Good design is at the heart of everything we cover here at Beautiful Pixels. We’ve long been admirers of app icons (so long, App Icon Gallery). We often come across amazing app icons on the App Store such as the icons for Pixtiss or even Shortcuts. Downloading these icons has never been easy on iPhone or iPad, unless you know how to use Siri Shortcuts to download app icons from the App Store.
LiteIcon is a simple app which allows you to change your system icons quickly and easily. Simply drag an icon onto the one you want to change, and click the Apply Changes button. To restore an icon by the original, just drag it out. Mac app Icons - Download 2968 Free Mac app icons @ IconArchive. Search more than 600,000 icons for Web & Desktop here. As the trend of customizing your home screen becomes popular in the aftermath of the release of iOS 14, some users are choosing to add custom app icons to their home screen using the Shortcuts app.
I’m about to recommend a shortcut that has a minor limitations. This shortcut will allow you to download app icons for any app that is on the App Store or on the Mac App Store. If you want to download the icons for first-party apps such as App Store itself, this shortcut won’t help because it needs the app to be listed on one of these app stores. (I know, I was hoping for an icon-ception too).
How to Download App Icons From App Store
The App Icon Downloader shortcut is your best friend if you want to download app icons. If you’re not sure how to set up and use shortcuts, please check out this post first.
Mac Icons - Download 204 Free Mac icons @ IconArchive. Search more than 600,000 icons for Web & Desktop here. From there, you can select a desired icon size and copy it to the clipboard so you can apply it easily to a desired app that still features the old, pre-Big Sur icon in place. You can make this process a lot easier by using a free app called LiteIcon or, alternatively, take advantage of our step-by-step tutorial explaining how to change an app.
- Download App Icon Downloader shortcut.
- Open the Shortcuts app, go to the My Shortcuts tab, and tap App Icon Downloader to run the shortcut.
- Now enter the name of the app (Hint: Try ReadKit, which has a lovely icon on the Mac App Store).
- Select the device — iPhone, iPad, or Mac — from the list. For ReadKit, select Mac.
- Tap the name of the app from the search results in the pop-up.
- Now you’ll see the full app icon. Tap Done on the top-left.
- A new pop-up will ask if you want to save the image, send it, or mask it. Tap Mask Image to convert this to an iOS-style icon with rounded corners or a circular icon. Alternatively you may save or send it.
Sounds easy, right? It absolutely is. Keep watching this space for more such useful shortcuts. We’ll be publishing more of these a few times every week.
App Icon
Every app needs a beautiful and memorable icon that attracts attention in the App Store and stands out on the Home screen. Your icon is the first opportunity to communicate, at a glance, your app’s purpose. It also appears throughout the system, such as in Settings and search results. Em dash shortcut.
Embrace simplicity. Find a single element that captures the essence of your app and express that element in a simple, unique shape. Add details cautiously. If an icon’s content or shape is overly complex, the details can be hard to discern, especially at smaller sizes.
Provide a single focus point. Design an icon with a single, centered point that immediately captures attention and clearly identifies your app.
Design a recognizable icon. People shouldn’t have to analyze the icon to figure out what it represents. For example, the Mail app icon uses an envelope, which is universally associated with mail. Take time to design a beautiful and engaging abstract icon that artistically represents your app’s purpose.
Keep the background simple and avoid transparency. Make sure your icon is opaque, and don’t clutter the background. Give it a simple background so it doesn’t overpower other app icons nearby. You don’t need to fill the entire icon with content.
Use words only when they’re essential or part of a logo. An app’s name appears below its icon on the Home screen. Don’t include nonessential words that repeat the name or tell people what to do with your app, like 'Watch' or 'Play.' If your design includes any text, emphasize words that relate to the actual content your app offers.
Don’t include photos, screenshots, or interface elements. Photographic details can be very hard to see at small sizes. Screenshots are too complex for an app icon and don’t generally help communicate your app’s purpose. Interface elements in an icon are misleading and confusing.
Don’t use replicas of Apple hardware products. Apple products are copyrighted and can’t be reproduced in your icons or images. In general, avoid displaying replicas of devices, because hardware designs tend to change frequently and can make your icon look dated.
Don’t place your app icon throughout the interface. It can be confusing to see an icon used for different purposes throughout an app. Instead, consider incorporating your icon’s color scheme. See Color.
