Home screen on iPhone: Ultimate guide (2024)

There are many ways to use your iPhone and iPad. You can add a trackpad keyboard to your iPad and use it as a computer. Or now, you can add some widgets to your iPhone and customize it to your liking. In both cases, you need to have the right Home screen. Knowing where everything is stored, creating your own folders, and even having the right wallpaper can change the way you use and work with your iPhone and iPad.

You might think you know everything about the Home screen, but there's much more to learn. There's Siri, the Today View, and the Control Center. Especially now, with all the new features that iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 brought to the table, there's never been more things to try out. If you want to master your Home screen on iPhone or iPad, here's everything you need to know!

How to navigate the Home screen on iPhone and iPad

The Home screen on iPhone and iPad isn't meant to be a destination —a place to store widgets or spend time. It's meant to be a portal to all your apps, both built-in and downloaded from the App Store. Whether you get to those apps by browsing your Home screen pages, by searching with Spotlight, by jumping straight to actions with 3D Touch or Haptic Touch, or by calling up Siri, the Home screen is where it all begins.

• Understanding how to navigate your Home screen on iPhone and iPad
• How to get to the Home screen
• How to switch Home screens
• How to launch apps from the Home screen
• How to see quick actions with 3D Touch or Haptic Touch on the Home screen
• How to quickly switch to open apps from Home screen
• How to quickly access Spotlight search
• How to quickly access the Today View widgets from Home screen
• How to quickly access Notification Center from the Home screen
• How to quickly access Control Center from the Home screen
• How to quickly access Siri from the Home screen
• How to quickly access 'Continuity' apps from the Home screen

Navigation options for iPad

iPad also has some unique navigation options all its own, but keep in mind that iPadOS 14 lacks some things you get in iOS 14, such as Home Screen Widgets.

• Multitasking compatibility
• How to use picture-in-picture multitasking
• How to use slide-over multitasking
• How to use split screen multitasking
• How to use Safari split screen multitasking

How to customize the Home screen on iPhone and iPad

Even though you don't spend a lot of time on the Home screen for iPhone and iPad, that doesn't mean you shouldn't take some time to make it your own, including switching up the wallpaper. You can also organize it up to make your apps easier to find, either by moving them around or by creating and putting them into folders.

• How to use widgets on your iPhone Home screen
• Best Home Screen Customization apps for iPhone and iPad
• How to make custom Home page icons for iPhone
• How to change the wallpaper on your Home screen
• How to rearrange your apps on iPhone and iPad
• How to move apps between pages
• How to move apps to a new Page
• How to delete apps from your Home screen
• How to create a folder for apps on your Home screen
• How to add apps to folders on your Home screen
• How to remove apps from a folder on your Home screen
• How to delete a folder from your Home screen
• How to restore your Home screen to the default layout

Any Home screen questions?

If you have any trouble using your Home screen on iPhone or iPad, or you need more help, drop your questions in the comments below!

Updated October 2020: Updated for iOS 14 and iPadOS 14.