Android offers more and more opportunities for customizing the interface: if previously users had to get root rights in order to simply change the color of the settings menu or select dark mode for Google Play, now many manufacturers themselves include such an option in the system.
However, you can change the appearance of Android using old proven methods: various sets of icons, wallpapers, third-party launchers. Or you can go all out with applications for creating widgets. You can do anything you want with a theme on Android and, frankly, one article is not enough to talk about all the customization methods. Today we will list the best of them.
Action Launcher
The best place to start when designing interfaces is Action Launcher. This launcher already includes several basic themes. Depending on the installed desktop image, the launcher automatically changes its color.
The app features Android 7.1-style shortcuts, a quick launch bar, and elements from the Google Pixel launcher. In addition, the launcher offers smart icon size management. Action Launcher allows you to create various themes for Android.
Another launcher that offers ample opportunities for customizing the design of the system is Evie Launcher.
Energy Bar
Energy Bar / Ring is a group of applications with which you can place a battery charge indicator scale at the top edge of the screen. This scale will allow you to quickly estimate the remaining operating time of the gadget.
For frameless devices and devices with notches, the developers offer Energy Ring. The apps work on all devices with regular frames, most frameless devices, and some smartphones with notches.
Gboard and SwiftKey
Gboard and SwiftKey are two of the most popular keyboards for Android devices, and both are great for customizing the interface.
The SwiftKey collection offers some pretty unusual keyboard themes, some of which are seasonally tailored, while GBoard doesn't have as much variety in themes. However, both applications offer keyboard customization to suit your needs.
There are other keyboards with similar functionality, but Gboard and SwiftKey are some of the best in terms of usability and customization. In addition, they are free and do not offer advertising. Thanks Google and Microsoft!
How to change the theme on Android via Google Play
It’s worth taking a closer look at how you can change the theme on Android via Google Play, since this is the easiest and fastest option available on a portable gadget. Using the official operating system market has many advantages:
- Changing the theme through the application is official;
- The user does not have to worry about viruses appearing on his device;
- You can also choose the topic that you like best from those offered. There are a lot of launchers on the marketplace.
The user can perform the procedure both on the phone and on the computer, if it is not possible to do this directly. Installing the launcher remotely is also a good option; in any case, the appearance of the gadget will change.
If the user wants to see instructions on how to change the theme on the Android operating system, then he must do the following:
- Go to the Market from Google Play;
- In the search line, which is located on the main screen of Google Play, enter the word “Theme” (English: Theme);
- After this, a search result window will open, select the option you like;
- Click on “Install” to set up the theme on your home screen.
After this, the user needs to observe how the external launcher of the device on the Android OS changes. If the user needs to change the theme via the computer, then this method is not so different:
- Go to the official Market through any PC browser. To do this, enter the name “Google Play” in the search bar;
- Now in the search bar of the market itself, enter the word “Subject”;
- The search result will open. Choose any topic you like;
- Click on the “Install” item;
- Now we go to the phone, agree that the theme will be installed, and transfer it through the “Program Installer” program.
Note! Google Play and the account must be the same on both the PC and the phone, otherwise the user will not be able to install the application on the device that is needed, namely a portable mobile device.
The user can also connect the phone to the computer and then transfer the application over it. The last point from the above diagram is completely missed.
It is worth noting that some themes are paid. This is due to the fact that they are unique and there are no similar ones; the prices are set by the developers. It is worth being careful in this regard, because during installation, if the user does not want to, he may accidentally spend money on the theme.
KWGT and KLWP
KWGT is a widget editor with extensive capabilities. The app supports Google Fit, displays information from most sensors, shows the weather, and even allows you to set countdown timers. For finer customization of widgets, there is Tasker support.
KLWP is a live wallpaper editor based on the WYSIWYG principle, allowing you to edit the wallpaper as you wish.
KLWP and KWGT have many common features and are both great for creating themes on Android. The developer also offers KLCK Kustom Lock Screen to customize your lock screen.
Nova Launcher
Nova Launcher is probably the best launcher out there, perfect for customizing themes on Android. It offers a very large number of options for customizing the interface, allowing you to bring to life any of your ideas regarding the appearance of the theme.
Nova Launcher supports various sets of icons, allows you to flexibly customize the icon grid, change colors, and create a scrollable dock panel.
You can also find themes for this launcher on Google Play, which adds even more variety, or you can download a special plugin that will display new notifications on icons. The paid version offers even more additional features.
Where are the themes in Samsung?
To do this, you need to go to the settings (gear icon), move to the “Applications” section (maybe “Application Manager”), select the theme you are going to delete and click on it. After that, move to another tab. At the very top there will be two options “Delete” and “Stop” or “Disable”.
