Trippy Round Icon Pack Nova/GO - Acid icon pack contains 1000+ icons. Works with launchers: - Nova - ADW - Apex - Go Launcher - Holo - Action Launcher. You can use custom icon packs, launchers, and widgets to make the phone your own. Here are all of the Android icon packs I currently use on my Essential PH-1. Customizing your Android phone is one.
Changing icons in Nova Launcher is one of the easiest ways to truly make your device yours. Everything from setting up a full icon theme to make things clean and concise, to simply changing that one icon you just don’t like is incredibly easy in Nova. And best of all, this feature is available in both the free and paid versions of the launcher, so everyone can take advantage of it.
How to Change Icon Packs in Nova Launcher
To get a uniform look across your entire device—be it on the home screens or in the app drawer—you’ll want to use an icon pack. Not all icon packs support all apps, because that would be nearly impossible, but most of the larger packs will offer at least one option for all of the really popular apps on Android. And, for any apps that aren’t supported, you can change their icons manually (which we’ll cover in the second section of this guide).
First, of course, you’ll need to find an icon pack to use. For this example I’ll be using Whicons, which is a free pack that contains over 3,000 all-white icons based on Google’s Material Design. It also offers matching wallpapers and a feature that gives users a way to request icons for their favorite apps. Not all icon packs will be this full-featured, so keep this in mind when searching for the perfect theme.
Once you have your icon pack installed, you’re ready to apply it. Jump into the app drawer and find the “Nova Settings” icon to get into Nova’s menu.
Tap on the fifth entry in this menu, which reads “Look & Feel.” This will bring up all of Nova’s aesthetic options. The first entry in this menu is the “Icon theme” option—tap that.
This will open a small popup window with all of the currently installed icon packs, along with options for the original “System” theme and Android’s stock “Marshmallow” icons. Tap the one you want to apply (in our case, “Whicons”).
The popup box will disappear, but the “Icon theme” entry should now show the icon theme that you just selected in the subtext beneath the title.
Back on your home screen and app drawer, all the supported apps should now have the icon pack applied to them.
How to Change Individual Icons in Nova Launcher
Chances are, there are a few icons that didn’t get changed. Maybe there wasn’t an icon in the pack that matched that app, or maybe (due to some error) that one icon didn’t apply properly–we’ve seen this on more than one occasion.
Or maybe you don’t want to change all your icons, but just want to tweak a few. Nova Launcher allows for this as well.
After installing your icon pack—again, in this example we’re using Whicons—open your app drawer and find the icon you want to change. Tap it and hold until you’re greeted with the following screen, then drag the icon over the “Edit” option.
NOTE: You can tap and drag icons from the home screen, too, but this will only change the icon on the home screen. If you change it from the app drawer, it’s really easy to re-add it to your home screen if the home screen icon doesn’t change.
This will open the app’s “Edit Shortcut” menu. Tap on the icon, which will bring up the “Select theme” options.
There are a few choices here—you can choose a system icon, something from your gallery, or an icon from an installed pack. We’re going to select one from the “Whicons” pack, but you can tap on whichever option best fits what you’re trying to do.
If you’re using a custom icon pack, it may take a few second to load, depending on the size of the pack. Once it’s ready, however, Nova should try to pick the best option and suggest it at the very top, which keeps you from having to scroll through thousands of icons to find the exact one you’re looking for.
If the suggested icon isn’t the one you’re looking for (or there isn’t a suggestion), just scroll through the alphabetical list until you find the right choice. Tap it.
This will take you back into the “Edit Shortcut” menu—just tap “done” to save the changes.
The icon will change instantly, and you can move on to the next one.
Even if there isn’t an icon for your desired app in the pack, you can often find one that sort of fits. For example, maybe there isn’t an icon for Citi Bank specifically, but there’s a generic “$” icon that you could use in its place, so all your icons fit the theme.
It’s also worth noting that applying a new icon pack to the entire system will not overwrite individual icon changes. So if you want one theme on your home screens and a different one in the app drawer, you can do so easily.
Most icon packs are standardized now, so they will work with most of the popular third-party launchers. This is good news for users who may want to switch launchers, because the majority of the packs out there (especially the more popular and/or larger packs) are essentially universally compatible at this point.
