Android home launchers have various features and settings depending on the device manufacturer or OS version. There are many ways to organize your home screen layout to keep your main page clean.Samsung Galaxy phonesoffer unique home screen features that allow you to customize your experience. Regardless of your Android device, they provide a slightly different home screen experience. Here’s how to organize your home screen to cut back on icon or app clutter.
The examples below show a Samsung Galaxy A23 smartphone running the One UI 5.1 launcher. The steps may look different depending on your device’s OS version and model.
Group apps into folders for better organization
Rather than having individual icons on your home screen and app drawer, categorize them using folders. This makes it easier to locate an app if you want to avoid scrolling through the app drawer. It also allows you to organize your home screen layout in a way that works for you. For example, you may have a folder with your favorite games and one for work or productivity. Place your most used folders on the first page of your home screen for easy access.
Use the following steps to create folders and group apps:
Not all stock home launchers allow you to add more apps to a folder by pressing a button. You may need to drag and drop one app at a time until all your apps are added.
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Use only your Android home screen to simplify your experience
Most Android smartphones offer a home screen layout and a separate app drawer by default. However, Samsung Galaxy phones runningOne UIhave an extra option to merge the two features. This setting removes the app drawer and places your app library on the home screen. It’s similar to what Apple does on the iPhone.
However, swiping up displays a search screen instead of the original app drawer feature. If you don’t like this new home screen layout, you can easily switch back to the previous option. Any folders, widgets, or app icons will be restored to their original placement on your home screen.
To combine your home screen and app drawer on a Samsung phone, do this:
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Use widgets to add an extra layer of customization
Widgets are handy home screen shortcuts that allow you to access specific features of an app without opening it. For example, you’re able to view your Gmail inbox or Google Calander events from your home screen at a glance. You can also place widgets where you want while adjusting their sizes, giving you more control over your home screen.
To add widgets to your home screen, use the following steps:
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Make your home screen more than just an app launcher
Lock your home screen layout to prevent any changes
Setting up your home screen layout takes time and effort the first time around. When you’re happy with your folders, widgets, and app icons, lock them in place. You’ll keep your perfect home screen layout and won’t accidentally move items around. You can still long press an app to view its shortcut actions, but you can’t move them around.
To lock your home screen layout in place, check out these steps:
Not all stock home launchers allow you to lock the home screen layout in place. However, many third-party launchers support this feature if you want to try it.
Sort apps alphabetically to find what you’re looking for
Many home launchers sort apps alphabetically, but Samsung Galaxy phones using One UI have aCustom orderoption. This organizes your apps by the date they were installed or updated. However, you can switch the sorting option to alphabetical order to make finding apps easier. This also organizes your apps inside folders, creating them for you automatically. Turning on the alphabetical sorting setting doesn’t affect your custom order, so you can revert to that as needed.
To sort your app drawer using alphabetical order on a Samsung phone, do this:
Adjust grid sizes to better fit your home screen needs
You may prefer large app icons so that you can see them better. Other times, you want them small to fit on one screen. You can’t scale them individually, but you can adjust their grid sizes. That is, choosing how many apps you want to appear in rows or columns at a time. This feature doesn’t affect the icon size, but it gives the illusion of doing so. Afterward,customize the iconsto follow a theme if your device allows it.
Android’s default home screen and apps screen grid size is 5X5, and you can reduce it to 4X5 or increase it to 5X6. For folders, you’re limited to sizes 3X4 and 4X4. These sizes are available on the Android 12 OS and newer versions. Lower versions have fewer options or needthird-party launchersto customize the icons. Depending on your device model, you can do it from the home screen or settings menu.
To adjust the grid sizes for your home screen layout, try these steps:
Uninstall unnecessary apps to save space and remove icons
There’s no better way to organize your phone than to eliminate unnecessary files. Your phone provides multiple methods to uninstall apps. Remove them from the home screen, app drawer, settings menu, and Google Play Store. Preinstalled system apps are more challenging to uninstall, but you candeactivate preinstalled appsso that they don’t work in the background or appear among your apps. Use the following steps to get started.
Uninstall apps from the apps screen
Uninstall apps from the home screen
Uninstall apps from the Settings menu
Uninstall apps from the Google Play Store.
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Hide apps to clear out the clutter and improve privacy
If you don’t want to uninstall certain apps to remove their icons, or you can’t, hiding them is another option. It removes the extra unneeded icons, and it hides sensitive apps you don’t want others to see. When hidden, these apps don’t appear on your home screen or in your app drawer. If you have a Samsung Galaxy phone, useSamsung Secure Folderor the home screen settings menu to hide them.
To hide apps from your home screen and app drawer, try these steps:
Clean up your app screen pages to remove empty spaces
On Samsung Galaxy phones, unnecessary empty spaces remain when you uninstall or hide apps in the app drawer. You could move apps around to cover them up, but that takes time. Instead, use the automatic clean-up feature.
To clean up the space left behind in your app drawer on a Samsung device, do this:
Manage your home screen pages as needed
If you remove the app drawer or add apps to your home screen, it may appear cluttered at first glance. You can add an extra page and move apps around to create more space. Also, if you don’t need a page, delete it. However, doing that removes every app on the page. Manage your home screen with the following steps.
Add an extra page to your home screen
Keep your Android device clean and organized for ease of mind
Now that you’re equipped with the best methods to organize your home screen, declutter it and set it up to your liking. When you get a new phone without a backup, you must set up your home screen for the first time. The tips in this guide will help you get the most out of your Android home screen experience. When your home screen is just the way you want it, try one of theseAndroid file managersto clean up your on-device storage. You’ll uncover hidden files and manage your device more efficiently.
