Customize your Mac's icons

Everything you need to know about custom icons.

Author

Leander Kahney
May 30, 2024

Together with

When Apple pulls back the curtains to reveal iOS 18 in a couple of weeks, one of the marquee features reportedly will be more flexible app icon management.

Not only will you be able to put app icons wherever you like on the Home Screen — instead of being tied to the traditional, rigid grid — you’ll be able to change their colors.

You might, for example, make all your social media apps blue, or all your banking apps red.

You’ve been able to do this on the Mac forever, but not many people take advantage of the capability. You can easily change the icon for any folder, file, app or hard drive — and some people really go to town with it.

Check out today’s top post for everything you need to know about customizing your Mac’s icons, including how to change the icons Apple doesn’t want you to change, and how to make your custom icons bigger and bolder.

Also in today’s newsletter:

  • Apple News+ is on a tear, growing subscribers much faster than major media brands. Personally, I’ve started using it a lot more myself. It’s a great app with a nice, clean design and lots of great content from a wide range of sources. It’s as omnivorous as Twitter, without the crazy stuff. And of course, you can read Cult of Mac on there, too.

  • If you only need to edit PDFs every now and again, buying or subscribing to a dedicated app is a waste of money. The PDF Editor, PDF Book Reader app solves that by offering pay-as-you-go pricing. And it works with everything.

  • We have an exclusive 20% off sale on SwitchEasy’s great Silicone Skin Apple Watch band, which combines soft silicone with magnets. It’s a winning combo.

  • Logitech just refreshed its much-loved line of Mac keyboards and mice. They look hot.

  • The money-saving Apple TV+/Netflix/Peacock StreamSaver bundle is now available, and it looks great, except for one major catch.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

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Give your Mac a makeover with custom icons

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Did hell freeze over? Apple looks to build TV and sports app for Android.

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A message from PDF Editor, PDF Book Reader

PDF Editor, PDF Book Reader works with iPhone/iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro

PDF Editor PDF Book Reader is a user-friendly, comprehensive PDF editor for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro and iMessage.

Still snarky, Carrot Weather 6.0 blooms with fresh features [Awesome Apps]

As amusing as ever, the new Carrot Weather 6.0 brings fresh features and more data for your worrisome weather obsession.

Apple News+ subscription growth blows away major media sites

Apple News+ subscription growth is wildly outpacing that of major new websites, which increasingly use the service as a lifeline.

A message from the Cult of Mac Store

Exclusive sale: Save 20% on this sweet silicone Apple Watch band

This silicone magnetic Apple Watch band looks great and is easy to use: SwitchEasy's Skin Silicone Magnetic Apple Watch Band is a jack-of-all-trades.

StreamSaver bundles Apple TV+, Netflix and Peacock for $15 a month [Now available]

Discover the just-launched StreamSaver streaming bundle for penny-pinching cord-cutters.

Connect with 4 monitors using Satechi's new Thunderbolt 4 dock

Macs are known for limitations on adding external displays. But the new Satechi Thunderbolt 4 DisplayLink dock gives you a great fix.

Logitech launches designed-for-Mac desktop keyboards in multiple sizes

Upgrade your setup with Logitech's latest wireless desktop keyboards (and a mouse). They offer Mac compatibility, comfort and style.

Tune in to the WWDC24 Apple Music soundtrack

Apple gets you in the mood for its huge annual software developer conference with a new playlist.

Today in Apple history: Apple marks massive iPod touch milestone

On May 30, 2013, Apple marked the sale of the 100 millionth iPod touch by launching a new, stripped-down model with a budget price of $229.

Tweetz o’ the day

One more thing ...

❝

It comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don't get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We're always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it's only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.

— Steve Jobs, 2004.

Today’s poll

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Results from yesterday’s poll: Should iPhone be more durable or more repairable?

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