March 19th, 2013Top StoryHow to Customize Your iPhone's Home Screen and Break Away from the PackBy Whitson Gordon
Every week, we share our favorite custom home screens from readers, and all the tweaks they use to make them more practical, productive, or just plain pretty. Unfortunately, most of our featured home screens are Android-based, and that just ain't right! So, we've compiled this guide to customizing every inch of your iPhone or iPad's home screen. Try out some of the tweaks and share your creations with us! Note that for all the tweaks below, you'll need to be jailbroken. There's no real way around it. While you can customize a few small things without jailbreaking, true customization can only happen with jailbroken apps, so jailbreak your phone if you haven't already (dont worry, it's easy), then continue with the instructions below. Theme the Lock Screen and Icons with Winterboard
Note that many lock screen themes may require you to install other tweaks, like Lockscreen Clock Hide, in order for them to work properly. If that's the case, you'll see it in the description of the theme, and you can install those other tweaks as needed. Home screen by rshroff2 on MyColorScreen.
For example, if you don't like the wallpaper that came with your theme, open up the Lastly, if you want a more intense overhaul of your lock screen and home screen, check out Dreamboard. It works similarly to Winterboard, but it's designed to completely change the look of your home screen in ways Winterboard cannot, and it isn't as open to customization and mixing and matching different themes. It's worth checking out, but if you want to build a new, custom home screen from the ground up, Dreamboard probably isn't the way to go. Lock screen by falcon212 on MacThemes. Tweak the Home Screen Layout with Springtomize and MoreSo you've got yourself a fancy looking home screen and some custom icons, but now it's time to really dig into the small stuff. Maybe you want to fix a few annoyances, remove certain interface elements, or spice up your device with some new animations. For that, you need Springtomize ($3). Install it in Cydia, then open it up for options like the following:
If you're customizing your home screen, Springtomize is an absolute must-have. Home screen by eyeisdatsteve (MyColorScreen).
If you want something a bit fancier than that, check out Iconoclasm ($3), which will let you arrange icons in whatever kind of grid (or lack thereof) you want. After you install Iconoclasm, head to your Settings app and tap on Iconoclasm to see the layouts available to you. Tap on one to try it out. You can also download other layouts from Cydia or make your own with the free Iconoclasm Layout Maker. With this app, you can put together any layout your heart desires. If you want to fit 30 icons on your home screen in the shape of a smiley face, you could (but we wouldn't recommend it). Home screen by kieranc88 on MyColorScreen. Change Your Font with BytaFont
After installing a font, it should show up in Bytafont's settings. Just tap the one you want, and your device will respring with your new font in place across the entire system. You can also go to Bytafont's Advanced section if you just want to change the font in certain parts of the interface (like the lock screen clock or the keyboard). Home screen by Jan Amundsenat MyColorScreen. Add Widgets to Your Home Screen with Dashboard X
To remove widgets, just head to Settings > Dashboard X. Tap "Enabled Widgets" and you'll get a list of widgets available to you. You can tap the "Edit" button to remove them, as well as edit a few other advanced settings in this area. Home screen by 666 at MyColorScreen. Check Out Cydia for Other, Single-Purpose TweaksThese are the big, general apps that aim to customize your iPhone home screen, but you can find a lot of smaller, one-feature tweaks in Cydia too. For example, you can:
The best way to find these tweaks is to keep an eye out on sites like MyColorScreen, our Featured Home Screen series, and just checking out all our posts about jailbreaking. The Cost of Customization
So, you'll have to do some experimenting for yourself. Don't install everything at once, go one tweak at a time and see how much your phone is affected. It'll take you a bit longer, but then when your phone does get a lot slower, you'll know which tweak to blame, and you can uninstall it. In the end, it's all about how much battery life and speed you're comfortable with, and how much you want to customize your phone. Good luck! Photo by Nicemonkey (Shutterstock). |
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Tuesday, March 19, 2013
How to Customize Your iPhone's Home Screen and Break Away from the Pack
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