AI-Powered Icon Customization May Be Coming to Google Pixel Phones

07/29/2025 Mobile

As a Pixel user, I know how frustrating it can be to see a mix of themed and unthemed app icons on my home screen. Google's Pixel phones have some great software perks, but when it comes to really making your phone your own, they've been a bit behind. If you want to change your app icons, you usually have to swap out the Pixel Launcher – and lose its handy search bar – for something else.

However, it looks like Google might be working on a solution: using AI to create custom icon themes. Imagine being able to tweak your icons to perfectly match your style, without relying on developers to update their apps.

Right now, Pixel phones offer "Themed icons." It's a neat idea: your app icons change color to match your wallpaper. But it only works if the app developer has made a special version of their icon. Sadly, many haven't, so you end up with a weird mix of styles.

Google could keep waiting for everyone to catch up, but honestly, that hasn't worked so far. They could also try to force developers to update, but that might cause problems. So, it seems they're exploring a third option: using some clever tech to automatically change the icons. It's not easy to get it perfect, but other companies have tried it with some success.

I remember seeing hints of this idea way back in early 2023. Google was playing around with automatically making icons that would fit the theme, even if the app didn't have one. It never took off, but it seems like they're giving it another shot.

What's New?

Digging into the latest Android Canary build, some interesting lines of code were found in the Wallpaper & Style app – the place where you change how your Pixel looks. These lines suggest you'll be able to pick from four different icon styles.

While I don't have all the details, it looks like one of the options will be the "Minimal" style, which is what we have now with the themed icons. What's really interesting are the "AI icon" and "Create" options. I'm not sure exactly how they'll work, but it sounds like you'll have more control over your icons than ever before.

They're also working on letting you change the shapes of your icons. When will we see all these changes? It's hard to say for sure. There's also talk of Google creating theme packs for Pixel phones, so maybe these new icon options will be part of that.

If you can't wait, you can always download a different launcher app that lets you use custom icon packs. But if you're like me and you like the Pixel Launcher, it might be worth waiting to see what Google comes up with.