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I have a strong personal preference against adaptive icons. I hate how they make everything look the same and less distinctive. I know apps are required to have them, but most apps still also package a "legacy" icon that has a distinct shape. It seems like every launcher uses the adaptive icons if available though and the extent of their customization in regards to icons is choosing which shape you want every single app to be.

I also know some icon packs change the shapes of some apps, but I want the apps' styles, not the icon packs', and I want all icons with legacy icons to use them.

Is there any current way to have this option to not use adaptive icons? I'm on a Pixel, so fairly close to stock Android.

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  • provide more info e.g. which android skin you're using ( stock android / One UI / Color OS etc )
    – karthik nair
    Commented Aug 18, 2021 at 18:37

2 Answers 2

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Nova Launcher has an option to prefer legacy icons instead of adaptive ones. If it is installed on your device:

  1. Open Nova launcher's settings, tap on Look & feel.
  2. Tap Icon style.
  3. On the Adaptive icons section, enable Prefer legacy icons.

IMG:

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    This feature has been removed in Nova Launcher 7.0, and therefore isn't really a long-term option.
    – Ullallulloo
    Commented Aug 19, 2021 at 19:18
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    Nova actually has readded this thankfully, although now it's called "Android 7.1 icons".
    – Ullallulloo
    Commented Jan 5, 2022 at 22:33
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As a backup alternative answer, I figured out how to easily create a icon pack of just your icons but non-adaptive.

Using this method requires that you to regenerate and install the pack every time you install a new app, but it will hopefully always would and will let you use any of the launchers supported by Icon Pack Studio. and then do the following steps periodically to create an icon pack that is just your icons but not adaptive:

  1. Create a new "Adaptive icon" pack.
  2. Go to "Background" and toggle off the shape.
  3. Go to "Logo", then "Design, then change the "Type" to "Not adaptive" and change "Compositing" to "Overwrite".
  4. Turn the size up to 100 to compensate for not having padding added all around it.
  5. Hit "Preview", then "Apply", then "Overwrite", then "OK", install the resulting icon pack, and apply it.

Then voilà! Your icons should be back to their classic looks. This way also has the advantage of making even more icons non-adaptive than Nova Launcher's built-in option does, and it can be used in conjunction with it still.

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