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Redesigning Information Architecture

iOS settings app

The new iOS settings app

Context

The iOS Settings app is one of the most frequently used system interfaces in the world, serving over a billion active iPhone users globally. It acts as the control center for device behavior, and as such, its information architecture directly affects how efficiently a fifth of the world can manage their devices.

Over time, as iOS has expanded, the Settings app has accumulated layers of options, nested pages, and secondary screens. Many settings live several levels deep, similar options are distributed across different groups, and some flows introduce additional pages for simple choices.

This project focuses purely on reorganising the information architecture — redefining grouping, reducing unnecessary hierarchy, consolidating options, and eliminating avoidable layers — without altering the visual design language.

Problem

These are best practices for layout from Apple's Human Interface Guidelines (HIG):

"Group related items to help people find the information they want."

"Place items to convey their relative importance… so it generally works well to place the most important items near the top and leading side of the window"

"Make essential information easy to find by giving it sufficient space. You can make secondary information available in other parts of the window, or include it in an additional view."

Any app, especially one of Apple's first-party apps, can and should be expected to meet them. My challenge was to redesign the information architecture of the iOS app so that it would meet these guidelines.

Approach

I began with a structural audit of the settings homepage, mapping out misplaced groups, overlapping categories, and areas where hierarchy didn’t reflect real usage. The focus was simple: fix the structure without changing the visual design.

First, I worked on grouping and hierarchy. I moved settings into more logical sections, merged groups that covered similar themes, and removed categories that could be combined. Where controls were split across multiple areas, I brought them together. I then reordered the page based on frequency and dependency — placing commonly used settings higher, and secondary features after.

Next, I reduced depth and clutter. I removed unnecessary subpages for simple choices and replaced them with lightweight pop-ups where appropriate. I also hid long descriptions behind an information icon, so details were available when needed but no longer crowded the main screen.

The carousel below walks through the homepage changes step by step, showing how grouping and hierarchy were reworked in practice.

Under that, a before-and-after comparison highlights the reduction in cognitive load, showing how small structural changes create a cleaner and calmer experience.

Problem & solution slideshow
This slideshow walks through a step-by-step restructuring of the information architecture of the iOS Settings homepage.
1/8
Battery doesn't belong with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, so we'll give it a more logical home in the core features section.
2/8
Personal Hotspot is currently redundant on the home screen since it’s already nested within Cellular settings. We’ll remove this top-level entry point to declutter the UI, especially since Hotspot access is functionally dependent on Cellular Data being toggled on first.
3/8
Right now, the home screen only offers a VPN toggle, while the actual configurations are buried under 'General.' We'll consolidate them into the one VPN section and re-align the hierarchy of the entire connectivity block.
4/8
Finding Accessibility shouldn't be a hunt through the middle of a list, so we’ll relocate it to the very bottom of the settings homepage. While it isn't a high-frequency setting for every user, we’ll ensure it is positioned as a predictable anchor point for those who find it indispensable.
5/8
Having five different entry points for screen-related settings creates unnecessary fragmentation. We’ll merge Control Center, Search, Wallpaper, Home Screen & App Library and Display & Brightness into two streamlined pages: Display, and Appearance.
6/8
Features like Action Button, Apple Intelligence, and StandBy are currently given "prime real estate" near the top of the page. Since these are relatively niche or "set-and-forget" utilities, we’ll move them further down the hierarchy.
7/8
On the other hand, Notifications and Sound & Haptics are high-traffic settings that deserve prime real estate. We’ll move them into the primary Core Features section near the top of the settings page.
8/8
The 'General' page currently acts as a jumbled catch-all for unrelated settings. To fix this, we'll elevate high-use settings (black outline) to the settings homepage, and we'll group the rest into two new pages: System Settings (blue outline), and About Device (pink outline).
Final view
And there we have it—a restructured Settings homepage built on clearer grouping, stronger hierarchy, and reduced depth, without changing the visual language of iOS. By redefining these categories and consolidating options, we’ve eliminated avoidable layers and reduced cognitive load.

Solution

A restructured Settings experience built on clearer grouping, stronger hierarchy, and reduced depth, without changing the visual language of iOS.

In total, I redesigned nine core screens: the Settings Homepage, Wi-Fi, Cellular, Display, Appearance, Notifications, Sound & Haptics, System, and Device. Each page was reorganized to align related controls, simplify navigation, and reduce unnecessary layers.

One of the most significant changes was the consolidation of fragmented display-related areas. Five separate pages (Control Center, Display & Brightness, Home Screen & App Library, Search, and Wallpaper) were condensed and re-architected into two focused pages: Display and Appearance. This removed overlap, eliminated duplication, and created clearer mental models around functional display controls versus visual customization.

You can view each of the redesigned pages below. Please feel free to compare it to the current design of the Settings app on your phone to see how you feel about the new information layout.

Settings Homepage
Wi-Fi
Cellular
Display
Appearance
Notifications
Sound & Haptics
System Settings
About Device

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