Home screen

A home screen, homescreen, or start screen is the first screen you see when you turn on a device or open a computer program. It’s like a welcome mat for your gadgets!

Each home screen looks a little different because you can move and arrange the little pictures, called icons, however you like.

Almost every smartphone has a home screen. On this screen, you’ll usually find links to different applications, ways to change settings, and little messages, called notifications, that tell you about new things happening on your device.

Think of the home screen as your personal dashboard—it’s where you start to explore everything your device can do! For the main page of the English Wikipedia, see Main Page. For main web pages of websites, see Home page.

Common features

A home screen is the main page you see on a device like a phone or tablet. It usually shows a grid of app links or shortcuts that you can move around and organize. These links help you open apps and use phone functions easily. Many home screens have a special area called a dock where you can keep favorite app links for quick access.

Some home screens can also show live information, like live tiles on Windows Phone or widgets on Android. These tiles and widgets display current updates. They are different from regular app icons because they change and show new information.

Alternative home screens

Many home screens look similar, but some are different. For example, Siri is Apple's special helper. It can open apps, show information, and help manage phone settings. Another example is WebOS. It uses icons that change based on what the app is doing.

Most phones come with a default home screen. Users can often switch to a different one. Some devices let you replace the usual home screen with another app or a third-party home screen. This offers more ways to organize and use your device.

History

One of the first home screens appeared on the PalmPilot in 1997. Early home screens were not as customizable as they are today. For example, early versions of iOS did not let users move apps or change the background picture.

Because home screens are the main way people use mobile operating systems, they usually stay almost the same when the operating system is updated.