Customizing your iPhone home screen took off last year when iOS 14 introduced widgets and the ability to hide default app icons in favor of your own custom icons. But iOS 15 opens up a whole new dimension to home screen customization, thanks to Focus Modes, which offer a quick and easy way to hide and reveal groups of home screens with a single click. Here's how:
Focus modes are apparently an extension of Apple's Do Not Disturb mode. in the office, and a standard home screen with social media apps and music widgets when you're off the clock.
But since Focus modes let you choose home screens, you can also use them to quickly switch between a list of custom icons you've created with corresponding shortcuts and widgets, without having to manually hide all your home pages every time.
To use the new feature, you'll first need to set up a Focus Mode - luckily we already have a guide here on how to do that.
You will also need to configure your themed home screen with custom widgets and icons, which you can learn how to do here.
Once you've done all of this, you'll want to go to Settings> Focus, select the specific Focus you want to use to trigger your home screen or custom screens. Then select the home screen menu, turn on the "Custom Pages" switch, and select the home pages you want to appear when you activate Focus Mode. Then all you need to do is activate your Focus mode, and your phone will become your perfect themed style whenever you want.
If you're really willing to go the extra mile, you can take advantage of Shortcuts and create an automation that changes your iOS wallpaper every time you activate this Focus Mode. Unfortunately, this doesn't work very well - at least with the current iOS 15 beta - but it's an option for those who want to play around with shortcuts.
All this is still a lot of effort for a themed home screen, of course. But unless Apple gives in and gives us better customization tools next year, the new tricks in iOS 15 are the best way to make your home screen look stylish.
