Boox Palma, Kindle, and so many other trendy e-ink devices that makes all smart phone owners envy of their simplicity and monochromatic tone. These are simple’ish instructions that will guide you every step of the way, to turn your current iPhone into an e-Ink device (kinda).
⚠️ Maintenance: I’ll be revising some artifacts on the dark mode icons and switching them to pitch black in the upcoming days. I’ll update the link to the dropbox in this article when done. If you see something, say something. Thx
TLDR
This guide shows you how to leverage Siri Shortcuts to customize your iPhone even further, by adding a simple shortcut to the home screen with a custom image as the icon.
There are two setup modes:
Basic Setup — One mode only (light or dark)
Advanced Setup — Dynamic via Focus Modes (light and dark)
Requirements
- iPhone (duh) — in this example an iPhone 13 mini
- Any iOS version that supports focus modes (I’ll be using iOS 18 beta v2)
- Siri Shortcuts (App Store)
- Matte Screen Protector (RhinoShield or other)
- Icons (Dropbox)
Basic Setup
This setup is for folks who just want to have either light or dark mode, and not tie it to focus.
⚠️ Note: If you’re opting for the eDark mode, then I recommend turning the iPhone appearance to dark, and vice-versa.
Go to Settings > Wallpaper > “+ Add New Wallpaper”
Then select “Color” from the top options, set it to your preferred color swatch. Next, you’ll need to adjust it, and change the effect to “Solid”. Select “Set as Wallpaper Pair” to continue.
In this example I’ll go pitch black.
⚠️ Important Step
Before we can move on to adding the custom icons, we need to set up a separate fairly simple shortcut that shows a notification. The reason for this is to later on override it and prevent a very annoying notification every time you open a custom icon app. See details at the end, under Final Touches.
Open Shortcuts, tap + to add a new Shortcut, search for “Show Notification” and hit “Done”. That’s it! Let’s move on.
Adding Custom Icons (Same as eLight mode)
We’re going to have to create a shortcut for every custom app icon you want to add to the home screen. It’s not as hard as it sounds. Make sure to check out the Batch Create section ahead.
Open Shortcuts and tap + to create a new shortcut.
Search and add the “Open App” action, and select which app you want this shortcut to open
Then search for the “Run Shortcut” action, and search for the Shortcut we created in the previous step, “Show Notification”. Press and drag it above the “Open App” action.
Tap the caret-down and rename from “New Shortcut X” to the actual app name. In this example I’ve renamed it to “Phone”. This name will show up under the app icon on the home screen, so if you want to customize it, now’s your chance!
Once renamed, tap the caret-down again on the top, and tap “Add to Home Screen”.
Tap the thumbnail option, and “Choose File”.
In the files drawer, browse and select the matching icon you want this shortcut to have.
When done, tap “Add”. This will close Shortcuts and take you to your home screen with the new app icon. Recreate this for every app you want to add in your home screen pages.
Duplicate Shortcuts for Speed
For efficiency sake, you can always long press your existing shortcut and tap duplicate. Then change the app it opens, rename it, and add to home screen. Rinse and repeat.
⚠️ Heads up. Follow the guide until the end to completely disable all notifications. Once you’ve disabled Shortcut notifications, whenever you open a shortcut for the first time, you’ll get an allow prompt. Once allowed, it’ll leave you alone forever! See notes at the end, under Final Touches.
We’re almost done! Make sure to skip the Advanced Setup section and check out the Final Touches.
eLight Mode
Customizing Reading Focus mode
Next you’ll need to create a new focus mode. In this guide, we’re going to leverage the already existing “Reading Focus” to set up the light mode.
Go to Settings > Focus > + > Reading > Customize Focus
Now we’re going to customize the wallpaper and home screen pages to show when on this focus mode.
Clearing the Home Screen
To do this, select “Create a New Lock Screen” and select Color.
Select the white swatch for the background color, and adjust as you wish.
When done, switch the effect to solid. It will be hard to read, but it’s the last selector, and tap “Add”. Next choose an option below.
Option A: If you prefer to blend the dock with the background, tap “Customize Home Screen” to adjust the homescreen background color.
Option B: If you prefer to see the dock container, tap “Set as Wallpaper Pair”.
Next up, select the screen with less elements, and then tap “Add”.
Dismiss the notification and remove all the icons from that screen, dock included. Don’t delete the apps!
While we’re at it, bring the Shortcuts app into the home screen.
⚠️ Important Step
Before we can move on to adding the custom icons, we need to set up a separate fairly simple shortcut that shows a notification. The reason for this is to later on override it and prevent a very annoying notification every time you open a custom icon app. See details at the end, under Final Touches.
Open Shortcuts, tap + to add a new Shortcut, search for “Show Notification” and hit “Done”. That’s it! Let’s move on.
Adding Custom Icons
Now let’s get to the fun part, adding the icons. We’re going to have to create a shortcut for every custom app icon you want to add to the home screen.
⚠️ One thing to note is that the dock items will not change, which hopefully enough people can submit that feedback during the iOS 18 beta testing stage.
Open Shortcuts and tap + to create a new shortcut.
Search and add the “Open App” action, and select which app you want this shortcut to open
Then search for the “Run Shortcut” action, and search for the Shortcut we created in the previous step, “Show Notification”. Press and drag it above the “Open App” action.
Tap the caret-down and rename from “New Shortcut X” to the actual app name. In this example I’ve renamed it to “Phone”. This name will show up under the app icon on the home screen, so if you want to customize it, now’s your chance!
Once renamed, tap the caret-down again on the top, and tap “Add to Home Screen”.
Tap the thumbnail option, and “Choose File”.
In the files drawer, browse and select the matching icon you want this shortcut to have.
