Bored with your old smartphone? Here are a few tricks to rejuvenate it

Customising a smartphone in 2024 can be done in two ways: hardware customisation and software customisation.

Get a new look with a custom skin or a new case

Smartphone skins can add a new dimension to your existing smartphone. (Image credit: wrapcart)

Hardware customisation of smartphones includes applying a custom skin or styling it with a new case. Again, depending on the smartphone model, the options vary. In fact, if you happen to have a flagship smartphone, you will have more choices to choose from, especially if it is from a brand like Apple or Samsung.

Go for a skin if you want to maintain the sleekness and slimness of your phone.

Smartphone skins have two major applications: they protect the smartphone from everyday scratches, and they can also help you mask the colour of your phone. One can easily get a smartphone skin for around Rs 100 to Rs 200 in the local market, while the price goes up exponentially, depending on the print and material used, and the fit and finish of the smartphone skin.

Most smartphone skins are easy to apply and easy to remove. In fact, you can also consider a transparent case on top of the skin to protect the skin and the smartphone.

If you don’t have prior experience in applying a smartphone skin, we suggest you get it done by a professional as improper installation can make your smartphone look cheap or dull. Brands like WrapKart, Gadgetshieldz, Slickwraps, and Caps India are some of the most popular brands to get a smartphone skin. Or else, just go to your local phone accessory store, and you might get a much better deal than buying one online.

A good smartphone case can stylise and protect your device

iPhone 16 Pro Max in Apple case. On the left is a case from Daily Object and on the right is one by Beats. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)

Some users like to flaunt their latest phone and its colour from day one, while others will not even touch their device without a case. While most cases are big and bulky and also add a bit of heft, there are a few options that truly stand out, like Arc, which looks like jewellery for smartphones, while there are also smartphone cases known as NFC cases, which include an e-ink display and convert your regular smartphone into a dual-screen smartphone.

Brands like Samsung and Apple also make excellent first-party smartphone cases, and Galaxy phones and iPhones also have superb third-party case support with several options to choose from like brands Spigen, UAG, RingKe, ESR, and more.

From icons to OS, just customise the software

Minimalistic launchers can help you reduce your smartphone usage. (Image Source; Pixabay)

Once you are done with the hardware customisation, it is time to look at the software-level customisation, and the best place to start is your lock screen and home screen wallpaper. In fact, just changing the wallpaper in itself will make your smartphone look new. On top of that, you can also enable or disable dark mode, which will also give your phone a new look.

The next set of customisation includes installing custom icon packs, which can be done on most Android smartphones. While that’s not quite possible on iPhones, iOS 18 allows users to change the colour tone of these icons and match them with the background. Similarly, custom launchers can also add another dimension to your smartphone. Launchers like Nova will further help you to customise the home screen.

If you are a geek, you can take smartphone customisation to a whole new level, but this comes with a bit of a risk so do it only if you are sure about it. By installing custom ROMs, you can further customise your smartphone on a deeper level; this includes changing to a custom OS, debloating your smartphone, and on some older smartphones, you can even upgrade to the latest available version of the Android OS.

With these tricks, you can breathe new life into your existing smartphone and make it last longer.