How to Hide App and Widget Names on Your Home Screen in iOS 18

iOS 18 — Apple’s upcoming iPhone operating system update — is expected to bring several new features and improvements to the operating system. One of the features, which Apple showed off during a keynote at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2024) earlier this month, is the ability to hide not just apps, but also app and widget names from the iPhone’s home screen. This feature, along with a redesigned Control Center and the ability to position icons anywhere, is expected to bring more customization options once the update rolls out to users later this year.

How to Hide App Names on iOS 18

With iOS 18 Developer Beta 1, users will finally be able to hide app, folder and widget names from the home screen, Apple says. While several Android phones let users do the same, iPhone owners can also set their home screens to show only app icons.

1. Tap and hold an empty area on your iPhone’s home screen.
2. Select Editing in the top left corner of the screen.
3. Tap on To adjust and then select Big. icon size option.
4. Making the icons larger will automatically hide the app names on the iPhone’s home screen.

Hidden app names on home screen

Currently, there doesn’t appear to be a way for users to hide app, folder, and widget names while keeping icon sizes small.

Other customization options on iOS 18

iOS 18 also brings several other customization options, including a revamped Control Center, featuring a new Controls Gallery with new options to choose from. Users can also swipe across pages to access additional controls and toggles.

The update also brings Dark Mode to Home screen icons. Apple says that users can now choose from several icon styles: Auto, Dark, Light and Tinted. They can also position icons anywhere on the Home screen, instead of having them automatically slide into the preset grid.

Other customization options in iOS 18 include the ability to choose custom shortcuts for the lock screen. According to Apple, users can now select options from the aforementioned Controls Gallery to replace the existing quick camera and flashlight toggles on the iPhone’s lock screen.