Test your icon against different wallpapers. You can’t predict which wallpaper people will choose for their Home screen, so don’t just test your app against a light or dark color. See how it looks over different photos. Try it on an actual device with a dynamic background that changes perspective as the device moves.
Keep icon corners square. The system applies a mask that rounds icon corners automatically.
App Icon Attributes
Mac App Icons Download Windows 7
All app icons should adhere to the following specifications.
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Format | PNG |
| Color space | Display P3 (wide-gamut color), sRGB (color), or Gray Gamma 2.2 (grayscale). See Color Management. |
| Layers | Flattened with no transparency |
| Resolution | Varies. See Image Size and Resolution. |
| Shape | Square with no rounded corners |
App Icon Sizes
Icons
Every app must supply small icons for use on the Home screen and throughout the system once your app is installed, as well as a larger icon for display in the App Store.
| Device or context | Icon size |
|---|---|
| iPhone | 180px × 180px (60pt × 60pt @3x) |
| 120px × 120px (60pt × 60pt @2x) | |
| iPad Pro | 167px × 167px (83.5pt × 83.5pt @2x) |
| iPad, iPad mini | 152px × 152px (76pt × 76pt @2x) |
| App Store | 1024px × 1024px (1024pt × 1024pt @1x) |
Provide different sized icons for different devices. Make sure that your app icon looks great on all the devices you support.
Mimic your small icon with your App Store icon. Although the App Store icon is used differently than the small one, it’s still your app icon. It should generally match the smaller version in appearance, although it can be subtly richer and more detailed since there are no visual effects applied to it.
Spotlight, Settings, and Notification Icons
Every app should also provide a small icon that iOS can display when the app name matches a term in a Spotlight search. Additionally, apps with settings should provide a small icon to display in the built-in Settings app, and apps that support notifications should provide a small icon to display in notifications. All icons should clearly identify your app—ideally, they should match your app icon. If you don’t provide these icons, iOS might shrink your main app icon for display in these locations.
| Device | Spotlight icon size |
|---|---|
| iPhone | 120px × 120px (40pt × 40pt @3x) |
| 80px × 80px (40pt × 40pt @2x) | |
| iPad Pro, iPad, iPad mini | 80px × 80px (40pt × 40pt @2x) |
| Device | Settings icon size |
|---|---|
| iPhone | 87px × 87px (29pt × 29pt @3x) |
| 58px × 58px (29pt × 29pt @2x) | |
| iPad Pro, iPad, iPad mini | 58px × 58px (29pt × 29pt @2x) |
| Device | Notification icon size |
|---|---|
| iPhone | 60px × 60px (20pt × 20pt @3x) |
| 40px × 40px (20pt × 20pt @2x) | |
| iPad Pro, iPad, iPad mini | 40px × 40px (20pt × 20pt @2x) |
Don’t add an overlay or border to your Settings icon. iOS automatically adds a 1-pixel stroke to all icons so that they look good on the white background of Settings.
TIP If your app creates custom documents, you don't need to design document icons because iOS uses your app icon to create document icons automatically.
User-Selectable App Icons
For some apps, customization is a feature that evokes a personal connection and enhances the user experience. If it provides value in your app, you can let people select an alternate app icon from a set of predefined icons that are embedded within your app. For example, a sports app might offer icons for different teams or an app with light and dark modes might offer corresponding light and dark icons. Note that your app icon can only be changed at the user’s request and the system always provides the user with confirmation of such a change.
Application Icons
Provide visually consistent alternate icons in all necessary sizes. Like your primary app icon, each alternate app icon is delivered as a collection of related images that vary in size. When the user chooses an alternate icon, the appropriate sizes of that icon replace your primary app icon on the Home screen, in Spotlight, and elsewhere in the system. To ensure that alternate icons appear consistently throughout the system—the user shouldn't see one version of your icon on the Home screen and a completely different version in Settings, for example—provide them in the same sizes you provide for your primary app icon (with the exception of the App Store icon). See App Icon Sizes.
For developer guidance, see the setAlternateIconName method of UIApplication.
Mac App Icon Generator
NOTE Alternate app icons are subject to app review and must adhere to the App Store Review Guidelines.