably guess it.
10:26It would be this spooky season,
10:29Wednesday Addams, Halloween.
10:31It's just giving the right time of year for me.
10:34I might be a little biased
10:35because we're so close to Halloween right now.
10:38But I think it's the Twilight books
10:40and the Care Bear
10:42that really puts it over the edge.
10:43And they're using a lot
10:45of the great new features in iOS 18,
10:47like the option to have big apps
10:49without the text underneath,
10:50color code the app
10:51so that it matches an aesthetic,
10:53have apps in certain places
10:55so it fits really nicely,
10:56like on a bookshelf.
10:58Can you please send me this background
11:00so I can do this myself?
11:02Now for my least favorite.
11:04Oh boy.
11:05There is so many to choose from.
11:06I really hated a lot of these.
11:08You guys didn't even see.
11:09I like skip past.
11:10I couldn't even read some of them.
11:11But it has to be this folder atrocity.
11:16We live in a day
11:17where you can have apps
11:18that are not in your folders,
11:20that they can just still be on your phone,
11:21but not bothering you.
11:22Like, how does this not stress you out?
11:25I see all of these folders
11:26and I'm like, wow,
11:27I have so many apps that I need to look at.
11:29I have so many apps
11:29that are getting in my way.
11:31How do you know what you have a notification for?
11:33I don't think that this is good for you,
11:36but I'm not an expert.
11:38So am I?
11:40No, I'm not an expert in this thing.
11:41I just really don't like this.
11:43I'm going to bless you viewers
11:45with some other key takeaways.
11:47First, color matching
11:48and color coordinating your apps
11:50to your background is good,
11:51but your background has to be fire.
11:54Get a good photo.
11:55Don't use your basic beach pic.
11:57Get something really cool online.
11:58We saw some good ones there.
12:00Number two, pets always work.
12:03No one will ever think anything negatively
12:05of your iPhone home screen
12:07if there's pets involved.
12:08I don't care if the pet is your background.
12:10I don't care if it's in the photo widget.
12:12Heck, make your dog the actual app icons.
12:15Beautiful.
12:16Number three, take advantage of cool widgets,
12:19whether they're from Apple
12:20or they're third party ones.
12:22I really liked a couple
12:23that had some transparent backgrounds.
12:25Others that just are showing
12:26that they're going to help you
12:27a little bit with your life,
12:28whether it's with the weather,
12:29your calendar,
12:30and yes, even your Duo Lingo streak.
12:32That's awesome.
12:34You guys, just because I've already
12:35shot this video doesn't mean
12:37I don't want to still see your home screens.
12:39I'm personally still looking
12:40for the perfect layout for mine,
12:42so be sure to send me yours
12:44if you think it's a masterpiece.
12:46And in case you're still figuring out
12:48what's good with iOS 18,
12:49I know it can be difficult
12:50to navigate a new software update.
12:53Don't worry.
12:53I've linked the ultimate guide
12:55to every iOS 18 upgrade in the description.
12:58Obviously not a requirement for iOS 18,
13:00but I will say it plays especially nice
13:02with the new iPhone 16 lineup.
13:04So if you're curious to know
13:06what's in store there,
13:06go check out our review video
13:08and our comparison
13:09between the iPhone 16 Pro
13:11and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
13:13I had a lot of fun
13:14with this style of video,
13:15so let me know if there's anything
13:16you'd want to see me rate or roast next.
13:19Thanks for watching,
13:20and I'll catch you next time.
13:22I wrote five on that too,
13:23just because of how much I love it.
13:25I drew the coffin as I said the coffin,
13:27so I think that'll be good, right?