6 tips for organizing your iPhone apps (2023)

Organizing your iPhone or iPad home screen can be a tricky experience. Even if you have a design in mind, Apple's rigid approach to icon placement can be imprecise and frustrating.

gladly,Apple iOS 14-UpdateIt will make the home screen much better this year. In the meantime, here are some tips for organizing your apps and making your home screen a more functional space.

How to organize your home screen

To rearrange app icons on the home screen, tap and hold one until all the icons start to jiggle. You can also tap and hold one, then tap Edit Home Screen in the menu that appears.

Then start dragging the icons wherever you want on your home screen.

Dragging an app to the left or right edge moves it to the previous or next screen. However, sometimes this happens when you don't want it to. Other times, you have to hover your mouse pointer for a second before your iPhone switches home screen.

You can create folders by dragging an app and holding it over another for a second. As apps move around, you can rename folders by tapping them and then tapping the text. You can also use emojis in folder labels if you like.

Dragging icons across the screen one at a time can be time consuming and frustrating. Fortunately, you can select multiple icons at once and place them all on one canvas or in a folder. Grab an app with one finger as the icons move. Then (while still holding the app), tap another one with another finger. This lets you stack multiple apps to really speed up the decluttering process.

When you're done organizing, swipe up from the bottom (iPhone X or later) or press the Home button (iPhone 8 or SE2) to stop apps from moving. If at any time you want to revert to Apple's default iOS layout, just go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Home Screen Layout.

RELATED: How iOS 14 Will Change Your iPhone's Home Screen

Put important apps on the first home screen

You don't have to fill an entire splash screen before moving on to the next one. This is another useful way to create separations between certain types of applications. For example, you can put the apps you use most in the Dock and the rest on the Home screen.

Every time you unlock your device, the home screen is the first thing you see. You can make the most of this space by placing the apps you want to access quickly on the first screen.

If you prefer a cleaner look, don't fill the screen completely. Folders are slow to open and scroll, so it might be better to place them on the second home screen.

You can place folders in the Dock

One way to make the dock more useful is to put a folder in it. You can even fill the dock with folders if you like, but it's probably not the smartest use of space. Most people subconsciously rely on the Dock to access apps like Messages, Safari or Mail. But if you feel this limits it, create a folder there.

You now have access to these apps no matter which home screen you're browsing. Folders display nine apps at once, so adding one can increase the dock's capacity from four to 12 apps, with the only penalty of an extra tap.

Organize folders by application type

The most obvious way to organize your apps is to divide them into folders based on purpose. The number of folders you need depends on how many apps you have, what they do, and how often you access them.

Creating your own organizational system tailored to your workflow works best. Take a look at your apps and find out how to group them in a meaningful and practical way.

For example, you might have a healthy coloring habit and some mindfulness apps. You can group them all in a folder called "Health". However, it would probably make more sense to create a separate "Coloring Books" folder so that you don't have to wade through unrelated apps when you want to color.

Likewise if youMake music on your iPhone, you might want to separate your synths from your drum machines. If your labels are too wide, it will be hard to find things when you need them.

ANDiOS 14-Update, due out later this fall, will include an "app library" that will automatically organize your apps this way. Until then, the organization is up to you.

Organize folders based on actions

You can further categorize apps based on the actions that help them perform. Some common folder names in this organization system might include "Chat", "Search", or "Play".

If you don't find generic tags like "photo" or "work" very helpful, give it a try. You can also use emojis to show actions as there is now an emoji for almost everything.

sort alphabetically

Organizing your apps alphabetically is another option. You can easily do this by typingreset home screenJust go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Home Screen Layout. Default apps appear on the first home screen, but everything else is laid out in alphabetical order. You can always reset to rearrange things.

Since folders in iOS don't have a hard limit for apps, you can also organize them into folders in alphabetical order. However, as with organizing your apps by type, it's important not to create a barrier by putting hundreds of apps in one folder.

The best thing about this method is that you don't have to think about what an app is doing to find it. You'll only know that the Airbnb app is in the "A-C" folder while Strava is at the bottom of the "M-S" folder.

Sort app icons by color

You probably already associate your favorite apps with the color of their icons. If you're looking for Evernote, you might be looking for a white rectangle and a green bubble. Apps like Strava and Twitter are easy to find because their strong, vibrant brand stands out even on a crowded home screen.

Grouping apps by color isn't for everyone. This is primarily an option for apps that you don't want to store in folders. Also, it will only work well for the ones you use the most.

A variation on this approach would be to do this by folder, using colored emojis to indicate which apps belong in that folder. In the icon area of ​​the emoji picker are circles, squares and hearts of different colors.

Use spotlights instead of app icons

The best approach to organizing applications is to avoid it altogether. You can find any app quickly and efficiently just by typing the first few letters of its name in theSelected search engine.

To do this, drag the home screen to reveal the search bar. Start typing and tap the app when it appears in the results below. You can even take it a step further and search for data in apps, for example. B. Evernote notes or Google Drive documents.

This is by far the fastest way to interact with apps outside of the dock or main home screen. You can browse app categories (eg "Games"), settings panes, people, messages, podcasts, music, Safari bookmarks or history, and more.

You can even search the web, App Store, Maps, or Siri directly by typing your search, scrolling to the bottom of the list, and selecting one of the available options. For best results, you can alsoFully customize Spotlight searchjust to show you what you want.

RELATED: How to Use Spotlight Search on Your iPhone or iPad