Apple caters to minimalists by offering blank home screen option in iOS 8

Posted:
in iPhone edited October 2014
Users looking for fewer distractions on their iPhone, or those who simply want to provide a better look at their wallpaper, can choose to have a blank first home screen in Apple's newly released iOS 8 update.




Achieving a minimalist home screen in iOS 8 is easy: Simply drag all of the app icons to the second page. Users can leave apps in the dock at the bottom of the screen, or make that empty as well.

Users were previously able to create a blank home screen in iOS 7, but this was accomplished through a glitch that occurred when reorganizing home screens through iTunes. With iOS 8, no connection to iTunes is necessary.




While the first home screen in iOS 8 can be left empty, others cannot. Attempting to create a blank screen in between pages of apps simply removes the blank page. At least one application is required to keep a page active.

For more features and tricks in iOS 8 --?including how to see what's draining your iPhone's battery, how to easily view desktop sites in Safari, and how to set up an emergency Medical ID -- see AppleInsider's ongoing iOS 8 Tips series.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 68
    I will say that Apple's wallpaper options for iOS 8 are the best they've ever had. I got tired of the iOS 7 ones quickly, but there are a lot of great ones in 8.
  • Reply 2 of 68
    Why would anybody want to do this?
  • Reply 3 of 68
    malaxmalax Posts: 1,598member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TechManMike View Post



    Why would anybody want to do this?

    Right.  This feels like a bug masquerading as a feature.  Or just an irrelevance.

     

    I wonder if this is something Apple stole from Android /s

  • Reply 4 of 68
    Nice. I just did it using iTunes by creating a new page, and dragging it as first. Then hit sync. No moving app icons required, and took 5 seconds. Thanks for the tip!
  • Reply 5 of 68
    Why would anybody want to do this?

    People who want to use a photo as their wallpaper? I keep my computer desktops almost empty as well, just my style. That being said, with iDevices I almost always leave the home screen set to default.
  • Reply 6 of 68
    I prefer to be able to have my Icons where ever I want them. Not auto-arranged. That would be nice.
  • Reply 7 of 68
    pazuzupazuzu Posts: 1,728member
    But why aren't there new dynamic wallpapers in iOS 8? Whatever happened to all the animated possibilities.
    Same for new Apple TV Os upgrade- no new screensavers?
    We always get in OSX upgrade.
  • Reply 8 of 68
    I'd be more excited about this if weather / time widgets could be installed on the front page too.
  • Reply 9 of 68
    irelandireland Posts: 17,799member

    Clearly a bug.

  • Reply 10 of 68
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by malax View Post

     

    Right.  This feels like a bug masquerading as a feature.  Or just an irrelevance.

     

    I wonder if this is something Apple stole from Android /s




    I'd like the ability to display notifications (in particular - Calendar) + weather + on the homepage. Android has it and Windows has it and frankly, its a nice feature. I don't see a need to impose it but it could be an option. Often the information I need from my iPhone could be presented on the homepage without the need to open apps. 

  • Reply 11 of 68

    Apple should bring the Chameleon Home Screen Technology to iOS.

     

    It is like combining the sophistication of Notification Center with the customized grid layout of Windows 8, and placing it on your screen.

     

    Chameleon would work great for the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and the Mac desktop.

     

    Chameleon would be perfect if Apple made it possible to run iOS as a virtual machine on your desktop, and use the Chameleon interface that would connect both OS environments in one application.

     

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gaborvida/chameleon-a-better-home-screen-for-your-android-ta-0

  • Reply 12 of 68

    I think this is a great idea. I, too, also keep my desktop clear with just a couple icons in the far upper right column because I want to SEE the wallpaper I have on my computer screen (a picture of my wife and one of our dogs). To be able to do so with the phone or pad is great because I don't see a bunch of cluttered icons and their badges immediately in my face when I first "turn on/log on" the  phone. One swipe and the immediate icons/apps I need are right there. I think this is a very nice little feature to add to iOS 8.

  • Reply 13 of 68
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,486member

    It's a great feature. If you only use four apps or less frequently then why not just keep four at bottom and have a wallpaper of your like to adore your phone like a picture of your loved one? 

  • Reply 14 of 68
    solsunsolsun Posts: 763member

    Wait, what version of iOS8 is this???

     

    I have iOS8.02 but still have the old "mail" icon, this is showing a new icon and "mailbox"

  • Reply 15 of 68
    This option doesn't work iPhone 5; even with the update.
  • Reply 16 of 68
    Originally Posted by pazuzu View Post

    We always get in OSX upgrade.



    When’s the last time we got a new screensaver in OS X? When’s the last time anyone, anywhere, for any reason, at any time USED a screensaver?



    Do people REALLY still have plasma TVs and CRT monitors hooked to their computers?

  • Reply 17 of 68
    jewpjewp Posts: 2member
    This behaviour is not new. It's been around for at least a few years IIRC
  • Reply 18 of 68
    pscooter63pscooter63 Posts: 1,081member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TechManMike View Post



    Why would anybody want to do this?

     

    Exhibit A, my mother-in-law. 

    She loves her iPad and 17" MBP, but wants to only use her iPhone... as a phone.  (Her previous phone was a unitasking flip model.)

  • Reply 19 of 68
    lilgto64lilgto64 Posts: 1,147member

    How about a dynamic arrangement where the main screen contains the apps you use most frequently - with a last page of apps you use the most rarely - marking them as targets for removal from the device to free up space or remind you of an app you had forgotten about. 

  • Reply 20 of 68
    jewpjewp Posts: 2member
    This has been around for a few years at least IIRC.
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