Adaptive Icons

How to get Adaptive Icons on any Android Device

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The answer to ugly app masks and chaotic app drawers

With the release of Android Oreo 8.0, one of the features Google has included is adaptive icons. With adaptive icons it allows other developers to help make their apps look more integrated with other manufacturers UI. Google introduced these as they are ‘adaptive’ and that they changed to the most common shaped based on different UIs. The system will display different shapes based on the different masks displayed by the device. As this is a very new feature there are very few launchers that support these. On Pixel devices you’ll have to enable ‘Developer Options’, which enabled an option on the Home screen settings page. To do this, hold down on your home screen > select settings, then choose which icon masks you want to display.

 

 

Adaptive Icons       Adaptive Icons

Mask Shapes

The 5 main masks shapes which Google has included are: circle, square, teardrop, squircle and rounded square. As you can see above, is examples made by Google as a template which show the main 5 masks being executed. These support the main Android flagships of 2017 like the Galaxy S8/Note 8, LG G6/v30 etc. I believe Google will be updating these and adding to them as the years go on.

 

 

Nova Launcher

Thankfully, Nova Launcher added this to their beta app which allows you to change icons masks without any fuss. With Nova Launcher 5.5 (beta release) is bringing adaptive Android users running Lollipop or above. Just like the Pixel Launcher and Action Launcher, Nova Launcher is letting you pick between five mask shapes. You can also choose to have non-Adaptive icons be scaled down inside the adaptive icon mask.

 

Source: Android Developer

Nova Launcher Beta Opt-In

 

 

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Sachin Mistry
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Sachin Mistry

Sachin is an Editor at Bane Tech, where he loves exploring the latest in the Android/Google universe. When he's not buried in words, Sachin is a student at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK studying his first passion which is training to become a culinary arts Chef.