When done, tap “Add”. This will close Shortcuts and take you to your home screen with the new app icon. Recreate this for every app you want to add in your home screen pages.
Duplicate Shortcuts for Speed
For efficiency sake, you can always long press your existing shortcut and tap duplicate. Then change the app it opens, rename it, and add to home screen. Rinse and repeat.
⚠️ Heads up. Follow the guide until the end to completely disable all notifications. Once you’ve disabled Shortcut notifications, whenever you open a shortcut for the first time, you’ll get an allow prompt. Once allowed, it’ll leave you alone forever! See notes at the end, under Final Touches.
Nice! Light mode accomplished. Alrighty, now we’re going to shift gears to the dark mode. Let’s go!
eDark Mode Setup
Before we go any further, set your iPhone’s appearance to dark mode. You can do this with a Siri voice command, the control center, or via settings.
For dark mode, we’re going to create a custom focus mode. Remember, these focus mode icons will show up on the status bar, next to the time.
Clearing the Home Screen
To do this, select “Create a New Lock Screen” and select Color. Follow the same steps as the eLight mode but now select the black swatch for the background color, and adjust as you wish.
Dark mode is a bit trickier to blend the dock container, but in this example I’m going pitch dark. 🖤
When done, switch the effect to solid. It will be hard to read, but it’s the last selector, and tap “Add”. Next choose an option below.
Option A: If you prefer pitch black, and you don’t mind seeing the dock container, tap “Set as Wallpaper Pair”.
Option B: If you prefer to blend the dock with the background, tap “Customize Home Screen” to adjust the homescreen background color.
Clearing the Home Screen
This is a bit different compared to the eLight setup. Since we’re setting up a custom focus mode, for some reason, we can’t add a new home screen from here (unlike the preset for the eLight mode).
We’ll need to create a separate home screen to assign it to. Go to your home screen and pull Shortcuts into its own panel.
Then press and hold to edit the home screen aka wiggle mode, and tap the selectors directly above the dock. Yup, that! Then uncheck all the other screens you don’t want in this focus. This also prevents that we don’t see the eIcons when we don’t have one of these focuses active.
⚠️ Important Step
Before we can move on to adding the custom icons, we need to set up a separate fairly simple shortcut that shows a notification. The reason for this is to later on override it and prevent a very annoying notification every time you open a custom icon app. See details at the end, under Final Touches.
Open Shortcuts, tap + to add a new Shortcut, search for “Show Notification” and hit “Done”. That’s it! Let’s move on.
Adding Custom Icons (Same as eLight mode)
If you’ve already setup eLight mode, then you can skip past the next image.
Otherwise, we’re going to have to create a shortcut for every custom app icon you want to add to the home screen.
⚠️ One thing to note is that the dock items will not change, which hopefully enough people can submit that feedback during the iOS 18 beta testing stage.
Open Shortcuts and tap + to create a new shortcut.
Search and add the “Open App” action, and select which app you want this shortcut to open
Then search for the “Run Shortcut” action, and search for the Shortcut we created in the previous step, “Show Notification”. Press and drag it above the “Open App” action.
Tap the caret-down and rename from “New Shortcut X” to the actual app name. In this example I’ve renamed it to “Phone”. This name will show up under the app icon on the home screen, so if you want to customize it, now’s your chance!
Once renamed, tap the caret-down again on the top, and tap “Add to Home Screen”.
Tap the thumbnail option, and “Choose File”.
In the files drawer, browse and select the matching icon you want this shortcut to have.
When done, tap “Add”. This will close Shortcuts and take you to your home screen with the new app icon. Recreate this for every app you want to add in your home screen pages.
Duplicate Shortcuts for Speed
For efficiency sake, you can always long press your existing shortcut and tap duplicate. Then change the app it opens, rename it, and add to home screen. Rinse and repeat.
⚠️ Heads up. Follow the guide until the end to completely disable all notifications. Once you’ve disabled Shortcut notifications, whenever you open a shortcut for the first time, you’ll get an allow prompt. Once allowed, it’ll leave you alone forever! See notes at the end, under Final Touches.
We’re almost done!
Final Touches
Disable Annoying Shortcut Notifications
You will notice that every time a shortcut runs, you’ll see a very annoying popup confirming that the shortcut indeed ran.
To disable this is an odd one, but totally doable.
For this you’ll need to go to Settings > Screen Time and scroll down all the way to notifications. Hit show more until you find Shortcuts. You might notice that sometimes Shortcuts can’t be navigated to, unlike other items. Fret not, continue reading.
Now you’ll have to tap around on specific days to hopefully find a Shortcuts item that can be tapped. Once you’re in, disable notifications. If you still can’t solve this, maybe because you have a newer phone, then check out this video by Sam Beckman.
Set iPhone to Grayscale
Next up is to set your iPhone to grayscale.
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters > Grayscale
Apply the Matte Screen Protector
The final touch is to add a matte screen protector, to complete the e-reader look and feel. I personally opted for the RhinoShield one for my iPhone 13 mini because it’s a full coverage, including the notch. It came with plenty of dust stickers, a solid squeegee, and most importantly a frame to flawlessly apply the protector. I have zero affiliation with them. RhinoShield Link (also on Amazon)
Another option is by Mothca. They have solid reviews everywhere and it’s pretty affordable. Amazon Link
For more customization, you can pull my Figma community file here. You can create your own icons, export them, and follow the same instructions for other apps you’d like to add.
https://www.figma.com/community/file/1390154869883310305/ios-eink-icons-community
If you have any questions, you can comment here or ping me on threads @davesleal. I’ll do my best to sort it out as fast as humanly possible.
If you do turn your iPhone into an ePhone with this guide, I’d love to see what you come up with. Please post it and #ePhone!
Thank you, and enjoy your brand-new ePhone.
