I test a lot of Android phones, and the software looks the same on most of them. There's a home screen, a standard background, and icons that are all the same shape and size. After a while, that gets boring, so sometimes, I like to switch things up.One advantage of having an Android phone is the operating system's flexibility. Unlike Apple's iPhone, Google's Android platform provides users with almost complete control over their phones' appearance, from wallpaper and color palettes to downloadable themes and icons available from third-party applications.But customizing your home screen or other aspects of your phone's user interface isn't always straightforward. It involves digging through menu settings and sometimes installing new apps, but don't worry, I'll help you figure it out. Here are some of the different ways you can make your Android device more your own.Mix Things Up Without Having to Download Any AppsYou can change a lot about your Android phone without downloading a single app. Start by adding widgets to the home screen. Just tap-and-hold your finger on any open space to bring up the widget menu. Scroll through the widget options for every app on your phone that offers them, select the one you like, and add it to the home screen. You can even drag the widget to resize it or long-press on it to add it to a stack of widgets. (Credit: Google/PCMag)Many companies that make Android phones also let you customize the look and feel of their notification settings, or include themes that combine wallpaper and icons' colors and shapes into one coherent appearance. However, these customization options tend to vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. You can find these tools under Personalization and/or Notification Settings in your settings menu.For example, Samsung's Settings menu lets you pick the exact style of edge lighting—and the duration—for your notifications. Motorola, however, doesn’t offer customized notification options on its phones; instead, you can choose from five different theme options that modify the look and feel of the device.It takes a little exploration of the Settings menu, but most Android device makers allow you to tweak the basic appearance and behavior of the home screens, wallpapers, colors, icons, fonts, and much more.Easy Mode(Credit: Samsung/PCMag)Samsung’s Easy Mode is a great way to simplify your user experience. It only puts essential apps on your home screen, enlarges the icons and font sizes on your device to make them easier to read, and increases the touch-and-hold delay to make sure you don’t accidentally launch an app. It’s meant for novice smartphone users or anyone who wants a quick way to declutter their screen. You can access Easy Mode by heading into the Settings menu and clicking into the Display menu. Scroll down to Easy Mode, click on it, and then toggle it on. Your screen will immediately reflect the change with larger, more legible, fonts. Not all manufacturers include an Easy Mode in their version of Android, though OnePlus does have a similar Simple Mode. You can activate it by going into the Accessibility settings, scrolling down, and toggling on the Simple Mode button. Fonts(Credit: Samsung/PCMag)Samsung also lets you change the system fonts on your phone. You can choose from preinstalled options or download free or paid fonts from the Samsung Galaxy Store. You can also adjust the size of each font you’ve installed, as well as whether or not you’d like it to be bolded. To access the font menus, open the Display menu in your Settings. Scroll down to Font Size and Style and tap on it. You will see a preview of the current font, as well as a button for Font Style. Tapping this button shows you a list of fonts already installed on your phone. You can choose one of those, or click the Download Fonts button. This launches the top fonts in the Samsung Galaxy Store. When you download one you like, you’ll have to return to the Font Style menu where the new font will now appear as one that’s available on your device. Click on the font, adjust the size to your liking with the slider tool, and you’re good to go. Most manufacturers don’t make it this easy to add new fonts to your device. Many third-party keyboard apps on the Google Play Store come with some additional fonts, though you’ll most likely need to install an additional launcherLaunchers: Leveling the Playing FieldIf the customization options already available on your phone don't go far enough, you can download apps for additional options. These apps generally work regardless of which company manufactures your Android phone. Recommended by Our EditorsOne of the best places to start is a third-party launcher. A launcher is an entire user interface that can control your phone's home screen and app drawer, allowing you to alter the appearance and feel of your phone more completely.In order to download a third-party launcher, you’ll have to go to the Google Play Store. While there are many excellent offerings, here are a few that we recommend: Nova Launcher (Credit: Nova/PCMag)The Nova Launcher is a customizer's paradise. It lets you change your app icons' color, size, and style. You can also adjust everything about your home screen’s appearance, from choosing the placement of your search bar to picking the color and size of your dock. You can get as granular as you’d like in this app, but you certainly don’t have to. You can just change one thing—like an icon style—or dig in and change everything. You can also set the Nova Launcher as the default launcher on your phone, or leave it as an app you need to click to change your home screen. The app is free to download and use. However, a paid version called Nova Launcher Prime costs $4.99 and unlocks additional features, including gestures, the ability to add app groups, and more. Smart Launcher 6(Credit: Smart Launcher/PCMag)Smart Launcher 6 is another full-featured launcher for your phone. You can change the wallpaper, icon appearance, widgets, fonts, app grid, and more. It doesn’t offer the same level of customization as the Nova Launcher, but I found it to be more streamlined and straightforward to manage. Just long-press on your screen when in the app to access all of the launcher's settings and features. You can choose whether or not to keep Smart Launcher 6 as your default launcher or just another app on your home screen that you’ll need to click into to enable. There is a free version of the app with plenty of features, but you’ll need a Premium subscription to access all options. These include smart widgets, a blur effect, a cross-device license, and more. You can opt to pay monthly for $4.49, yearly for $8.49, or grab a lifetime subscription for $20.99.AIO Launcher(Credit: AIO Mobile Soft/PCMag)The AIO Launcher is a very different sort of launcher. It gives you as much information as possible on one page. Your home screen consists of the time, the weather, a monitor of your storage and battery life, a list of your frequently used apps, your notifications, a dialer to make phone calls, your email, tasks, news, calendar, a financial chart, an audio recorder, and the control panel. It’s a lot to look at, but it gives you all of your relevant information in one location. You can remove anything you don’t want and swipe to access a list of your apps. While the app is free, you’ll need to pay if you want to make even small changes, like switching the colors of your apps. You can get the Premium version for a one-time payment of $12.99. It unlocks different icon shapes, font selection, cloud sync, additional themes, and more. You can also subscribe to Premium Plus for $1.49 a month, which includes all the Premium enhancements as well as ChatGPT integration, AI spam filter for notifications, AI app categorization, an AI translator, and even more themes. Icon Packs: Change the Way Your Apps Look If you generally like your home screen's layout but want to spice up your app icons, icon packs are one way to spice things up. There are many different types of icon packs on the Google Play Store, and you should be able to find something that fits your mood and style. Depending on the developer, some icon packs require specific launchers, while others can work with the launcher installed on your phone. If you don’t already have a supported launcher on your phone, you can just download one from the app store. Here are a few icon packs to get you started.Viral Icon Pack(Credit: DrumDestroyer/PCMag)If you’re interested in trying icon packs, the Viral Icon Pack is free and offers a good taste of what icons can do for your phone. It comes with big, colorful icons in pastel colors, 400 additional wallpapers, and some matching widgets. Retro Mode Icon Pack Neon(Credit: Moertel Pixel Art/PCMag)While plenty of paid icon packs exist, the Retro Mode Icon Pack Neon offers a unique look. All of the icons have retro pixel art that looks like a combination of 1990s computer art and the kids’ toy Lite-Brite. The pack costs $2.79 and includes widgets, additional wallpaper, and over 4,000 icons. Minimalist Icon Pack(Credit: Minimalist/PCMag)If you’re looking for something a little more understated, the Minimalist Icon Pack might be for you. For just $0.99, it can transform your phone into a minimalist's dream. It includes over 6,000 icons in pastel colors and 70 different wallpapers.No matter what you want your phone's software to look like, you can probably find a configuration that fits the bill by using a launcher, icon pack, or new font. Your eyes will thank you!