How To Change An App Icon Mac

Use the App Library to find your apps

From your Home Screen, swipe left until you see the App Library. Your apps are automatically sorted into categories. For example, you might see your social media apps under a Social category. The apps that you use most frequently will automatically reorder based on your usage. When you install new apps, they'll be added to your App Library, but you can change where new apps get downloaded.

Search for an app in the App Library

Before you get into the steps of how to change a Mac app icon, you obviously need to have a new icon chosen and ready to use. MacOS uses.icns files for application icons, and it’s best to stick with this format if possible, as an.icns file contains multiple sizes of an icon for various uses. Recently, the icons for some of my apps started to change without me doing so. The regular icon no longer is shown and now shows a grey rectangle with an 'A' made from a pencil, brush, and ruler. It started with one app, and now it is five. I have checked for updates for the apps, and some have updated, but they have remained unchanged. I found out that you can change the large app icon if your app is not on sale yet - but the place to change it is well hidden. 1.click on the app in itunes connect 2.click on 'view details' 3.click on 'edit' button next to Version Information at the top of the page 4.scroll all the way down 5.change icon. With this tip you can change icons for macOS apps as well as folders. Tutorial for changing macOS icons. The first thing you’ll need is an icon. You can use one from an existing folder or app on your Mac, and we’ll touch on that later, but if you’re looking for a new icon, you’ll need to ensure that it ends in the extension.icns. Say goodbye to boring app icons and customize the way they look - now you pick what they look like. More than 100+ available app icons can be changed freely in terms of shape, color & background with icon changer, instantly change app icon without setting in shortcut. This will change the previous icon to the new one. These instructions will help you to change icons of one app, file with same file extension, or folder, but you can also change OS X system icons and system apps icons, like Basket or Finder with a freeware tool called LiteIcon. How to change the default Mac app for specific file types; How to set your default web browser; How to set your default email reader; How to change the default Mac app for specific file types. Right-click on a file that uses the file type you'd like to change the default for. For example, one with a.jpg extension (a photo).

How To Change An App Icon Mac
  1. Go to the App Library.
  2. Tap the search field, then enter the app that you're looking for.
  3. Tap the app to open it.

Delete an app from the App Library

  1. Go to the App Library and tap the search field to open the list.
  2. Touch and hold the app icon, then tap Delete App .
  3. Tap Delete again to confirm.

Find and hide pages on your Home Screen

With iOS 14, you can easily hide pages to streamline how your Home Screen looks and add them back anytime. Here's how:

  1. Touch and hold an empty area on your Home Screen.
  2. Tap the dots near the bottom of your screen.
  3. Tap the circle under the page that you want to hide.
  4. Tap Done.

To unhide a page, repeat the steps above. Then use the App Library to quickly find apps hidden on different pages.

Move apps to the App Library

Instead of hiding a page on your Home Screen, you can move individual apps from the Home Screen to the App Library. Here's how:

How To Change An App Icon Macbook

  1. Touch and hold the app.
  2. Tap Remove App.
  3. Tap Move to App Library.

Change where new apps get downloaded

To change where new apps get downloaded on your iPhone, or to change the notifications you see in the App Library:

  1. Go to Settings > Home Screen.
  2. Select an option.

Learn more

Learn how to customize the widgets on your Home Screen to keep information at your fingertips.

App Icon

Every app needs a beautiful and memorable icon that attracts attention in the App Store and stands out on the Home screen. Your icon is the first opportunity to communicate, at a glance, your app’s purpose. It also appears throughout the system, such as in Settings and search results.

Embrace simplicity. Find a single element that captures the essence of your app and express that element in a simple, unique shape. Add details cautiously. If an icon’s content or shape is overly complex, the details can be hard to discern, especially at smaller sizes.

Provide a single focus point. Design an icon with a single, centered point that immediately captures attention and clearly identifies your app.

Design a recognizable icon. People shouldn’t have to analyze the icon to figure out what it represents. For example, the Mail app icon uses an envelope, which is universally associated with mail. Take time to design a beautiful and engaging abstract icon that artistically represents your app’s purpose.

4 Ways To Change App Icons - WikiHow

Keep the background simple and avoid transparency. Make sure your icon is opaque, and don’t clutter the background. Give it a simple background so it doesn’t overpower other app icons nearby. You don’t need to fill the entire icon with content.

Use words only when they’re essential or part of a logo. An app’s name appears below its icon on the Home screen. Don’t include nonessential words that repeat the name or tell people what to do with your app, like 'Watch' or 'Play.' If your design includes any text, emphasize words that relate to the actual content your app offers.

