In most cases, the iPhone offers a great user experience and convenient features. But if you recently switched from an Android device, you might miss certain things, like some of Google’s first-party apps, or the freedom to customize your device.
While iOS can’t match the level of customization that Android allows, there are still a few ways to make your iPhone look like an Android device. Find out more in the article below!
Most of us spend a significant amount of time using the keyboard on our devices, making it one of the most important aspects of the user experience. So you may have noticed that the standard keyboard on iOS devices is quite different. This keyboard is simple, as it works well, but lacks essential features like the number row above the main keyboard or haptic feedback (although the new tactile keyboard is finally available in iOS 16).
Luckily, you can add and use third-party keyboards to get the features and customizations you need. There are many options to consider, like SwiftKey or Microsoft’s Grammarly Keyboard, but you can use Google’s Gboard for the best Android-like experience.
To change the default keyboard on your iPhone: Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard… to select a third-party keyboard you’ve downloaded from the App Store. Once you’ve done this, tap on the selected keyboard and tap on Allow Full Access . From here you can access any app that uses the keyboard, and when it appears, tap the globe icon in the bottom left corner of the screen to switch between other keyboard options. each other that you have.
Similar to your keyboard, the web browser you use on your device can also significantly affect your experience. On iOS, the default web browser is Safari, which is a great choice. But assuming you like having some features that other third-party browsers offer, or if you miss the Android browsing experience, you can change your iPhone’s default browser to Google Chrome.
To do this, go to the Settings app and scroll down to find the browser app (in this case, Chrome) that you want to use. Click on it and then select the Default Browser App option. Note that you can also set Gmail or other supported email clients as the default email client on your iPhone, by going to the Settings app, selecting the app you want to use, and tapping Default Mail App.
You don’t have to use all the default apps on your iOS device if you don’t want to. Google makes a number of apps available that you can download and use on your iPhone, making it more like an Android device. While you won’t be able to set most of these apps as defaults, you can still use them and access them quickly by adding them to your iPhone home screen.
Some of the essential Google apps that you can download on your iPhone include Maps, Google Photos, Google Drive, Google Calendar, etc. Adding these apps to your home screen gives you quick access to them. and easy, the same way you do on an Android device.
Widgets are valuable tools that display important information at a glance without opening the application. For example, you might have a widget that displays the weather forecast or upcoming calendar events. While widgets have been available on Android for a long time, they have only recently appeared on iPhones with the release of iOS 14.
So adding a widget is not only a great way to personalize your home screen, but it can also make your iPhone look more like an Android device. While there are some great custom widgets for your iPhone, adding Google widgets is one of the best ways to recreate that Android experience.
To add a Google widget to the home screen:
Step 1: Go to the App Store and download the Google app.
B2: Press and hold any blank part of the home screen until the apps start to jiggle.
B3: Tap the plus (+) button in the top left corner of the screen.
Step 4: Scroll down and select Google from the list of available widgets.
Step 5: Choose the widget size you want to use (you can choose a larger size as it offers more features).
B6: Click Add Widget , place it where you want it on the iOS home screen and tap Done in the top right corner.
Google widget has a number of features that make it extremely useful, such as a search bar to quickly find what you’re looking for on the web, voice search to ask a question or give commands, Google Lens to display information about the objects you scan, and incognito mode to browse the web without saving history.
If you’ve used various Android devices in the past, one thing you might not appreciate with your iPhone is that it looks just like every other iPhone out there. Luckily, you can change the app icons on your iPhone to make it look more like an Android device, or just give it a personalized feel.
There are some great apps to customize the iPhone home screen design, such as moloko, which you can use to change app icons. Alternatively, you can create custom app icons on your iPhone using the iOS Shortcuts app. Creating custom app icons requires a bit more work and patience, but is well worth it for great results.
What if we told you that you can make your iPhone look like a Samsung phone without jailbreaking it? Samsung’s One UI is one of the most popular Android skins out there, and you can easily enjoy it on your iPhone via Samsung’s iTest web app.
However, it should be noted that you can only use it to emulate Samsung’s user interface; and it will not replace the existing user interface of the iPhone. Still, it’s still a great way to see what Samsung’s Android interface is like and get a feel for how it works.
To try Samsung’s user interface, follow these steps:
B1: Go to the browser and enter trygalaxy.com.
B2: Click the Share button at the bottom of the screen and select Add to Home Screen .
B3: You can change the shortcut name if you want or keep it and click Add.
Step 4: Go to the main screen and find the shortcut you just added.
B5: Launch the application and click Next > Next > Got it to start using.
Now, you can start looking at Samsung’s user interface. You can experiment with some apps to get a feel for how Samsung’s UI works, but you won’t be able to use them because they’re not real apps.
If you want to fully customize your iPhone and make it look like an Android device, you should consider jailbreaking. Jailbreaking your iPhone allows you to bypass iOS restrictions, which means you can make changes that are normally not allowed, such as installing apps that aren’t available on the App Store, changing the look and feel of your iPhone. home screen, etc..
Jailbreaking is relatively easy, but it can be risky as it voids your warranty and can put your device at risk for security. However, if you still want to proceed, here’s how you can jailbreak your iPhone for free, provided your iPhone is running an old version of iOS.