Interesting materials:
How to connect Samsung Galaxy BUDS to iPhone? How to connect Samsung Gear IconX to computer? How to connect Samsung Gear IconX? How to connect Samsung to apple TV? How to connect Samsung to computer as a flash drive? How to connect Samsung to TV via USB? How to connect Samsung headphones to iPhone? How to connect Samsung Note 9 to TV? How to connect a Samsung tablet to a TV? How to connect Samsung s10 to computer?
Another great resource for customizing your interface is Reddit. There are no threads on Reddit as such, but if you go to the right thread, you can find a lot of ideas from other users.
We recommend starting with AndroidThemes. There, users share their screen savers, and also (usually) leave links to applications with which they were able to change the appearance of the interface. Thus, you can find various icon sets, wallpapers, downloadable themes from KWGT and KWLP, and much more.
In any case, you have nothing to lose, because Reddit is a free resource, except for a voluntary monthly subscription, which will save you from advertising and give you access to some additional settings.
CHANGING THE LOADING ANIMATION
The boot animation is stored in the /system/media/bootanimation.zip file. Inside there is a text document desc.txt, it indicates the frame rate, horizontal and vertical resolution, etc. There are also the images themselves (frames), which change with the frequency specified in desc.txt. The order and rules for playing animation from folders are also written in this file.
All you need to do is get the archive from the device using a file manager with root support, unpack and replace the images, remembering to first compress them to the desired resolution. Next, just pack the archive without compression and return it to its place. But, of course, it’s easier to take a ready-made archive. The website hboot.co.uk is full of them.
On the other hand, although the animation is interesting to look at, it makes no sense. But it can be useful to see which services are running. The easiest option is to install LiveBoot, which outputs logcat and dmesg, that is, Android and Linux kernel messages.
Tapet
There are a lot of cool wallpapers to be found these days, but Tapet stands out from the crowd. This is the first application that automatically creates wallpaper from patterns loaded into it. It offers over 100 pattern styles, as well as the ability to completely change their color. Tapet does not download images from the Internet, but creates new ones directly on your device.
Tapet will take a little getting used to: compared to other apps, it's a little confusing. But this is only a temporary drawback that pales in comparison to how unusual the created images can be.
The paid version of Tapet opens up even more possibilities in creating styles.
Supported Android versions, possible problems and solutions
Theoretically, there should be no problems with software compatibility when installing the theme. But in practice, many themes either will not be installed at all on an outdated version of the OS, or many functions in them will be blocked.
How can you protect yourself from such a problem?
- Google Market explicitly indicates the system requirements of each program you install. You should not ignore them, even if some users in the comments claim the opposite.
- If themes are downloaded bypassing the company store, do not be lazy to check the system requirements on the manufacturer’s official website. In other words, you can download files from anywhere, but it is better to check the information regarding software installation.
- The most stable version of Android, according to research from Crittercism, is 4.4, codenamed KitKat. Outdated modifications (2.2-4.3) and the “fresh” Lollipop actively promoted by Google are less stable and a greater number of user complaints relate to them. Therefore, if the downloaded theme starts to crash, the first thing you should do is check the OS version. Perhaps the latest firmware from the smartphone manufacturer’s website will help you solve the problem, or, conversely, downgrade to an earlier build.
UCCW
UCCW is one of the most popular widget customization apps. It allows you to edit widgets in WYSIWYG mode, this allows you to monitor changes already during the editing process.
At the same time, the range of information displayed is simply huge: weather, calendar, battery charge, missed calls, etc. There is support for Tasker.
Themes for UCCW can be downloaded both from Google Play and from other users in the application itself. Disadvantages of UCCW - some operational problems may arise, and you will have to get used to the functionality.
Walli
Walli is not your average wallpaper app. Similar to Etsy, it offers an impressive collection of designer wallpapers exclusively created for you by artists. Other advantages include easy navigation through the collection and the ability to add your favorite images to the queue to automatically change the background. For wallpaper selection, we also recommend Google Wallpapers, Abstruct and WallPix.
Xposed Framework, Substratum and Synergy
Users who dare to violate the terms of warranty service and get root rights on Android are presented with ample opportunities: for example, they can use the Xposed Framework, Substratum and Synergy to add various custom features to the interface, or they can install custom firmware.
Perhaps these are good reasons to become a superuser, because it gives you the opportunity to gain complete control over the system. We're only linking to Substratum here, but there are an incredible variety of apps available online for rooted devices.
How to return the default theme
On the operating version of Android, the user can use themes in exactly the same way as many applications. In order to return the standard theme, the user just needs to delete or stop the functioning of the programs - after which the screen design will automatically return to the previous one.
If the user encounters a problem that he simply cannot return the default version, then he can use Hard Reboot of the device.
Factory reset is a good option to reset your phone's apps and system. After it, customization will definitely return to its previous place. However, it is worth remembering that resetting data means erasing all user data and updates.
