How to Customize iPad Home Screen [Ultimate Guide] (Updated) (2024)

iPad users, there are plenty of ways to customize the home screen and make your iPad your own. You can tailor the home screen by applying a new wallpaper or by adding a new widget, but do you know how you can add a photo widget to your home screen customized app icons, or more? Indeed, you can do it all, this is the ultimate guide on how to customize your iPad home screen.

iPadOS 14 was one of the biggest upgrades for iPad in terms of visual changes, thanks to the home screen widgets. Later, Apple released iPadOS 15 with App Library and widget enhancements. Apple dropped another substantial update iPadOS 17, which enables the new lock screen customization capabilities.

By utilizing the home screen widgets, app library, Shortcuts app, and other built-in tools, we can easily redesign the iPad home screen. Do you know there’s a way to change the theme of your iPad with a single tap? Yes, you may accomplish so by downloading a free third-party theme changer from the App Store. Whether you want to customize your iPad manually or by using third-party apps, you can do it all for free.

Let’s take a look at the various ways by which you can customize your iPad’s home screen.

Remove Apps, Widgets, and Home Screen Pages

One of the first things you can do to start preparing for a new home screen look is by removing the apps and widgets from your current setup. You can even hide or remove home screen pages if you’re in a hurry, then you can do this.

Remove the Home Screen Pages

Before starting personalization, you need to declutter the home screen, one quick way is by hiding or removing the entire pages from the home screen. If you want to do so, then you can follow these steps.

1. Press and hold on empty space or an app icon on the home screen.
2. When apps start wiggling, tap on the page indicator placed above the app dock.
   
3. Now it will show all pages, with the tick mark icon indicating the active pages.
4. You can simply tap on the tick mark icon to disable the particular home screen page. If you are using any particular focus mode, then the page will be removed if enabled.
   
5. Once you untick a page, you will see a minus icon appear on the top of that page, which means, you have an option to completely remove the page.
   
6. The apps listed on these pages will go to the app library once you remove a page, you can put them back from the app library.

Remove Apps from the Home Screen (Secret Tip in Steps)

In the decluttering process, we’ll remove everything from the home screen including the app icons, obviously, you can put them back after finishing the customization. So, here are the steps for removing apps from the home screen.

1. Press and hold on empty area on the home screen.
2. When apps start wiggling, press and hold one app, then use your second finger and tap on the other apps. This method helps you quickly selecting all apps.
   
3. With the apps selected, move your finger to the right side once you are on the app library screen leave your finger.
   
4. That’s it.

Instead of removing apps one by one, which is obviously time-consuming, you can quickly select all apps and drop then into the app library.

Remove the Widgets

If you have any widgets available on your home screen, then remove them all. You can do it easily, here are the steps to remove widgets.

1. Press and hold on empty area on the home screen.
2. Tap on the minus icon that appears in the top left corner of the widget.
   
3. Select Remove for confirmation.
4. That’s it.

Apply a New Wallpaper

When it comes to customizing the iPad home screen, selecting the perfect wallpaper is crucial. The wallpaper you choose can set the tone for your entire device, and can greatly impact your overall user experience. If you are looking for an aesthetics home screen setup, then try picking a minimal background, or an abstract background will suit a bold look, gradience for simplicity.

The built-in wallpaper collection on iPad isn’t that great, you need to pick one from a different place, let’s take a look at the different places where you will find a perfect background/wallpaper for your iPad.

YTECHB.com

If you are a regular YTECHB user, then you may already be aware of our monthly wallpaper collection (YMWC), where we share a stack of stunning backgrounds for free. Yes, we have the best collection of wallpapers for iPhone, iPad, and Android. Recently, we published a host of aesthetic wallpapers for iPad, make sure to check them out. We also have 50 gradient wallpapers for iPad. We will share more wallpapers soon.

Pinterest

Pinterest is one of the best places if you are looking for a minimalist aesthetic background for your iPad. Apart from the wallpapers, you can find icon packs, backgrounds for custom widgets, and more. Here are some Pinterest boards where you find some gorgeous-looking wallpapers for your iPad – Graphics by Good Mondays, Wallpapers by YTECHB, and Jackie Marie Carr.

Reddit

Reddit is another place where you can find a new background for your iPad. There are a number of subreddits from where you can download high-quality wallpapers, here are some best places to find new wallpapers – r/iPadWallpapers, r/MinimalWallpaper, and r/iOSsetups.

Add Apps with Custom Icons

If you want to add custom app icons on your iPad home screen, then there are two different ways to do this. One method lets you use pre-made themes from third-party apps. Whereas the second method allows you to add custom app icons with the Shortcuts app.

