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# Android themed icons

Add the monochrome layer so your icon takes on the wallpaper colours on Android 13 and later, like the system apps do.

Last updated 28 September 2026

On this page

1. What themed icons are
2. The monochrome layer
3. Add it to your app
4. Test it
5. Common questions

**In short**

- Themed icons on Android 13 and later need one extra layer: a single-colour `monochrome` drawable.
- Only the layer's transparency counts. Keep one solid shape inside the central 66 dp safe zone.
- Add one line to your adaptive icon XML; older Android versions ignore it.

## What themed icons are

On Android 13 (API 33) and later, people can turn on **Themed icons** in Wallpaper & style. Icons that support it are redrawn in colours taken from the wallpaper. Icons that don't keep their full colours, and stand out among the rest.

Support comes from one extra layer in your adaptive icon: a single-colour `monochrome` drawable.

## Draw the monochrome layer

Android only looks at the layer's transparency. Whatever colour you use, it's replaced by the theme colour.

- Use the same 108 × 108 dp canvas as the adaptive foreground, and keep the shape inside the central 66 dp safe zone.
- A vector drawable is best. It stays sharp at every density.
- Use one solid shape. Semi-transparent areas come out lighter, and gradients turn into smudges.
- Leave out fine lines and small text. Most launchers show the icon at around 48 dp.

## Add it to your app

Put the drawable in `res/drawable/ic_launcher_monochrome.xml`, then add the `monochrome` line to `res/mipmap-anydpi-v26/ic_launcher.xml`:

`<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <adaptive-icon xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"> <background android:drawable="@drawable/ic_launcher_background" /> <foreground android:drawable="@drawable/ic_launcher_foreground" /> <monochrome android:drawable="@drawable/ic_launcher_monochrome" /> </adaptive-icon>`

Add the same line to `ic_launcher_round.xml` if your app has one. Nothing else changes: older Android versions ignore the extra layer.

## Test it

1. Install the app on a device or emulator running API 33 or later.
2. Long-press the home screen, open Wallpaper & style and turn on Themed icons.
3. Try a light and a dark wallpaper. The shape should still be easy to recognise in both.

## Common questions

### Does Google Play require it?

No. It's optional, but without it your icon is the odd one out for everyone who turns the setting on.

### Can I reuse my foreground layer?

Only if it's already a single shape. A detailed, colourful foreground usually needs a simpler version.

### Is there a quicker way?

The free [App Icon Exporter](https://iconoven.com/tools/app-icon-exporter) makes the monochrome layer for you from a foreground with a transparent background, along with every other Android size and the XML above.

## More guides

- [Where to get an app icon](https://iconoven.com/guides/where-to-get-an-app-icon): A designer, an AI image tool or a ready-made icon: what each costs, how long it takes and what you end up with.
- [Make an icon for iOS 26 and later in Icon Composer](https://iconoven.com/guides/icon-composer-liquid-glass-icon): From a flat design to a layered .icon file with Liquid Glass, dark, clear and tinted looks, then into Xcode.
- [Why your app icon looks blurry](https://iconoven.com/guides/blurry-app-icon): The usual reasons an icon goes soft or muddy at small sizes, and the fix for each.
- [App icon sizes 2026](https://iconoven.com/guides/app-icon-sizes): Every size iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Android and the web need, in one table.

## Every Android layer, done

One image in, the adaptive foreground, background and monochrome layers out, with every density and the XML, free.

[Open the exporter](https://iconoven.com/tools/app-icon-exporter)

Source: https://iconoven.com/guides/android-themed-icon