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Transform your iPhone: Ultimate guide to custom Home Screens, widgets and icons

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Custom Home Screens in iOS 26
You can customize your iPhone's Home Screen in fun new ways.
Screenshot: Apple

You’ve probably seen some beautiful custom iPhone Home Screens on social media. Some people go to great lengths to creatively customize their Home Screen. You can go for a specific theme and aesthetic using custom icon colors and widgets.

Why spend so much time and effort? For one thing, you likely look at your Home Screen dozens (or even hundreds) of times every single day. A custom Home Screen that matches your style can bring a little spark of joy to your daily life every time you whip out your iPhone. And iOS makes Home Screen customization easier than ever.

Keep reading (or watch our video) for a quick introduction into the world of custom iPhone Home Screens. You’ll find out about new features in iOS 26, how to go above and beyond using Shortcuts, and how you can top off your iPhone aesthetic with widgets. I’ve scoured the internet (Reddit, mostly) to find the finest examples.

Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs introduces original MacBook Pro

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The original MacBook Pro brought innovative features (and stirred up a bit of controversy).
The original MacBook Pro brought innovative features (and stirred up a bit of controversy).
Photo: Apple

January 10: Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs introduces the MacBook Pro January 10, 2006: Steve Jobs unveils the original 15-inch MacBook Pro, Apple’s thinnest, fastest and lightest laptop yet.

Building on the previous PowerBook G4 laptop, the new laptop adds dual-core Intel processors for the first time. The MacBook Pro immediately makes waves in the tech community. And did we mention its awesome MagSafe connector?

Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs unveils the iPhone

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Photo of Steve Jobs holding an iPhone in front of an Apple logo during the first iPhone demo on January 9, 2007.
Steve Jobs introduces the smartphone that changed smartphones.
Photo: Apple

January 9 Today in Apple history January 9, 2007: Apple CEO Steve Jobs gives the world its first look at the iPhone onstage during the Macworld conference in San Francisco. The initial reaction to that first iPhone demo is mixed. But Jobs is confident that Apple has created a product that people want — even if they don’t know it yet.

The palm-size device combines an iPod, a phone and a PDA. The iPhone unveiling excites many Apple fans but critics remain skeptical.

Today in Apple history: Apple invents ‘slide to unlock’

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Apple didn't invent the Slide to Unlock gesture.
"Slide to unlock" drew audible gasps from the audience when Steve Jobs first showed it off.
Photo: Jared Earle/Flickr CC

December 23: Today in Apple history: Apple invents slide to unlock gesture for iPhone December 23, 2005: Apple files a patent application for its iconic “slide to unlock” gesture for the iPhone.

At this point, the iPhone remains a secret research project. However, the ability to unlock the device by sliding your finger across it signifies Apple’s big ambitions for its smartphone. Cupertino wants the iPhone that it’s racing to develop to be easy to use, intuitive and miles ahead of the competition technologically.

2025 was huge for Apple — here’s why

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Tim Cook standing in front of Apple Park with a big “2025” behind him.
This was a big year.
Photo: Apple/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

2025 was a big year for Apple. In this end-of-year roundup, we gathered up the most consequential news, groundbreaking rumors and biggest surprises of the last 12 months. 

There were plenty of leaks — in fact, the entire iPhone 17 lineup was exhaustively shown off in the months leading up to September. We also knew most of the other product releases, from the MacBook Air and iPad Air to MacBook Pro and Vision Pro, would consist of simple spec bumps.

But there were tons of curveballs, too. Tariffs rattled Apple’s international supply chain. The Blood Oxygen app for Apple Watch made a sudden return. And no one was expecting a UI redesign quite like Liquid Glass. 

Here’s our look back at 2025.

Shopping for Apple fans? These gifts can’t miss. [Updated]

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geeky gifts for Apple users
You can find plenty of weird and wonderful gifts for Apple fans.
AI image: Grok

Whether you’re shopping for an Apple aficionado who still treasures their original iPod or the productivity ninja who lives and breathes the latest iOS updates, finding the perfect geeky gift can feel like searching for a needle in a digital haystack. Fear not! We gather some of the most ingenious, innovative and downright cool gadgets that’ll make any Apple user’s heart skip a beat. 

From retro-inspired accessories that pay homage to Apple’s legendary design heritage to cutting-edge smart home integrations that would make even Tim Cook jealous, these gifts bridge the gap between nostalgia and innovation. Each selection celebrates the unique blend of form, function, and pure geek appeal that defines the Apple ecosystem. And return to this post, because we’ll keep adding to it. 

Today in Apple history: The iPhone arrives — but it’s not made by Apple!

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Cisco
Here's what an "iPhone" looked like in 2006.
Photo: Cisco

December 18: Today in Apple history: iPhone may have to seek new name December 18, 2006: Apple fans mourn the death of the iPhone before it even launches. Linksys begins selling a new handset called the “iPhone,” and Cupertino watchers must come to grips with the fact that Apple’s rumored smartphone probably won’t bear that name after all.

How did this happen? Linksys’ parent company, Cisco Systems, owns the iPhone trademark. While Apple previously released the iMac, iBook, iPod and iTunes, Cupertino didn’t own the name “iPhone.”

Meet Apple’s new UI chief, the man Steve Jobs called ‘Margaret’

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Photo of Stephen Lemay, new Apple UI designer, with background that goes from orange to yellow.
Stephen Lemay will step into the shoes of the departing Alan Dye as Apple's new lead UI designer.
Photo: LinkedIn

Meet Steve Lemay, the new head of user interface design at Apple — the highest-profile software design job at the giant company, and possibly the world.

Unfortunately for Lemay, who has worked at Apple since 1999, he shares the same first name as the late Steve Jobs, who nicknamed him “Margaret” — a name that reportedly stuck.

Aside from being called “Margaret” internally at Apple, Lemay has a long and stellar design record at the company. He’s helped shape everything from OS X to visionOS. He is named on hundreds of patents and helped develop one of Apple’s most highly celebrated UI tricks.

Today in Apple history: QuickTime 5 takes the world by storm

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QuickTime 5 was being downloaded 1 million times every three days.
QuickTime 5 was being downloaded 1 million times every three days.
Photo: Apple

Nov. 28: Today in Apple history: QuickTime 5 downloads fuel web video revolution November 28, 2001: People download QuickTime 5 for Mac and PC a million times every three days, Apple says, putting the multimedia software on track to exceed 100 million downloads in its first year of distribution. The announcement comes as websites adopt the MPEG-4 format, and online video begins to take off in a big way.

In particular, Apple’s movie trailer website proves a massive success. Millions of people download previews of upcoming blockbusters like Spider-Man and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Online trailer releases for films like The Lord of the Rings become buzz-worthy events.

In a pre-YouTube world, Apple has everything to gain!

Today in Apple history: Maps manager is navigated out of Apple

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maps
Yep ... we're pretty sure that's not right.
Photo: Apple

November 27: Today in Apple history: Apple fires Maps manager Richard Williamson November 27, 2012: Apple fires the manager responsible for the disastrous Apple Maps launch in iOS 6 after the glitchy software delivers embarrassingly bad data to users around the world.

Richard Williamson, who oversaw Apple’s mapping team, gets the ax from Eddy Cue, who assumes leadership of the project.

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