Customise your Android/iOS device without
rooting or jailbreaking
Sure, you can keep your phone with the same
wallpaper, icons, home screens and settings that
it had when you first bought it - but where's the
fun in that?
A plethora of apps are available to enable you to
get under the hood of your device and start
making tweaks, and here we've collected ten of
our favourites, from modding the notification
lights and automating tasks, to revamping your
home screen and managing files.
Our round-up of tools is slightly weighted
towards Android because it's a more 'hackable'
platform and there are more tools available for
changing different parts of the OS.
If you're happy rooting your Android phone or
jailbreaking your iPhone, then there are plenty of
other apps and hacks you can consider, but
we've restricted ourselves to tweaks and
customisations that are possible without voiding
your warranty. As ever, share your own
recommendations in the comments.
1. Tasker
Tasker lets you set up specific conditions (such as
a time of day or a particular GPS location) and
associate them with a related action (turning off
Wi-Fi or muting your phone's sounds, for
example).
The app recently received an interface overhaul to
bring it into line with the look of Android 4.0+,
and you can also use it to create customised
menus and pop-ups. It's not the easiest app to
get to grips with, but it enables you to automate a
whole host of functions on your Android device.
Download for Android
2. Launch Center Pro
Unless you're going to jailbreak your iPhone,
you're somewhat limited in terms of the tweaks
you can make to the interface and iOS settings.
Launch Center Pro is one of the apps that can
make a real difference, enabling you to create
'quick links' (like desktop shortcuts) to other
actions within apps.
You can create a link to a specific options within
any supported app: this could be a text message
to a specific friend, the 'take a photo' screen in
Instagram, or a particular Twitter profile in
Tweetbot, for example.
Download for iOS (5.1+)
3. Advanced Task Killer
Android tries to do its best when managing your
multi-tasking apps, but if you want to take charge
yourself then enlist the help of Advanced Task
Killer.
You can stop dozens of tasks with one calculated
tap, add specific apps to an ignore list,
automatically kill apps at certain intervals and free
up memory for the tools you do want to use
(some technical know-how is useful if you want
to avoid closing system apps that you should
keep running). Buy the £3.19 Pro version to
remove the ads
Download for Android (1.6+)
4. Nova Launcher
If you're running Android 4.0+ Ice Cream
Sandwich on your phone, then you can take
advantage of Nova Launcher, a tool that's able to
customise almost every pixel of the mobile OS's
interface. Change colours, icons, dock behaviour,
widgets and more as you like.
Upgrade to the £2.60 Prime version to get extra
goodies such as unread counts and gesture
control. It's one of the most comprehensive
launcher tools on the market for Android, and
you can back up and restore your customisations
at any time should you need to.
Download for Android (4.0+)
5. love-vendor Your Screen
Combine wallpapers, app shelves, icon templates
and lock screens to create a look for your iPhone
that is truly unique. love-vendor Your Screen has an
impressive number of templates to pick from,
and you can combine resources from within the
app with your own artwork to tailor your iOS
device's home screens to suit.
There's a built-in preview feature so you can see
the results of your customisations without exiting
the app, and you can use the same settings
across all of your iDevices if you wish to.
Download for iOS (4.3+)
6. Light Flow
Available as both a free and paid-for app for
Android, Light Flow lets you take control over
your notifications and specifically the notification
lights on your device. Install the free Lite version
first, to check compatibility with your phone -
Light Flow requires root access on some models
but not others.
Once you're up and running, you can use the
app to choose notification colours for certain apps
and events, and even cycle through a series of
colours if required. Vibration alerts and a special
sleep mode can also be controlled by Light Flow.
Download for Android (2.2+)
7. App Icons
Get hold of App Icons for your iDevice and you
can switch between customised themes of icons,
as well as build your own for specific apps or
links to websites.
You'll need to have the apps in question installed,
and only certain apps are covered by the
templates provided, but you can radically
transform the look of your iOS device with just a
few steps. If you don't want to have to shell out
any cash straight away, you can pick up a free
version of the app that contains ads.
Download for iOS (4.3+)
8. Dropbox
Dropbox works across computers, mobiles and
tablets and has become much more than a file-
syncing and back-up tool. So how does it help
you hack your phone?
It creates an intuitive, simple file system for your
device, it enables you to easily install apps from
outside of the official stores, it gives you more
options when sharing and attaching files in other
apps, and more besides. Whether you want to
automatically back up your Photo Stream on iOS
or install a beta app on Android, Dropbox can
lend a hand.
Download for iOS (5.0+)
Download for Android (2.1+)
9. Zedge
Zedge comes packed with wallpapers, themes
and ringtones you can apply on your Android or
iOS device - it's all free to download and use, and
new content is added on a regular basis.
On iOS you'll find yourself limited to wallpapers
for your home screen and lock screen, but the
Android version extends this to cover audio
features too, including notification sounds and
other types of alert as well as calls and text
messages. You can set wallpapers to
automatically change based on a preset schedule
too, if you wish.
Download for Android (2.0+)
Download for iOS (5.0+)
10. Apex Launcher
Another of the many app launchers available for
Android, Apex Launcher is one of the most
popular and well-respected in this particular
bracket.
As well as a customisable grid size across nine
separate home screens, you can hide apps and
on-screen elements (like the Google search bar),
add animations and transition effects, and play
around with the theme engine that covers icons
and wallpapers.
Upgrade to the £2.59 Pro version and you can
access more advanced features (including unread
count notifications) and additional gestures.
Download for Android (4.0.3+)