{
  "id": 1318614,
  "title": "It’s time for iOS to have its own Material You",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/its-time-for-ios-to-have-its-own-material-you",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-16T17:33:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "9to5Mac",
    "slug": "9to5mac",
    "url": "https://9to5mac.com/2026/08/16/its-time-for-ios-to-have-its-own-material-you/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Apple has steadily increased the customization options for iOS over the years. With iOS 16, the lock screen became more personalized. This was followed by icon color tinting in iOS 18, clear icons in iOS 26, and a Liquid Glass slider in iOS 27. The iPhone has become increasingly personalized over time, and that's a positive trend.\n\nWhile we can already customize the icons on our home screen, why not take it further? iOS 27 hasn't been released to the public yet, so this is just speculation, but extending customization to the rest of the operating system seems logical. Thematic app color schemes, on top of the existing light and dark mode, would be a natural progression.\n\nApple could replicate the Material You design language on iOS, but instead of being wallpaper-based, it would be icon color-based. Apple recently introduced an option to have icons match the color of the MagSafe case, which could complement this color theming. Additionally, Apple has offered color themes in Xcode, their IDE for building Apple software, since WWDC this year. The Mac also allows setting a system-wide tint color for third-party apps.\n\nBringing this level of customization to iOS would look great and provide another avenue for personalization. What are your thoughts on color themes for iOS and iPadOS? Please share your opinion in the comments. Follow Michael on X/Twitter, Bluesky, and Instagram for more Apple news. Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for additional Apple coverage.",
  "summary": "Over the years, Apple has only added more and more customization to iOS. First, we got all of the lock screen personalization back with iOS 16 . That was followed up with icon color tinting in iOS 18, clear icons in iOS 26, and a full-on Liquid Glass slider in iOS 27. The iPhone has become more and more individualistic as time has gone on, and that’s a great thing. Since we can already tint our…",
  "key_points": [
    "iOS customization increasing with iOS 16-18 updates",
    "Speculation of extending customization to entire OS",
    "Material You-inspired color themes for iOS proposed"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}