iOS 26 includes a system-wide redesign with transparent elements called Liquid Glass. The iPhone update also includes all-new app icons for Apple’s built-in apps. For the most dramatic change to your Home Screen, you can make every iPhone app icon clear for the first time. Here’s how it works.
Use Clear icon appearance
Touch and hold an empty area on the Home Screen until the icons jiggle. Tap Edit in the top left corner. Tap Customize, the second item on the list that appears. Tap Clear from the Customize menu that appears at the bottom of the screen. Clear is the third icon type. Light appearance is selected by default. Optionally, you can choose Dark or Auto (which switches based on iPhone light and dark mode being active). Tap anywhere on your Home Screen to save the change.
Want to switch back to full-color icons? Just repeat steps 1-3, but select Default instead of Clear. iOS 26 also lets you choose between always using Dark icons, automatically switching from Default icons to Dark icons based on light or dark mode, and a redesigned Tinted option.
Starting with iOS 26, Tinted is basically a Clear icon mode with a new Light option, a redesigned Dark option, and the Auto option for switching based on light or dark system appearance.
Clear on iPad and Mac
These app icon customization icons aren’t just available on iPhone. iPadOS 26 offers the same features on iPad, and macOS Tahoe 26 introduces dark icons alongside clear and tinted options on the Mac for the first time. Use the same steps to set iPad app icons to Clear. On the Mac, Clear mode is found in Settings > Appearance > Icon & widget style.
For the iPhone and iPad, you can even create multiple Home Screens (by long-pressing on your Lock Screen) and customize the app icon appearance for each. Clear icon mode also applies the same visual effect to Home Screen widgets. While losing color certainly makes apps less identifiable by icons, the light Clear option presents the boldest change to the Home Screen since Apple introduced widgets. The light Clear icons look especially futuristic on the iPad.
What’s your app icon appearance preference? Could you run Clear full time? Should Apple bring Clear icons to the Apple Watch and Apple TV? Share your thoughts in the comments.