iOS has a lot of useful and interesting features, but when it comes to app icons, the system is pretty strict. Apple allows app developers to add one or more app icons that users can switch between using a feature called Alternate App Icons, but these changes can only be added manually by users, allowing developers to add interactive or animated icons. There is no option to include . award. However, developers have discovered an iOS exploit that bypasses these restrictions and adds animations to app icons.
Exploiting iOS Animated App Icons: How It Works
As researcher Bryce Bostwick explains in a blog post, this iOS exploit solves two main problems: First, iOS alerts the user whenever the app icon changes. Second, the alternate app icon feature does not work in the background. This means that the effect cannot be implemented unless the app is active. This doesn’t make sense because the user won’t be able to see the icon if the app is active.
Bostwick shows two workarounds to circumvent this limitation. To override the warning system, researchers use private calls to the iOS Application Programming Interface (API). This is a simple fix that requires a few changes to the API code, as he explains in his YouTube video. The second change requires comprehensive modifications and changes to the UI application state.
By completing both steps, Bostwick showed that it is indeed possible to add multiple app icons and then switch between them so quickly that they appear animated. Developers should not attempt this method, especially since Apple will likely review and immediately reject any changes.
Animated app icons on iOS are purely decorative.
This is a clever feature that makes sense for some apps (Apple already allows dynamic icons for its clock and calendar apps), but for most third-party apps it’s just a party trick. There is also potential for abuse, as developers may use sneaky tricks to attract users’ attention to their apps.
There are also technical issues. Quickly changing app icons requires the app to run in the background, which can drain your battery faster. The app icon animation itself may drain more battery. Apple will likely limit this operation for this reason and will likely patch exploits that allow this functionality.
However, according to reports, Apple plans to offer some app icon customizations to iOS 18 users. The company could also allow users to change the color of app icons and place the icons anywhere on the home screen, ditching the standard grid pattern.
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