Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
Tl;
- Pixel Launcher adds an icon form adaptation feature to a future Android release.
- The feature is not live yet in Android 16 Beta 3, but we managed to enable you to show how the function is.
- There will be six total forms to choose from, including the standard circle.
While many Third-party Android launches offer extensive customizing options, the stockpension shooter at Google Pixel phones is more limited. In his honor, Pixel Launcher has some quite unique features, but the lack of even basic icon adaptation options leaves many users who want more. An icon shape finally comes to Pixel Launcher, and we managed to activate it for an early look.
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Back in November we discovered the first signs of Google’s work to Take back icon form adaptation to pixel units, a feature that existed in Android 11, but which was later removed. In the first beta of Android 15’s The second quarterly release we discovered a new “App Shape & Layout” menu in the Pixel Wallpaper app. The menu contained two tabs: shape and layout. The Shape tab offered six options to change the home screen icon forms, while the Layout tab provided several options to adjust the home screen network.
Unfortunately, the icon form adaptation function was non-functional at that time. However, we activated it after a bit of toll in the third beta of Android 16. The feature is decent and uses a mask on all Pixel Launcher app icons over the home screen, app drawer and folders. App icon performances outside these contexts, such as Recents Screen and Settings app, remain unchanged.
Google currently offers 6 different icon forms, including the standard circuit. Names for these forms are not shown in the Pixel Wallpaper app, but they are respectively: “Circle”, “Square”, “Four-sided cookie”, “Seven-sided cookie”, “Arch” and “Complex Clover”. These include more rounded options, and more complex geometric shapes.
The new adaptation feature for icon form is part of In-development version of the Pixel Wallpaper app That Google has been working on since August last year. We do not know when it is released but hopefully Google does not hold it too long back, like many people, including more on Android Authority Team, Finn Pixel Launcher’s feature set is missing compared to options. Change app icons If so far, third-party launchers are only possible on Pixel devices, so the addition of adaptation of icon form will give users a minor reason to switch from Google’s launch.