The iPhone home screen is less of a dark mess, thanks to iOS 18 beta 3

iOS 18 introduces a revamped home screen with support for light, dark, and tinted app icons. When the release ships this fall, third-party developers will get to submit different versions of their app icons to match the distinct themes. With betas 1 and 2, users opting for the dark theme had to deal with light-colored, third-party app icons standing out and ruining the home screen’s dark aesthetic. iOS 18 beta 3 addresses this flaw by applying an automatic dark effect on unoptimized app icons to streamline the look.

As of iOS 18 beta 3, all app icons adapt to the dark theme, including unoptimized ones from third-party developers. The OS automatically detects the icon’s colors and applies a dark background while attempting to preserve the branding. When iOS 18 fails to apply this effect, it adds a filter that dims the icon’s colors instead.

This change pushes third-party developers to support the new app icon themes, as the automatic effect doesn’t always look right, and it may alter their branding. Until they do, though, users won’t have to tolerate an inconsistent home screen, as was the case on betas 1 and 2.

Beyond the automatic dark icon effect, iOS 18 beta 3 introduces InSight in the Apple TV app, RCS support in more countries, and a dynamic wallpaper. Those who prefer not to install developer builds can expect the public beta to launch with the same features next week.