Don’t include photos, screenshots, or interface elements. Photographic details can be very hard to see at small sizes. Screenshots are too complex for an app icon and don’t generally help communicate your app’s purpose. Interface elements in an icon are misleading and confusing.

Don’t use replicas of Apple hardware products. Apple products are copyrighted and can’t be reproduced in your icons or images. In general, avoid displaying replicas of devices, because hardware designs tend to change frequently and can make your icon look dated.

Don’t place your app icon throughout the interface. It can be confusing to see an icon used for different purposes throughout an app. Instead, consider incorporating your icon’s color scheme. See Color.

Test your icon against different wallpapers. You can’t predict which wallpaper people will choose for their Home screen, so don’t just test your app against a light or dark color. See how it looks over different photos. Try it on an actual device with a dynamic background that changes perspective as the device moves.

Keep icon corners square. The system applies a mask that rounds icon corners automatically.

App Icon Attributes

Macos App Icon

Change

All app icons should adhere to the following specifications.

AttributeValue
FormatPNG
Color spaceDisplay P3 (wide-gamut color), sRGB (color), or Gray Gamma 2.2 (grayscale). See Color Management.
LayersFlattened with no transparency
ResolutionVaries. See Image Size and Resolution.
ShapeSquare with no rounded corners

App Icon Sizes

Every app must supply small icons for use on the Home screen and throughout the system once your app is installed, as well as a larger icon for display in the App Store.

Device or contextIcon size
iPhone180px × 180px (60pt × 60pt @3x)
120px × 120px (60pt × 60pt @2x)
iPad Pro167px × 167px (83.5pt × 83.5pt @2x)
iPad, iPad mini152px × 152px (76pt × 76pt @2x)
App Store1024px × 1024px (1024pt × 1024pt @1x)

Mac Desktop Icons

Provide different sized icons for different devices. Make sure that your app icon looks great on all the devices you support.

Mimic your small icon with your App Store icon. Although the App Store icon is used differently than the small one, it’s still your app icon. It should generally match the smaller version in appearance, although it can be subtly richer and more detailed since there are no visual effects applied to it.

Spotlight, Settings, and Notification Icons

Every app should also provide a small icon that iOS can display when the app name matches a term in a Spotlight search. Additionally, apps with settings should provide a small icon to display in the built-in Settings app, and apps that support notifications should provide a small icon to display in notifications. All icons should clearly identify your app—ideally, they should match your app icon. If you don’t provide these icons, iOS might shrink your main app icon for display in these locations.

DeviceSpotlight icon size
iPhone120px × 120px (40pt × 40pt @3x)
80px × 80px (40pt × 40pt @2x)
iPad Pro, iPad, iPad mini80px × 80px (40pt × 40pt @2x)
App
DeviceSettings icon size
iPhone87px × 87px (29pt × 29pt @3x)
58px × 58px (29pt × 29pt @2x)
iPad Pro, iPad, iPad mini58px × 58px (29pt × 29pt @2x)
DeviceNotification icon size
iPhone60px × 60px (20pt × 20pt @3x)
40px × 40px (20pt × 20pt @2x)
iPad Pro, iPad, iPad mini40px × 40px (20pt × 20pt @2x)

Don’t add an overlay or border to your Settings icon. iOS automatically adds a 1-pixel stroke to all icons so that they look good on the white background of Settings.

TIP If your app creates custom documents, you don't need to design document icons because iOS uses your app icon to create document icons automatically.

User-Selectable App Icons

For some apps, customization is a feature that evokes a personal connection and enhances the user experience. If it provides value in your app, you can let people select an alternate app icon from a set of predefined icons that are embedded within your app. For example, a sports app might offer icons for different teams or an app with light and dark modes might offer corresponding light and dark icons. Note that your app icon can only be changed at the user’s request and the system always provides the user with confirmation of such a change.

Provide visually consistent alternate icons in all necessary sizes. Like your primary app icon, each alternate app icon is delivered as a collection of related images that vary in size. When the user chooses an alternate icon, the appropriate sizes of that icon replace your primary app icon on the Home screen, in Spotlight, and elsewhere in the system. To ensure that alternate icons appear consistently throughout the system—the user shouldn't see one version of your icon on the Home screen and a completely different version in Settings, for example—provide them in the same sizes you provide for your primary app icon (with the exception of the App Store icon). See App Icon Sizes.

For developer guidance, see the setAlternateIconName method of UIApplication.

NOTE Alternate app icons are subject to app review and must adhere to the App Store Review Guidelines.