Mobile Phones > Android The 8 Best Icons for Android These icon packs can personalize your phone in new ways By Jerri Ledford Jerri Ledford Senior News Editor, Fact Checker Western Kentucky University Gulf Coast Community College Jerri L. Ledford has been writing, editing, and fact-checking tech stories since 1994. Her work has appeared in Computerworld, PC Magazine, Information Today, and many others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on December 15, 2019 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Android Switching from iOS One quick way to change up the look of your Android device is to change the icons. There are thousands of icon packs for Android available in the Google Play Store, some of them free, some not. We’ve picked through them to find some of the best. The information below should apply no matter who made your Android phone: Samsung, Google, Huawei, Xiaomi, etc. Before You Install an Icon Pack on Android Most of the icon packs you’ll find in the Play Store require a program called a Launcher to be installed first. You already have a launcher on your phone. It’s the user interface that’s specific to the brand of Android device you have. For example, if you have a Samsung device, the launcher (or user interface) is called the Samsung Experience or Samsung One UI. HTC phones have the HTC Sense launcher; LG phones have the LG Home Launcher; Pixel phones have the Pixel Launcher. The installed launcher on most devices will only support icon packs specific to that launcher. That still may give you a few options for icon packs. To find out what’s available go to Themes > Icons. The way you get to these will vary, depending on the device that you have. The icon pack that you like in available for your current launcher, need to install a different launcher before you install icon packs from the Play store. Most common launchers like Apex Launcher, Nova Launcher, or Evie Launcher will work with the icon packs you’ll find in the play store, but be aware that installing a launcher will change change many things on your phone, including your folders, wallpapers, and maybe even some settings. These can all be restored by uninstalling the launcher, but if you uninstall it, you also lose the ability to use the custom icon packs. To install a launcher: In the Play Store, select the launcher you want to use.Tap Install.Allow the launcher to download and install. When the process is complete tap Open.Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the installation. Once you’ve installed a launcher, installing icon packs takes just a few steps: Find the icon pack you want to install in the Google Play store.Tap Install.Once the installation is complete, go to the launcher you downloaded and find Settings.Choose Icons or Icon Pack.You may need to choose Installed to find the icon pack you just downloaded.Select the desired icon pack.Go back to your Home screen. The icon pack you chose should be reflected in the new icons that are displayed. Some apps may not automatically update with an icon from the installed icon pack. To change the icon to something from the pack, tap and hold the icon until a menu appears. There select Settings or Edit icon to change the icon picture. The Best Free Icons for Android Not all icon packs for Android are free, but there are enough that you should only have to pay for an icon pack if it’s something that you really want. Try some of these free icons for Android before you spend your money on other icon packs. 01 of 08 Great With Dark Themes: Colorful Glass Orb Icon Pack What We Like Nicely designed, colorful icons. More than 3000 custom icons. Ability to request icons for apps that aren’t included. What We Don't Like Some icons aren’t immediately recognizable. For dark themes, the Colorful Glass Orb icon pack is the perfect way to customize your device. The icon pack offers more than 3000 Android icons to choose from, it’s likely you’ll be able to find the right icon for almost any app. And if you can’t, the developer will create a custom app on request. 02 of 08 Simple, Subtle Differences: Belle Icons What We Like Bright, colorful icons. Easily distinguishable. Ability to request icons for apps that aren’t included. What We Don't Like Some features hidden behind paywall. Subtle is the best word for the Belle Icons pack. The icons are slightly different from standard system icons, but are different enough to add a little style to your device. The pro version of this icon pack, Belle Pro, is $1.25 and offers some added functionality, including wallpapers and additional icons. 03 of 08 Artfully Different: Minty Icons Free What We Like Icons that are fresh, but familiar. Easily Distinguishable. Ability to request icons for apps that aren’t included. What We Don't Like May not be different enough for those seeking dramatic changes. Minty Free icons for Android are a fresh take on familiar icons. The design of these icons is different enough without being so different that it’s hard to tell what app is behind the icon. The set also features bright, easy to see colors, and the ability to request customizations for apps that don’t have existing icons or icons that are ‘close enough.’ 04 of 08 Backlit and Colorful: Domka Lite What We Like Sophisticated, stylish icons. Relaxing window-like design with no sharp corners. What We Don't Like In some icons, the backlighting seems out of place. No immediately obvious way to request custom apps. Some app icons are not immediately recognizable. Smooth, rounded corners and the illusion of colored backlighting gives the app icons from Domka a comfortable feel. The dark background of the icons works well on black or dark wallpapers and themes. There is also a paid version of Domka icon apps that includes wallpapers and other features for $0.99. 05 of 08 Interesting Android Icons: Precision Icon Pack What We Like Some interesting icon designs. Round icons; no sharp edges. The ability to request custom icons. What We Don't Like Many duplicates in the icon pack. If you’re looking for something a little different and interesting, the Precision icon pack has some others that are included in this list. From a full 12-point buck to Star Wars and Angry Birds icons, you’ll find something interesting for all of your apps. Unfortunately, you’ll also find a lot of duplicate icons in this pack, which means only that there are fewer apps in the collection than it would seem at first glance. 06 of 08 Shiny & Metallic: Red Icon Pack v1.3 What We Like Beautiful, metallic-like finish on each icon. Perfect pop on a red or silver theme. Ability to request custom icons. What We Don't Like Some apps have rounded corners, some have sharp corners. The app is ad-heavy, making it difficult to use. If red is your color, these free icons for Android will make you very happy. These beautiful read and silver metallic finish on these icons is unlike anything else you’ll find. The icons are mostly easy to decipher, but there is some inconsistency in icon shapes. Some are round, some have rounded corners, and some are sharply squared. Still, this is an impressive icon pack for anyone that loves bling. 07 of 08 Subtly Opaque: AfterGlow Free Icon Pack What We Like Slightly muted, but distinguishable icons. Colorful without being too bright. Ability to request custom icons. What We Don't Like Some icons are grayscale. This icon pack for Android will speak to anyone looking for something not super bright or obtrusive. These gently colored icons are different enough from standard icons to add some style to your Android device, without being so different that you can’t tell what’s behind the icon. There’s also a great selection of icons here, and you can request custom icons for anything that doesn’t work with an existing icon, but there are a few grayscale icons in the collection that look out of place with the rest of the group. 08 of 08 Perfect for Winter: tha_Glass Icon Pack for Android What We Like Icons look like they’re made from ice. The crystalline lack of color makes them work most wallpapers. Ability to request custom icons. What We Don't Like Icon selection very similar to those found in the Precision icon pack. Ice-like icons that are semi-see through make a great companion for most of the backgrounds and themes available for Android. These sophisticated icons add class to any device, even if they appear to be nothing more than a recolored version of the icons in the Precision icon pack. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit