Android Gamer: 10 white icon packs for a super clean home screen

One of the things that makes Android a truly beautiful platform is customization. I’m not talking about custom ROMs or root mods; I’m talking about how no other major mobile platform out there lets you customize your device the way Android does. There may be some caveats, but you have the ability to make your Android device completely unique. My wife hates using my Nexus 5 because it’s so different than her LG G3. Maybe that’s a bad thing, I’m not sure. But what I do know is that I have my Nexus 5 set up exactly the way I want it and I love it. My home screen looks awesome, and not only is it super functional, it’s also fun to use. The beauty is that I can change it tomorrow if I get a new idea. My home screen isn’t going to look like everyone else’s iPhone (although I could make it look like iOS if I wanted) or Windows Phone; my device looks like no one else’s because it’s Android.

This is the eighth installment of a recurring series about making your Android device yours. For this post I’ve dropped the usual make your Android device yours title. That’s because today we’re talking about something that might sound sort of lame just judging by the cover, white icon packs. Why am I excited about white icon packs? Well, ever since Android 4.4 KitKat happened and continuing with Lollipop, all the other non- app icons on your phone are probably white (they’re supposed to be). On my Nexus 5, my status bar icons are white and my nav buttons are white. I think there’s no cleaner look than continuing that white theme with white icons and widgets on your home screen. I’m not saying there aren’t tons of other awesome looks, but white icons are simple and you’d have to try to make your home screen suck rocking them.

Now, as per usual, my goal here is to offer customization ideas that will work for all Android devices, whether you’re still running Gingerbread or you’re on the latest version of Android, Kit Kat. You don’t need to be rooted. You don’t need to be running a custom ROM. All you need is a little bit of time and an itch to change things. If that sounds like you, read on my friend. We’re going to have fun diving into the world of customization and making your device truly unique.

To take advantage of these fantastic icon packs, you will probably need to be running a custom launcher, such as one of the ones we talked about in this post. If you pick up these icon pack themes from the Google Play store, most of them help you out with applying them. Or, inside the custom launcher, you should be able to find the option to apply a theme. It should be pretty straight forward. Each launcher is a little different, so I won’t give specific instructions on how to apply the icon theme. Most apps will be automatically themed on your home screen when applied. Then, if you want to further theme your apps you can generally long press an app on the home screen and change the icon from there. Be sure to ask the community any questions you have regarding applying a theme.

Free

I’m a bit of a cheapskate, so it’s always awesome to find free icon packs. So I’m starting out my list of white icon packs with free ones. Keep in mind that free packs often come with the caveat of less or no updates. The themers don’t owe you anything. So don’t complain if all your icons aren’t themed. So, get creative if you have to. Here they are in no particular order:

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

Paid

As I mentioned earlier, paid icon packs often come with better support for new icons and icon requests. These themers often work hard to keep these packs up to date and it typically costs you less than two bucks. Way worth it to have the raddest home screen around.

(Playboard) | (Play Store)

So, what are you thoughts on white icons? Do you think they’re clean and minimalist or just plain boring? Which ones are you sporting on your device? I think I’ve compiled a pretty comprehensive list of white icon packs but I’m sure there are a few that I’m missing. If I’ve left out a pack that you feel is worth mentioning, please comment below and let us know what you’re using and why you think it’s awesome. You can also use the HTML <img> tag and show us your home screen. We’ll continue to share other icon packs and customization apps in the future. Thanks for reading and don’t forget to let us know what topic you’d like to see covered in an upcoming edition of make your Android device yours.