Android icons are one of the most important graphical components, on which depend the style and some features of your smartphone. Each device has its own theme, but you can change the icons and shortcuts of your apps by downloading a Launcher from Google Play Store or by replacing the theme on your device.
Let's see how to change the icons on Android, either by using an external application or by taking advantage of the native theme's configuration features.
What is an Android Launcher?
Android is an operating system for mobile devices developed by Google, found on all smartphones except Apple's iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch iOS. When you buy a phone or tablet, the manufacturer provides its version of Android, pre-installed inside the terminal and configured according to the needs of the company, both in terms of functionality and graphic appearance. However, it is possible to customize the appearance and shortcuts, using Launchers.
These are applications for Android, with which you can make changes to the layout of the device, for example, changing the icons, changing the screens and adding special effects. On Google Play Store you can find several Android Launchers, some of which you can download for free while others you have to pay for. In this way you can install a Launcher, according to the features you want, to customize your Android device in a simple and intuitive way.
Best Launchers for changing Android icons
There are many Launchers available on Google Play Store to customize your Android smartphone. Let's see which are the best Launchers for Android and their main features.
Nova Launcher
One of the best Android Launchers is undoubtedly Nova Launcher, an application available in both free and premium versions, with a download cost of €3.28. The app on the Google Play Store already offers several interesting features, in fact it allows you to customize the icons on Android, set some effects like scrolling, update the theme automatically with the latest versions, create new layouts for the screens, apply the dark background and back up the theme settings.
Action Launcher 3
Another functional app for editing icons on Android is Action Launcher 3, also available in the free or paid version with a price of €5. Both allow you to make various configurations within your smartphone's theme, including changing the color of Android icon lettering, customizing Google Chrome's search bar, changing background colors, setting up new features when tapping apps, hiding apps you use less and making previews of certain services, such as emails and Facebook notifications.
Smart Launcher 5
To change Android icons you can use Smart Launcher 5, one of the most popular apps among users with over 10 million downloads. With this app you can not only change the graphics of the icons, but also make them the same size, customize folders and set the home screen, using special widgets to create a page that suits your needs. The app is intuitive and fast, plus there is also a paid version available with a cost of €3.28, Smart Launcher 3 Pro, which allows you to change gestures, create 9 different screens, manage categories and insert up to 7 additional animations.
Apex Launcher
One of the best apps of 2019 for changing icons on Android is Apex Launcher, an efficient and easy-to-use app that can be downloaded both in the free version with ads, and in the Pro mode with a download price of €6.33. Apex Launcher is an efficient and easy-to-use app that can be downloaded either as a free app with ads or as a Pro app with a download price of €6.33. The app offers a wide range of features, such as hiding applications you don't need, managing the theme installed on your smartphone, creating effects and animations, customizing the graphics by setting icons, menus, elements and backgrounds, configuring gestures and making data backups.
Go Launcher
Go Launcher is another reliable app to change the icons on your Android smartphone, in fact it offers a smart system to set HD wallpapers, update the theme and change the graphics of the icons. At the same time the app is able to speed up your device, improving the phone's performance, decorating the screens using a number of free widgets. Alternatively you can opt for the paid version, Go Launcher Prime with a cost of €3.28, which offers over 1000 themes in 2 and 3D, advanced gesture setting and icon optimization.
One UI Samsung
With this native app changing Samsung icons is really easy, in fact you just need to download One UI on your smartphone, from Samsung's official store or the third-party app on Google Play Store, to make many customizations. For example, you can choose icons and themes according to your preferences, change the shortcuts on the main screens, set the services to be shown in the foreground and manage the brightness of the smartphone, to get the best graphics at different times of the day.
How to change Android icons without Launcher
Although Launchers are the best way to change icons on Android, you can also make some changes on your device without using these applications. To do this, all you have to do is use the settings of the smartphone, in fact, several companies allow you to make some configurations, even without installing an Android Launcher. For example, to change the Samsung icons you can look for alternative themes, replacing the one pre-installed on the terminal.
You only need to go to Galaxy Themes, the official Samsung website, which provides many customizable themes for Galaxy smartphones. Once you find the right GUI you just have to download it to your mobile device, selecting the Apply option, otherwise you have to hold down the Home screen, tap on the item Wallpapers or Themes, choose the new look and download the content. Animated, multiple and video option themes are available on Galaxy Store, equipped with different features and icons for each theme.
In the same way you can change Android icons without Launcher on Huawei smartphones by going to the huaweimobileservices.com portal to download a new theme via your HUAWEI ID, while to do so on LG devices you need to download an alternative graphic look on LGSmartWorld. Similarly, Sony also allows you to change the native theme, downloading a different graphic interface to change the Android icons, by downloading the Xperia application that offers a catalog with dozens of themes for Sony smartphones.
How to change the color of the writings of Android icons
A rather simple operation, which allows you to change the color of the writings of the icons, can be done without using alternative applications, simply intervening in the font of your Android smartphone. To do this, simply go into the phone's settings, selecting Display> Font> Font, to choose a different font to use for screen texts. Some devices offer limited configurations, but on Samsung terminals you can download new fonts from the Galaxy Store, by tapping on the Download Font option in the settings.
Custom shortcuts to change Android icons
While you can replace and change icons on Android with Launchers, there are also apps that let you configure shortcuts, to manage the positions of apps on various screens, choosing which ones to make visible and which ones to hide. An excellent solution for this purpose is Icon Changer Free, a simple and free app, with which you can create new shortcuts between the home page of the operating system and applications.
In this case you can leave the icons present in the original Launcher, however you can hide them and create custom shortcuts with icons taken from the gallery, of which you can change both the color and the writing. To do this, you just need to install the app on your device, highlight the app you want to hide, tap on the Change option and select which icon to show on the screen, choosing from images in your phone's gallery, icons provided by the Icon Pack system by Icon Changer Free, or from other apps already installed inside your smartphone.
Finally you just need to tap on the Title item, to enter the new icon name and set a link with the referenced app. This allows you to show the new app layouts, however when you open the app it will run the same program that was present before the change. To change the style instead, just select the icon, tap on the Decorate option and work on some parameters, such as graphics, color and filters, to make each Android icon displayed on your smartphone's homepage unique.
How to restore original icons on Android
Changing the text, color and size of icons on Android allows you to customize the phone's graphics, however you may make mistakes, no longer find some features, or use inefficient apps and Launcher, which negatively affects the smartphone's performance. In this case, the best solution is to restore the original Android icons, in order to find all the shortcuts of the main version installed on your device at the time of purchase.
To do this, you need to go into the terminal's settings, opening the App Management section, which allows you to perform some operations related to the phone's apps. After that you need to locate the icon of the previously installed Launcher, removing the checkmark that activates the configuration as the default application. This way the operating system should have restored the old settings, displaying the original icons, then you can proceed with deactivating the Launcher and deleting it from the phone's memory.