Android, as we all know has a ton of customization options like changing the theme of your system, keeping individual wallpapers for the home screen and the lock screen, and even changing the entire launcher.
While users also have the option to customize how the icons of their apps look, this feature had always been inconsistent; different apps have different icons and typically each icon comes with a unique shape, size, and wallpapers.
But, starting from Android Oreo 8.0, the latest version of Android announced last month by Google, this is not the story. Android Oreo comes with an interesting new feature called Adaptive icons, which will automatically mask all your app icons so that they all look exactly the same size and shape.
Adaptive icons feature of Android Oreo will really help in bringing a consistent look across your device by adapting your app icons to suit your system theme or any third party launcher you are using.
While the Android Oreo update is officially available only for the Google Pixel and the Nexus devices as of now, you can implement this new feature on any Android device right now with the help of the latest beta update of Nova Launcher.
Just follow the below steps and you would be able to try out the brand new adaptive icons feature of Android Oreo on your Android device in no time, provided your phone is currently running on Android 5.0 Lollipop or higher.
Step 1:
First, you have to download the latest beta update of Nova Launcher 5.5.1 from here.
Step 2:
Once you have downloaded the APK file of Nova Launcher, you have to install it on your Android device.
If this is the first time you are installing an APK file, then you have to enable the option to install files from Unknown sources.
To do that, go to Settings->Security->Unknown Sources and then enable it.
Now open the downloaded file and then select install to install the Nova Launcher app on your phone.
Step 3:
Once the app is installed, make it the default launcher app by clicking on the home button and then selecting always.
Step 4:
Now open the Nova Launcher settings by long pressing on your home screen and then selecting Settings.
Step 5:
Now click on Look and feel from the settings menu and then enable the adaptive icons option.
You can also use the adaptive icon shape feature to select the shape you prefer and enable the mask legacy icons option to match the unsupported icons with the supported ones.
That’s it. Once you enable the adaptive icons option, the change will be instantly reflected on the icons on your home screen and your app drawer.
You can change the shape of the icons from the Nova Launcher settings any time you want. If the feature doesn’t work for you in the first attempt, try uninstalling and re-installing the app.
