A crowded Pixel home screen puts extra swipes between you and the apps you need. You can organize your favorites, add useful widgets, and change the wallpaper, icons, and search controls. Start with the layout, then give it the look you want.
Put your everyday apps within reach
Swipe up from the Home screen to open your apps. Then drag an app onto the Home screen. Drag an existing item to move it.
To create a folder, drag one app onto another. Open the folder, then tap its name to rename it.
For an app that offers shortcuts, long-press its icon. Drag the shortcut you want onto the Home screen.
To create another page, drag an item rightward onto a blank page. To delete a page, move or remove every item on it.
To remove an unwanted item, long-press it. Drag it to Remove. This removes the item from Home; Uninstall, when offered, deletes the app itself.
Tip: Keep your most-used apps on the same page to avoid extra swipes.
Change the grid to adjust app spacing
A different grid changes how your apps fit on Home. Long-press a blank area of the Home screen. Open Wallpaper & style.
Tap Layout. Select your preferred grid. Tap Apply.
Refresh your wallpaper, colors, and icons
Long-press blank Home space to open Wallpapers & style > Change wallpaper > Home screen. Choose a photo or category image. Finish with Preview > Apply.
For daily rotation, open Wallpaper & style > Change wallpaper and choose an eligible category. Select Daily wallpaper > Ok; personal photos and live wallpapers are excluded. For interface colors, use Wallpaper & style > Colors, select a palette or choose from Other colors, then tap Apply.
On eligible Pixels, open Wallpaper & style > Icons > Style. Choose Default, Minimal, or Create your own. For generated artwork, select Create icons, choose a style, then use Download > Apply.
For icon and folder shapes, open Wallpaper & style > Icons > Shape. Choose a shape and tap Apply. This changes Home screen icons and folders, not app drawer shapes.
Add widgets that earn their space
Put useful information on Home with widgets from supported apps.
- 1.Long-press a blank area of the Home screen.
- 2.Tap Widgets.
- 3.Drag your chosen widget onto the Home screen.
- 4.Long-press the placed widget, then release it.
- 5.Drag its resize handles to adjust its size. Resizing support varies by widget.
Stop suggestions from changing your favorites row
Home screen suggestions fill empty spaces in your favorites row with suggested apps. Long-press a blank area of the Home screen. Open Home settings. Tap Suggestions.
Turn off Suggestions on Home screen to choose the apps in that row yourself. Then drag your preferred apps into the empty spaces in the favorites row.
To control suggestions in the app list separately, toggle Suggestions in all apps list in the same menu. To keep a suggested app while leaving suggestions enabled, long-press the suggestion. Tap Pin.
To exclude a particular suggestion, long-press it. Drag it to Don’t suggest app.
Choose what At a Glance shows
Long-press the date on Home to open Settings > At a Glance settings. Toggle Use At a Glance to enable or disable the feature. Choose information categories under Customize; available content varies by language and country.
On Pixels offering the visibility control, long-press At a Glance to open Settings. Turn off Show on home screen to hide it from Home. This allows it to remain visible on the lock screen.
For personalization controls, long-press the date to open Settings > Manage Personalization. Adjust the available data controls to suit the information you want to see.
Make search work the way you want
The launcher's search bar has its own appearance controls. Long-press the search bar to get started. Tap Widget settings, choose your preferred theme, and select the shortcuts you want.
To control which apps contribute search results, long-press a blank Home screen area. Open Home settings > Search settings > Control search results. Enable or disable apps. Searchable content varies by Pixel model.
A separate Google Search widget has its own controls. To add one, open the Google app. Tap your profile picture or initial. Open Settings > Customize Search widget.
Tap Add. Adjust the added widget's shortcuts in the same editor. Choose its color. Adjust its transparency.
Leave the editor to save your changes. If the launcher's search-bar controls don't give you the appearance you want, try the separate Google Search widget with the settings above.
Enlarge text and icons for easier reading
Use display controls when Home feels too small to read comfortably. These settings affect the broader interface as well as Home.
Open Settings > Display & touch > Display size and text. Adjust the Font size slider to change text size. Adjust the Display size slider to change the size of interface elements.
For a darker appearance, open Settings > Display & touch > Dark theme. Enable Dark theme, or configure its schedule for automatic changes.
On Pixels offering Simple View, open Settings > Accessibility > Simple View under Quick Access. Turn on Use Simple View to apply its presets. Turning it off restores your original font, display, and layout settings.
During initial setup, tap Accessibility on Welcome to your Pixel. Select Set up with Simple View. Tap Use Simple View. This applies a simplified layout, larger text and icons, and three-button navigation; its initial-setup presets differ from those applied after setup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I copy my old Pixel's Home screen layout to a new Pixel?
Yes. Google supports Home layout transfer from a previous Pixel. During setup on a destination Pixel 8 or later, choose Pixel or Android device. On the old Pixel, tap Set up. Scan the new phone's QR code, authenticate, and select the data to transfer.
How do I put a website shortcut on my Pixel Home screen?
Open the website in Chrome. Tap More > Install and create shortcut > Create shortcut. Rename the shortcut if you want. Tap Add.
Can I turn off the dots on app icons?
Yes. Open Settings > Notifications. Turn off Notification dot on app icon.
Does turning off Discover remove the entire page to the left of Home?
Google documents this as a control for Discover content, not a way to remove the entire launcher page. To turn off that content, open the Google app. Tap your profile picture or initial. Open Settings > General. Turn off Discover.