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# Make an icon for iOS 26 and later in Icon Composer

From a flat design to a layered .icon file with Liquid Glass, dark, clear and tinted looks, then into your Xcode project.

Last updated 28 September 2026

On this page

1. What Icon Composer is
2. Prepare your layers
3. Build the icon
4. Dark, clear and tinted
5. Add it to Xcode
6. The quick way

**In short**

- Icon Composer comes with Xcode 26 and saves one `.icon` file that holds every look and every size.
- Give it flat layers on a 1024 × 1024 px canvas: no background, shadows or rounded mask.
- Adjust Dark and Mono per appearance, then set App Icon to the file name in your target.

## What Icon Composer is

Icon Composer is Apple's free app for building icons for iOS, iPadOS, macOS and watchOS 26 and later. You give it your artwork as separate layers and it adds the Liquid Glass look: highlights along the edges, soft blur and depth. It saves a single `.icon` file that holds every look and every size.

It comes with Xcode 26 (Xcode › Open Developer Tool › Icon Composer) and is also a free download from Apple's developer site.

## Prepare your layers

Split your design into its main shapes before you open Icon Composer. A typical icon has two to four foreground layers.

- Work on a 1024 × 1024 px canvas. One canvas covers iPhone, iPad and Mac.
- Export each layer as SVG where you can, or PNG with transparency.
- Keep layers flat: no shadows, blur, glow or rounded mask. Icon Composer adds those, and doing it twice looks muddy.
- Leave out the background. You set it as a colour or gradient inside Icon Composer.

## Build the icon

1. Drag your layer files into the sidebar. The one at the top sits in front.
2. Put layers into groups, up to four. Each group sits at its own depth and gets its own glass.
3. Select the canvas and pick the background fill.
4. Select a group to adjust its Liquid Glass: specular highlight, blur, translucency and shadow (neutral or chromatic, which picks up the colour of the art).
5. Select a layer to change its fill, opacity or blend mode.
6. Check the preview on each platform and on the light, dark and tinted home screens along the bottom.

## Dark, clear and tinted

Icon Composer has three appearances: Default, Dark and Mono. Mono drives the clear and tinted looks people can choose on iOS 26 and later.

- Every setting can be changed for one appearance only. Click the appearance, then change the value.
- In Dark, a deep background with brighter art usually reads best.
- In Mono, make sure the main shape is still clear once colour is gone. Thin details often vanish here first.

**Tip:** run your flat design through the [App Icon Score](https://iconoven.com/tools/app-icon-score) first. If it struggles in tinted mode there, it will in Icon Composer too.

## Add it to Xcode

1. Save the file, for example `AppIcon.icon`.
2. Drag it into your Xcode 26 project navigator and add it to your app target.
3. In the target's General tab, set App Icon to the file name without the extension: `AppIcon`.
4. Build. For iOS 18 and earlier, Xcode makes flat versions from the same file.

## The quick way

Only have a flat PNG? The free [App Icon Exporter](https://iconoven.com/tools/app-icon-exporter) turns it into a ready-to-use `.icon` file, plus every other size you need, without leaving your browser. You can open that file in Icon Composer to fine-tune it.

## 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.
- [Android themed icons](https://iconoven.com/guides/android-themed-icon): Add the monochrome layer so your icon takes on the wallpaper colours on Android 13 and later.
- [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.

## Turn a PNG into a .icon

Drop in one 1024 px image and get an Icon Composer file plus every size for iOS, Android, macOS and the web, free.

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

Source: https://iconoven.com/guides/icon-composer-liquid-glass-icon