Let’s take a look at both ways of adding custom app icons.

Best Third-party Theme apps for iPad

There are many third-party theming apps available for iPhones and iPad. These apps let you select a premade theme from the collection available on apps. One of the best options available on the App Store for free is Moloko – themes & icons app. Here’s how you can change the theme on your iPad.

1. Download Moloko from the App Store.
2. Open the app, select any icon pack that suits your personality, tap on the Get button.
3. Now download icons for System apps and Third-party apps.
4. It will start downloading a profile on your iPhone, tap on the Allow button.
5. Now open Settings and tap on Profile downloaded option.
6. You will see an Install Profile pop-up screen on your iPhone, simply select Install.
7. Enter the passcode for confirmation.
8. That’s it.

Create Custom App Icons on your iPad

Custom app icons can be a great way to add a unique touch to your iPad’s home screen. Shortcuts app, lets you make app shortcuts with custom app icons. The shortcut will not replace the app icon that came with the app; rather, it will create a shortcut for the app by using a custom icon.

The process of creating a custom app icon using Shortcuts is time-consuming, and not as easy as changing themes using third-party apps. We have a detailed guide on how to change app icons on iPhone and iPad, make sure to check it out.

Download a Custom Icon Pack

There are many developers who create custom icon packs for iOS and iPadOS. And we create a list of some of the best icon packs available for iPhone and iPad, tap on this link to check out the list.

Change App Icons Size

One of the best things about iPadOS is to change the app icon size. Yes, the iPadOS gives you access to change the size of app icons, although, there are only two sizes to choose from. If you prefer large icons then you can turn it on from the Home Screen & Multitasking settings. Here’s how you can change the app icon sizes.

1. Open Settings on your iPad.
2. Select Home Screen & Multitasking settings.
3. Now turn the toggle on for Use Large App Icons.
4. That’s it.

Widgets can be a great addition to your iPad’s home screen, providing quick access to important information and frequently used apps. By default, iPadOS comes with a bunch of useful widgets, including the newly added Weather widget, Batteries widget, Notes widget, and more. However, not all stock widgets look great so, if you want more personalized widgets on your iPad, then you can use third-party widgets apps, here are a few great options.

Widgy

Widgy is one of the best third-party widgets app available for both iPhone and iPad users. The app has a wide range of user-created widgets and the best part is, you can add them to your home screen for free and set a custom background for transparency and a personalized look. The app is freely available on the App Store, you can download it using this link.

YouTuber ThisIsE creates a stunning widget for the iPad home screen, here’s how you can add custom widgets using Widgy.

Widgetsmith

Whether you want to add a photo widget to your iPad’s home screen or you want to add a clock, date, weather, or reminder. You can do all using Widgetsmith with more personalization options, yes, you can create your own personalized widgets using this app. You can download it for free from the App Store.

Here’s how you can add custom widgets on your iPad home screen using widgetsmith.

Aesthetic Kit – Widget & Icon

For those who prefer aesthetics appearance, Aesthetic Kit brings you pre-made themes, widgets, and wallpapers. Yes, if you are looking for a clean minimal aesthetic widget, then you can find it in the Aesthetic Kit app. Here’s the download link to the app.

Other Apps

• Music Widget: MD Vinyl
• Clock Widget: MD Clock, Flip Clock
• Weather Widget: Carrot
• Transparent Widgets: Top Widgets
• Countdown Widgets: Bear Countdown
• To-do list: Notion
• Search: Google

Once you pick your favorite widget, you can add it to the home screen by following these steps.

1. Press and hold on an empty area on the home screen.
2. Tap on the + icon at the top left corner.
3. Find the widget which you want to add to the home screen.
4. Tap Add widget option.
5. That’s it.

App Library Icon in the Dock

As we remove the unnecessary pages from the home screen, you can add the app library icon to the dock. Yes, you can do it. If you want to add app library or menu button to the dock, then you can follow these steps.

1. Open Settings on your iPad.
2. Select Home Screen & Multitasking Settings.
3. Turn the toggle on for Show App Library in Dock.
4. That’s it.

Once all done, you will get the result something similar to this.

I choose a pre-made icon pack from Color Widgets app, Widgy widget by ThisIsE, a Notion widget to keep an eye on pending topics, a clock widget, and an animated GIF from Top Widgets.

Do you like my minimalist iPad home screen setup? Or If you still have any queries on how to customize iPad home screen, then tell me in the comment section.

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