Google Pixel phones offer many customization tools, but up until recently, the Pixel UI home screen was more restrictive. Google only recently made it possible to remove the At a Glance widget from your home screen, for instance. While past Pixel Drops brought fresh theme packs and style choices, the latest Android 17 update adds a hidden home screen customization option that can seriously simplify your setup.
I keep my home screen basic, only including a few home screen widgets and the most important apps. For everything else, I use the app launcher or search bar. That means I know exactly which apps and icons are on my home screen without needing to look at their names. Finally, Android 17 lets me remove the redundant app names from my home screen for a cleaner look.
Pixel home screen customization just leveled up
The easiest way to change your Pixel home screen is to hold down anywhere on it that isn't covered by an app or widget. This brings up a small menu with the Wallpaper & style, Widgets, Apps list, and Home settings buttons. You can even switch between default wallpapers straight from this tiny menu on the home screen. To customize your phone's look, tap Wallpaper & style.
Here, you'll be able to pick a Theme pack, change your phone's Colors, set a Color contrast settings, manage your Icons, and choose a Layout. This isn't new, but Android 17 adds a setting on the Icons page. Previously, you could choose an app icon Style or change the app icon Shape.
There are five shapes to choose from, and the styles are abundant. You can pick Default or Minimal — the latter forces all your app icons to match your selected color palette, creating a consistent look I almost always prefer. There's also the Create option, which lets you build custom app icon designs by starting with one of six styles: Disco, Scribbles, Cookies, Easel, Treasure, and Stardust.
Android 17 adds a new Names tab to the Icons page, and it's where you can choose to show or hide app names on your home screen.
How I hide app names on my Pixel
I changed the look of my home screen in seconds by hiding app names. To do it, I simply held down on my home screen wallpaper, pressed Wallpaper & style, and tapped Icons. Then, I switched to the Names tab and flipped the toggle beside Show app names to the off position.
There's a virtual render of your home screen displayed on this page that adapts as you change the look of your app icons. So, you can flip the toggle beside Show app names a few times, watching how your home screen changes. If you like the minimalist look of the Pixel home screen without app names, leave the toggle off.
By default, app names are still shown on the Pixel home screen in Android 17. Nothing will change unless you want it to — but the option to remove app names from the Pixel UI home screen is something Pixel fans have long wanted. Keep in mind that if you hide app names from your Pixel home screen, they'll still appear in the app drawer.
My entire home screen is finally as clean as the dock
Android 17 is a neat update for my Pixel phones, and I love that Google continues to add new customization features. The previous app icon customization interface was already one of the best available on any Android skin, but it was missing something basic — hiding app names.
Now, my entire home screen looks as clean as the app dock. No names, just a minimal setup with app icons and widgets.
The starter Pixel
The Google Pixel 10 is the go-to phone for the complete Android 17 experience. It includes all the latest features, including app bubbles and home screen customization tools, while offering years of future updates.
