Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The Pixel Launcher is adding an icon shape customization feature in a future Android release.
- The feature isn’t live yet in Android 16 Beta 3, but we managed to enable it to show what the feature’s like.
- There will be six total shapes to choose from, including the default circle.
While many third-party Android launchers offer extensive customization options, the stock launcher on Google Pixel phones is more limited. To its credit, the Pixel Launcher does have some pretty unique features, but the lack of even basic icon customization options leaves many users wanting more. An icon shape changer is finally coming to the Pixel Launcher, and we were able to activate it for an early look.
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Back in November, we spotted the first signs of Google’s work to bring back icon shape customization to Pixel devices, a feature that existed in Android 11 but was later removed. In the first beta of Android 15’s second quarterly release, we discovered a new “app shape & layout” menu in the Pixel wallpaper app. The menu featured two tabs: Shape and Layout. The Shape tab offered six options for changing home screen icon shapes, while the Layout tab provided several options for adjusting the home screen grid layout.
Unfortunately, the icon shape customization feature was non-functional at the time. However, we successfully activated it after some tinkering in the third beta of Android 16. The feature is straightforward, applying a mask to all Pixel Launcher app icons across the home screen, app drawer, and folders. App icon appearances outside these contexts, such as the recents screen and Settings app, remain unchanged.
Google is currently offering 6 different icon shapes, including the default circle. Names for these shapes aren’t shown in the Pixel wallpaper app, but they are, respectively: “circle”, “square”, “four-sided cookie”, “seven-sided cookie”, “arch”, and “complex clover”. These include more rounded options, and more complex geometric shapes.
The new icon shape customization feature is part of the in-development version of the Pixel wallpaper app that Google has been working on since August of last year. We don’t know when it’ll be released, but hopefully Google doesn’t hold it back for too long, as many people, including several on the Android Authority team, find the Pixel Launcher’s feature set lacking compared to alternatives. Changing app icons is currently only possible with third-party launchers on Pixel devices, so the addition of icon shape customization will give users one less reason to switch from Google’s launcher.
