Personalization has always been one of the strengths of Android, and its maximum expression is probably reflected in the themes for Android. Wallpapers, icons, fonts, and/or varied styles that can completely change the design of your mobile.
Themes are not a standard Android feature, so in most cases, they come as an add- on in the customization layers. However, on mobiles with a customization layer that does not support themes, you can always take advantage of some of its elements such as backgrounds or icons if the system or the launcher allows it. Now, where can you download themes for Android?
Official apps and stores
As we mentioned before, Android does not natively include support for themes. At least, not without inventions like Substratum, Swift, with the downside that you’ll generally need root access to make them work. However, some customization layers include their own theme support, being more common in eastern layers than in western layers.
Thus, Huawei and Honor mobiles with EMUI, Xiaomi with MIUI, Samsung with One UI and OPPO and Realme with ColorOS include support for serial themes. Each of them allows you to search and download themes with their official application. Phones that do not have official support can at least install a launcher that supports themes to be able to change the appearance of the mobile to some degree.
If your mobile has its own theme store, this is probably the best way to find and download new themes with the guarantee that they should work properly and apply to all available items, including some pre-installed applications such as calculator, phone and calendar. These are the official options of the different layers:
- Huawei and Honor phones with EMUI. “Themes” application, accessible from Settings> Main screen and wallpaper> themes.
- Xiaomi phones with MIUI. The themes can be changed with MIUI Themes or simply themes, which after a slight hiatus are available again in the European terminals.
- Samsung phones with One UI or Samsung Experience. Themes can be downloaded from Galaxy Themes, accessible from Settings> Wallpapers and Themes.
- OPPO and Realme phones with ColorOS or Realme UI. In this case, the themes can be downloaded from the in-house Theme Store.
Third party applications
If the official application does not convince you, you will always have alternatives created by third parties. These apps often collect themes that are not available in the official store, which is a double-edged sword: sometimes you will come across good quality themes and sometimes with dubious quality themes.
Again, since there is no universal theme system for Android, it will be more difficult for you to find an application that includes themes for all available systems. What will be easier for you is to find applications to modify specific aspects of the interface. These are some of the applications that may interest you:
- Themes for Huawei / Honor / EMUI. Unofficial compilation of topics for EMUI.
- Theme Galaxy. Application to create themes for Samsung Galaxy (not compatible with Android 10 / One UI 2.0).
- Peafowl Theme Maker . Theme editor for EMUI relatively easy to use.
- Theme Editor for MIUI . Theme editor for MIUI. It is not compatible with the latest versions.
- Zedge . Technically they are not themes, although they are the main components of the themes: wallpapers, ringtones and icons.
- Tapet . Application that generates wallpapers with different patterns.
- Icon Pack Studio . Application to change the appearance of icons.
- MIUI-fy . If you like MIUI aesthetics but don’t have a Xiaomi mobile, this app brings notification panel and quick MIUI 10 style settings to your mobile.
- Substratum. Theme system compatible with Samsung mobiles with Android 10, but which requires Magisk root.
Themed websites for Android
You can also consult themes for Android without installing any application, but browsing websites with themes. These types of sites were more popular in the early days of Android than they are today, although a few still survive.
Again, the same premise. In the absence of an official theme system, these sites usually show what system their themes are for, being in most cases Android launchers that include support. These are some websites where you will find themes for Android:
- Android Looks. Themes for different launchers like Nova Launcher, Apex Launcher, Hola Launcher, Go Launcher, ADW Launcher and more.
- r/androidThemes . Reddit thread where Android themes and / or screenshots behave.
- APUS Theme Store . Themes for APUS Launcher.
- Android themes on Deviantart . Users share their themes and what combination of widgets/backgrounds they have created them with.
- AppRaw. Application store with a section for topics.
- MobilesMPK . Themes, icons and other elements for different launchers.
- Mobiles24. Another application store with a specific section for themes, with more than 5,000 themes to its credit.