Icon frames on Pie

[DaveGrohl]

I've had the Pie update for several days now on my S9+ and I hate it. I seem to be in minority for some reason though? I've no doubt there are a few things that are a big advance but virtually all of which are of absolutely no interest whatsoever to me.

When they do these sea change updates I really wish they'd add the "big improvements" without altering the look of the phone, I was perfectly happy with Oreo thank you very much.

Anyhoo, what I currently have the biggest issue with (now I've corrected the bizarre loss of control over the AOD thanks to a thread on here) is the fact my screen looks like it's been subjected to a long blasting with a paintball gun. All of the icons are now waaay too big and many of them now have white frames round them. There doesn't seem to be any way to disable these frames unlike in Oreo. Or any way to reduce the icon sizes. Wtf is going on? I hate my phone now. Yes I know there are other launchers available, I just want control over my own experience without having to resort to yet another app. Help please, before I lose sanity..........

 

[Nicky25]

I totally agree with you! I'm actually horrified the way my phone looks now. It's like a primary school phone. Gosh. I wonder if I can go back to Oreo or is that not possible? Like you, I wish they did updates and left the icons alone! What do you mean with that there are other launchers available?

Also how do I get rid of the tiny clock on the top left? I've got a bigger clock already and really don't need two. Thanks.

 

[Mojave]

There are many launchers in the Google Play store so you can change your icons and a ton of other things on your phone.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher

I've been using Nova Launcher since I had my S5. I'm on the S9+ now. Check out the link.
Nova is a free download with many features. There is also a paid version that gives you many more options and features.

 

[DaveGrohl]

Nicky, the clock at the top left corner was originally at the top right corner, you obv never noticed it there. Why was it moved? Not a clue. Especially as it now makes notifications less obvious in their usual position of top left corner. This fiddling for the sake of fiddling drives me mad.

Mojave, I've installed some launchers but each one looks like a week's work investigating only to decide I don't like them. All I want is to disable the icon frames, how unreasonable is that? I could do that in Oreo. I'm not even 100% sure the icons are now larger, it's just that each home screen looks unbelievably busy now, it's a flipping mess.

 

[chanchan05]

I don't feel the icons got any bigger than it was in Oreo. It's probably just the effect of the frames. Just get an icon pack from the theme store that doesn't have frames and you're good to go.
Settings>Wallpapers and Themes>Icons.

 

[DaveGrohl]

Thanks Chanchan, I've downloaded an icon pack and it's not too disimilar to how they looked in Oreo now. Not quite the same of course but at least the paintball effect has almost been purged. I still get the feeling the actual icons are just a little bit larger though. Thanks though.

 

[DaveGrohl]

Also Nicky, they have moved the clock, battery indicator inwards slightly at the top of the screen. Again, why?!?

 

[Nicky25]

Nicky, the clock at the top left corner was originally at the top right corner, you obv never noticed it there. Why was it moved? Not a clue. Especially as it now makes notifications less obvious in their usual position of top left corner. This fiddling for the sake of fiddling drives me mad.

Mojave, I've installed some launchers but each one looks like a week's work investigating only to decide I don't like them. All I want is to disable the icon frames, how unreasonable is that? I could do that in Oreo. I'm not even 100% sure the icons are now larger, it's just that each home screen looks unbelievably busy now, it's a flipping mess.

Indeed I never noticed it! How odd but yes, it's now annoying as that's where the notifications are.
The icons are ugly and bulky and bold, that's why they look bigger. I feel like I am walking around with a 5 year old's phone! Horrendous.

Is it possible to go back to Oreo or is that not a good idea?

 

[lucianus_luciferus]

Maybe if you change the grid size the icons will look smaller

 

[Mojave]

Maybe if you change the grid size the icons will look smaller

Tried that and it did not work.

 

[UdiBerry]

To change the icon size you can change Minimum Width under Developer Options (425dp is a good starting point).
The problem with that method is that everything on the screen will appear smaller (including text).
I prefer small text but I understand it's not for everyone.

Re the icon frames, I totally agree - super annoying!

 

[Mojave]

To change the icon size you can change Minimum Width under Developer Options (425dp is a good starting point).
The problem with that method is that everything on the screen will appear smaller (including text).
I prefer small text but I understand it's not for everyone.

Re the icon frames, I totally agree - super annoying!

Thanks for the information! I'm a senior and I need the larger text. I'm wondering once you make the minimun width change...go back into display settings and change the font size.

I am going back and forth between the standard launcher and using Nova (been using Nova for years). Nova is having some issues with Pie and hasn't been updated in almost one year. Trying to like the standard launcher but there are things the Nova does better even with the issues.

 

[UdiBerry]

...there are things the Nova does better even with the issues.

What are they?

 

[Mojave]

What are they?

I have many great icon packs that I use in Nova....I can adjust the size of the icons....choices for what the folders will look like (I hate the stock folders) and much more features. Some of my widgets are not sized correctly with the stock launcher and one of my widgets won't load. No issues with my widgets with Nova. The only thing right now with Nova is some of the gestures are not working properly with Pie. Many people have stated so in the reviews in the Google Play Store.

So all in all I would like to use the stock launcher but for my needs and preferences I'll continue to use Nova. I might switch to the stock launcher once in a while for a little change.

 

[ReeceRobinson99]

Thanks Chanchan, I've downloaded an icon pack and it's not too disimilar to how they looked in Oreo now. Not quite the same of course but at least the paintball effect has almost been purged. I still get the feeling the actual icons are just a little bit larger though. Thanks though.

You mind letting me know what icon pack this is? >.< I've been looking but can't find one that's like oreo's.

 

[Adam Liston]

It was moved because of the front camera cutouts being on the top right now. But as far as the icon frames, I have the S10+ and it's the same thing. Can't get rid of them. Very disappointed. Just random apps have them. Even some of the Google apps. Very dumb. You would think Google would listen to us.

 

[wwwTewkesburyTown]

Yes Samsung Screen displays are now awful, formerly square Icons are now a 'squircle' cutting off essential visual information within the icon, can't now tell some apart. A nightmare two days trying to resolve this, no luck so far. The former option to select icon shape has gone with the recent updates, to be replaced by a Nag Theme Sales section which is most annoying, fortubnately still got 12 days to send the phone back as unusable "crap" from a visual perspective (recognising similar icons).

 

[scottmicklo1]

Through the play store, I have found an Icon Pack called Google Icons.

They are very similar to what the icons looked like before the android update.

BTW- I use Action Launcher. I am enjoying the full-size icons again without teh "paintball" splotches all over the place.