As a means of customizing iPhones, many users want to use custom app icons on their home screen. iOS itself doesn't offer a native option to easily change and use custom app icons, but thankfully, the new iPhone 14 Pro and Lingdong Island make it easier to do this using a workaround.
One of the most popular ways for users to use custom app icons on iOS is to use shortcut keys. Using the Shortcuts app on iOS, users can create a custom shortcut on the home screen, using any image or custom app icon they wish to open a specific app, and this workaround is not perfect because there are some practical limitations that can be boring.
When using custom app icons on iPhone13 and later, annoying banners appear
Every time you click on the custom app icon shortcut on the home screen, a large banner appears at the top of the display to confirm that the shortcut is running. Many users find this banner distracting and inconvenient, which makes this solution not ideal.
Thankfully, the introduction of the new iPhone 14 Pro and Lingdong Island makes shortcuts with custom app icons more seamless. The Lingdong Island on the latest high-end iPhone introduces a brand new area on the top of the display, with system-wide alerts and context information now appearing on the top instead of masking the rest of iOS.
One notification from Apple transfer to Lingdong Island is the shortcut, and when running "shortcut" on iPhone 14 Pro, there is no longer a banner on the top of the display. Now, the shortcuts run seamlessly in Lingdong Island.
Custom app icon shortcuts running in Lingdong Island on iPhone 14 Pro
Although Lingdong Island makes it easier to run custom app icon shortcuts, there are other limitations. Most notably, the custom app icon still doesn't show notification badges like normal apps do. This can be annoying for users who want to use custom app icons in social media or messaging apps, as notification badges are particularly useful in these apps.
User creation of custom application icons is a common practice after 2020. After iOS 14, Apple introduced a redesigned gadget on the iPhone's home screen. Since then, Apple has adopted more openly the idea of users customizing iOS to their specific preferences, making it easier to use custom app icons, and of course the fully personalized lock screen in iOS 16.