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Last week on our Android customization series, we took a moment to look at the actual how-to when it comes to managing the different Launchers out there. Again, we did not take the time to look at specific Launchers, just how to swap between them. This week, we will do the same for icon packs.
With all of the available icon packs available in the Google Play Store, it is possible to change the appearance of your device to an impressive level. Icon packs range from simple sets of just a few image files, up to thousands of icons for all of your favorite apps.
Before we begin
Before you can go ahead and install any old icon pack, you will need to make sure that your currently installed Launcher is capable of working with icon packs. From there, each icon pack will only work with a given set of Launchers, you have a bit of research ahead of you before diving in today. Luckily, we’ve got you covered:
First, hit last week’s post on Launchers to see how to make sure you are on the best Launcher for your needs. I would never dream of telling you which Launcher to use, but I will say that Apex and Nova are two of the best supported around when it comes to icon packs. If you really don’t know where to start, grab one of these two, they’ll treat you well.
Next, you need an icon pack. Now, this is serious business folks. There are free icon packs, there are paid icon packs, there are even exclusive invite only icon packs. No joking. As mentioned, we’ve looked at icon packs before, here are just a few of our resources to get you started:
The steps to install an icon pack on your Android device are pretty similar for most Launchers out there, so I will only look at a couple today. Once you learn the theory of the steps involved, I am confident that you will find the procedure easy enough on your own Launcher.
So, I will start with Apex and Nova Launchers, because, as I say, they are two of the most supported Launchers out there for icon packs.
Like most quality Launchers, Apex Launcher can have a new icon pack set up and running in just a few quick clicks.
Open Apex Settings. If you are not sure where to access Apex settings, look for the three-dots menu in your app drawer.
Select Theme Settings.
Tap on the icon pack that you wish to use.
Select the check boxes of the elements that you wish installed. As you see, many icon packs are more than just icons, with wallpaper, fonts and more included.
Tap apply to make the changes.
Head on back to your Homescreen and app drawer to see your new icon pack in action.
Nova Launcher is also very easy to work with, you are again just a few quick clicks away from your new looks.
Open Nova Settings. If you are not sure where to access Nova settings, look for the three-dots menu in your app drawer. (Sound familiar?)
Select Look and feel.
Select Icon theme.
Tap on the icon pack that you wish to use.
Head on back to your Homescreen and app drawer to see your new icon pack in action. That is how truly easy it is to customize your Android experience, isn’t it great?!?
Two icon packs combined, using Zooper Widget and Tasker
What’s next
So, these icon packs come with an individual image file for each and every app? Yes, well, maybe. I am sure you noticed in your search for the perfect icon pack that many have icons for only a few hundred of the most popular apps out there. You may find that you get what you pay for here. Most free icon packs are fairly limited, a good developer, like the maker of the Velur icon pack you see above, regularly releases updates with new app icons. Velur now has over 3000 icons in the pack.
That sounds good, but what happens if there isn’t an icon for my app? Again, please watch for a quality developer here. By default, an app without an icon in the pack will fall back to the original app icon. While this keeps the app functional, it certainly does nothing for the look of your device. A good developer will have a default icon template, or icon mask, that will actually manipulate the default icon to somewhat match your new theme.
Look at the image below, you can see an app icon on the left that was masked to fit, and two on the right have been specifically built by the developer. Basically, in this case, the shadows fit better and the colors are more appropriate, if still random.
What? The Android Authority app does not have a custom icon in the pack, good thing this developer accepts requests from users. I will contact them via the links in the Google Play Store to make my request. I hope the new icon will be in place by the time the updated Android Authority app rolls out. Coming Soon! I hope you got that a good icon developer is in touch with the users, just something to keep in mind.
Lastly, you can always manually apply your own chosen image file as the app icon by long pressing on the existing icon, then choosing Edit – at least in Apex, your Launcher may have a slightly different procedure. Nonetheless, you are never out of luck if you have a Launcher that supports all of these icon tweaks.
Next week
With how easy it is to change up icon packs, I hope you do not hesitate the next time you feel like a little change. Next week on our Android customization series, will be a surprise. Just kidding, I have a Nexus 7 (2013) that needs a factory reset, would you like to see what I do to prep for a factory reset and how it is done? If so, check back next week.
Read Next:How to make and share your own custom icon packs
What is your icon pack of choice? How often do you swap icon packs?
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