How To Change App Icons For Mac

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.

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. Provide visually consistent alternate icons in all necessary sizes. Like your primary app icon, each alternate app icon is delivered as a. Choose an Image. Choose an image you would like to use. When searching the image in Google.

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.

Change

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.

Icons

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.

How To Change App Icons For Mac Desktop

Keep icon corners square. The system applies a mask that rounds icon corners automatically.

App Icon Attributes

All app icons should adhere to the following specifications.

AttributeValue
FormatPNG
Color spaceDisplay P3 (wide-gamut color), sRGB (color), or Gray Gamma 2.2 (grayscale). See Color Management.
LayersFlattened with no transparency
ResolutionVaries. See Image Size and Resolution.
ShapeSquare with no rounded corners

App Icon Sizes

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 contextIcon size
iPhone180px × 180px (60pt × 60pt @3x)
120px × 120px (60pt × 60pt @2x)
iPad Pro167px × 167px (83.5pt × 83.5pt @2x)
iPad, iPad mini152px × 152px (76pt × 76pt @2x)
App Store1024px × 1024px (1024pt × 1024pt @1x)
How to change mac icons

Provide different sized icons for different devices. Make sure that your app icon looks great on all the devices you support.

Mac Os Change Icon

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.

DeviceSpotlight icon size
iPhone120px × 120px (40pt × 40pt @3x)
80px × 80px (40pt × 40pt @2x)
iPad Pro, iPad, iPad mini80px × 80px (40pt × 40pt @2x)
DeviceSettings icon size
iPhone87px × 87px (29pt × 29pt @3x)
58px × 58px (29pt × 29pt @2x)
iPad Pro, iPad, iPad mini58px × 58px (29pt × 29pt @2x)
DeviceNotification icon size
iPhone60px × 60px (20pt × 20pt @3x)
40px × 40px (20pt × 20pt @2x)
iPad Pro, iPad, iPad mini40px × 40px (20pt × 20pt @2x)

Mac Os X Icon Sets

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.

How To Change App Icons For Macbook Pro

User-Selectable App Icons

How To Change App Icons For Macbook

How to change app icons for macbook pro

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.

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.

How To Change App Icons For Mac Os

NOTE Alternate app icons are subject to app review and must adhere to the App Store Review Guidelines.