Changing the Icons for Apps on an Android Phone

One of the best things about Android phones is that you have a lot of options for personalization. Beyond simple options like changing your wallpaper, one of the coolest personalization features is the ability to change app icons.

Many phones will come with different icon packs you can apply, but you can go deeper with different options that don’t come with the phone. You don’t even need to be an expert in Android app development to switch to different icons; you just need to know the right apps to use and where to look for new icons.

Using an Icon Changer

The simplest way to change your icons is to use an icon changer app. If you go to the Google Play Store and search the term “icon changer” you will find several options. If you are looking for the most popular icon changer, you should try the X Icon Changer. It is a free download and it is very easy to use.

Once you have the app on your device, all you need to do is open the X Icon Changer and select the icon for the app you want to change. After that, you can just select the new icon you want to use for that app. The X Icon Launcher comes with a good variety of app icons you can use and it offers the option to buy new packs. You can even select images from your gallery and create new icons to use for your Android device.

While the X Icon Changer is easy to use, it is somewhat limited. The app doesn’t actually create new icons. Instead, it creates widgets that look like new icons. They will work for launching apps, but you do lose some of the functions you would get from the long press on a real icon. However, it is a way to change icons while still using the launcher that comes with your phone.

Using a Custom Launcher

Another way to change icons is to download a custom launcher on your phone. If you go to the Google Play Store, you should find a wide variety of launchers you can add. However, many are ad-supported and some might not have the features you need.

For that reason, most people would recommend the Nova Launcher for changing icons. Nova is a free launcher, it performs well on most Android phones, and you do not have to deal with ads in the launcher.

To use the Nova launcher to change icons, you will need to download the app and make it your default launcher. If you want to change all of your icons, open the Nova Launcher app. Go to the settings and select Look & Feel from the menu. Open Icon Style and then select the icon pack you want to use.

Beyond changing the entire icon pack, Nova also offers an option to change individual icons. With Nova set as your launcher, go to the app you want to change and long press on the icon. When the menu pops up, select the option to edit. When the window for the icon opens, tap on the icon image. This will open a menu that allows you to select different icon options. You can choose from built-in icons on the phone, any icon packs you have downloaded or you can go to the Google Play Store to find new icons. You can also use images from your phone or downloaded icons from your gallery.

Getting More Icons

Most phones are not going to have a lot of icon options. If you are looking for the simplest way to get more icons, you could just download themes from Google Play. However, there are more options for downloading app icons.

As an example, you could go to a site like EpicPXLS to download icons. EpicPXLS is a site that offers designers things like graphics, fonts, and UI kits. Even if you are not a designer, you could go to the site to download some of the icon packs and themes they have available. They have free and premium options, and this can be a good way to find icons that are really unique and interesting.

To use the icons you download from a site like EpicPXLS, you just need to download and unzip the image files. Once the files are unzipped, you can follow the process of changing a single icon using the Nova Launcher. Once the menu opens for changing the icon, select the option for Gallery and then pick the icon image you want to use for the app.Written by: Juno Yates