How to customize the home screen of your Samsung smartphone in One UI 5

While testing One UI 5, I noticed how the Android 13 update highlighted functions such as using themes and other features to customize the look of the smartphone. So we decided to show each of these options in this article, just like we did for iOS.

How to change the wallpaper on your Samsung smartphone?

Wallpaper, which is probably one of the most important customization features, always comes first on the list. However, it undeniably rose to prominence with the release of Android 12 and Material You in 2021.

In fact, it will dictate features such as themes and the color palette of the entire system. So I suggest you start with choosing the wallpaper before any other setting. However, if the idea is a deep change in the appearance of your smartphone, go directly to the Themes section of this guide.

To do this, you have different ways, my suggestion is to use the easiest option, directly from the home screen:

1. Press and hold an empty space on the screen
2. Below, select Wallpapers
3. Press My wallpapers

Here, Samsung offers many options, from exclusive Galaxy series wallpapers to images from the Photo Gallery and Galaxy Theme Store. I suggest you explore each of the options before choosing the ultimate wallpaper. I would like to mention that Samsung allows you to use short videos from the lock screen, but you cannot use them as wallpaper on the home screen.

And if you’re not satisfied with the system’s default options for choosing wallpaper art, you can download third-party apps to explore other options. Personally, I’m a fan of the Google Wallpapers app.

How to set up a dynamic theme on your Samsung smartphone?

Once you’ve chosen the wallpaper, the next step is to adjust the color palette. Samsung offers to use colors based on the selected wallpaper or system default colors. To adjust the system colors, go to the Wallpaper and Style menu again and follow the instructions below:

1. Push the Color palette
2. To use the system default colors, turn off the Color Palette switch
3. To use wallpaper-based colors, turn on the Color Palette switch
   • Samsung offers 16 color options depending on the wallpaper. At the top of the screen we have a preview of how each color scheme will be applied to different elements.
   • You can also choose between eight primary colors where four basic color combinations.
4. Finally, you can apply the same app icon color palette if you wish by activating the corresponding option

How to customize app icons on your Samsung smartphone?

Since we’re talking about icons, we think it’s important to point out that you can go further than just applying the system color scheme to app icons. For example, you can use the Themes option – which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer – or use third-party icon packs available from the Samsung Store and Google Play Store.

I admit that I was once more interested in changing the look of Android app icons, but over time my interest has waned – and to be honest, I don’t remember falling in love with an icon pack in years. However, given the interest in the topic among iOS users, I’m sure many Samsung smartphone owners will also appreciate it.

In this regard, Samsung offers both free and paid options, just long press an empty space on the home screen and click on Themes > Icons (at the bottom of the Galaxy Themes screen). The advantage of using Samsung’s native store to select icons is that you get a fairly reliable preview of how the icons will look on your Galaxy. By using the Play Store, you can get a general overview.

I explain below how to change the application icons on your Samsung Galaxy:

1. Press and hold an empty space on the screen.
2. At the bottom of the screen, select the option Themes.
3. At the bottom of the screen, click Icons.
4. Push the Download

Both Samsung and Google offer the ability to return and refund apps. That said, you’ll have 30 days to request a refund from the first and 48 hours from the second.

Additional tips: Good Lock app also offers the ability to change the appearance of app icons.

1. Launch theGood Lock appinstall the module Theme Park and grant the necessary permissions
2. In Theme parknavigate to Icon > Create New
3. Push the Icon pack and select the desired icon pack
   • Here you can change the shape, color and size of the icons.
4. When finished editing, click Install (at the top of the screen) > Add pack name > Ok.
5. That’s it! To start using the new icon pack, just select it Apply.

If you are not satisfied with the result, you can remove the parameter by going to Galaxy Themes > Menu > My Stuff > Icons > Return to Defaults.

How to change the theme on your Samsung smartphone?

Now, if what you want is to completely change the interface design of your device at the system level, changing the theme is the way to go. This way, you can change everything from wallpapers and icons to common apps like Phone, Messages, and Calendar. And of course, Samsung offers different options in this regard: paid and free.

To apply a theme and change your Galaxy’s home screen (and the rest of the system), follow these steps:

1. Press and hold an empty space of the screen and click on the option Themes below.
   • If this is your first time using themes, read the information, then tap Continue where Accept.
2. Choose the theme that suits you best from the options Best where New .
   • Read the theme description carefully, as it often has changes such as notification sounds and ringtones.
3. Push the Download

Additional tips: you can tap Download trial version of paid themes to test them. In addition, themes are likely to change with each update sent by the theme developer.

How to Change Your Samsung Home Screen Layout?

If your wallpaper says a lot about you, then arranging home screen items certainly can. From the screen settings we can change features such as layout, grid, media page and gestures. In Android 12 we had the addition of the application grid in 4×5 format, but it is possible to get to a maximum of 5×6.

It is from the settings that we remove the multimedia pages or we switch between Google Discover and Samsung Free. Finally, from this menu you activate gestures such as “swipe down to show notifications”, which helps a lot when using the device with one hand – in the case of the Galaxy S22 Ultra , the This feature is almost essential.

How to add widgets to the home screen of your Samsung smartphone?

As you may have understood, this is not a “best of list”. So I’m not going to tell you here which widgets you should or shouldn’t use on your home screen. However, here are some suggestions on how to add and use widgets on the home screen of your Samsung smartphone.

To add a widget to the home screen, the procedure is quite simple:

1. Press and hold an empty space on the screen.
2. Below, select the option widgets.
3. Swipe to select the desired widget and press and hold it.
4. Place the widget in the desired location and drop it.
   • Here you can choose the dimensions of the widget on the screen.
5. If you want to delete the item or change its settings, just press and hold it.

That said, my first piece of advice about using widgets is don’t overlap shortcuts. That is, if you already have a shortcut to the YouTube Music app, don’t add the YouTube Music player widget to the home screen, and vice versa. This way, you can maximize the software available on the home screen.

But I left the most important tip for last: use the new stacked widgets on the home screen of your Samsung Galaxy. Thanks to them you can stack several widgets in the same space and navigate between them without having to leave the same screen. Besides saving space, it makes managing multiple tasks more efficient. See below how to configure a stacked widget:

1. Press and hold an on-screen widget
2. Click on [+] Create a stack (or Modify a stack) in the desired window’s options
3. Select widgets to stack
   • Only widgets of the same or adjustable size can be used at the same time
4. Click on Add
5. You can choose between a automatic or manual rotation of on-screen widgets in Edit Stack Widgets

Now it’s your turn: A personalized home screen is a source of pride, which is why I’d like to ask you to share your tips for personalizing your Galaxy smartphone and, of course, show off your home screen in the comments section below. .

We hope we have contributed and helped you personalize your Galaxy with this article. Over time, this tutorial will be updated with new features and suggestions from the NextPit community.