So, you got an iPhone. Are you really going to leave the default settings on this item that you use everyday, and not download incredibly useful apps to make your daily life more optimized and relaxing? Find out below how to customize your iPhone (and check out this official guide by Apple for further reference).
First and foremost, you need to name some things. Open Settings >> General >> About and find the “Name” option. Here, you can choose a custom name for your iPhone (this will also be your hotspot name), e.g. Your_Name’s Nokia. Then, go back to the main Settings screen and find “Personal Hotspot.” Here, you can customize your hotspot password.
Next, you should customize your wallpaper (phone background). Follow these steps:
- Open the “Settings” app
- Tap “Wallpaper”
- Tap “Add New Wallpaper”
- Choose and add wallpaper (either from your photos or from the given options)
- Crop and move your photo by pinching and dragging
- You can create a motion effect if you set your wallpaper to a Live Photo
- Set the frequency at which your wallpaper will shuffle (On Tap, On Lock, Hourly, or Daily). Then choose a set of photos that will shuffle as you use your iPhone throughout the day.
- Choose whether to use the same wallpaper on both the home and lock screen
- Widgets are used to quickly see relevant information from frequently-used apps. You can add widgets by tapping the boxes above or below the time. My personal favorite widget setup is: “Battery,” “Maps,” “Weather,” and “Reminders.”
- Tap the time to choose a font and text color
Your Control Center (the array of utilities that appear when you swipe down from the top-right corner of your phone) can be customized to include the most important controls that you will use. Open your Control Center and long-press the blurry background. You will then have the option to add controls. I recommend: “Torch”, “Calculator”, “Camera”, “QR Code Scanner”, “Battery Saver”, “Screen Record”, and “Add New Note.”
Junior Ashley Leung customized her iPhone’s Control Center. She said, “The ones that I use most are low power mode and ‘Shazam,’ a music recognition app. ‘Flashlight,’ ‘Screen Record,’ ‘Dark/Light Mode,’ and ‘Portrait Orientation Lock’ are my other favorite controls.”
Finally, here’s how to personalize what you all have been waiting for: the appearance of your apps and screens. Long press the background behind your apps and then click “Edit” in the top left corner. Here, you can add widgets, change your app icon appearances, and change how everything is arranged.
Sophomore Amanda Hang shared, “I opened the ‘Shortcuts’ app, typed and chose the ‘Open App’ option, picked an app, and customized its icon. Then, I pressed ‘Add to Home.’ This way, I made all my app icons’ images fit my aesthetic!”
There you have it! A short and simple guide on how to customize your iPhone’s aesthetics to your style.
