An alternative to Apple Configurator for arranging iPhone apps

From 5 threads: a 2026 Apple Support Communities post saying Configurator no longer lets them arrange icons, another from July 2026 where the home screen editor hangs with an iPhone 16, a 2025 question asking for a mode where one move does not rearrange everything else, a 2021 one (6 “me too”) about apps always turning into folders, and a Reddit comment asking whether a Mac app works better than Configurator.

What people run into with Configurator

• On devices that are not supervised, people report the layout does not stay after Apply.
• Where it does apply, people report widgets are removed and App Library-only apps come back onto the pages.
• Moving one app pushes every app after it along, page after page, so a single move can shuffle the whole layout.
• Dropping an app near another tends to make a folder, so regrouping apps on a page without creating folders is fiddly.
• In 2026, two users reported that the home screen editor would not let them arrange icons, or hung, with recent iPhones. Neither thread has an answer yet, so it is not clear how widespread this is.

The options side by side

On the device (free). Jiggle mode, the two-finger stack for moving several apps, and the page editor (tap the dots above the Dock) to reorder or hide pages. Nothing to install, but you see one page at a time and every move pushes others along.

iPhone Mirroring (free, Mac). Shows the iPhone screen in a Mac window and lets you drag with the trackpad. It is the same editor as on the phone, just on a bigger screen, so it does not solve the one-page-at-a-time problem. It needs a recent Mac and iPhone and is not offered in every region.

Apple Configurator (free, Mac). Lays out pages on the Mac and is the right tool for organizations that supervise many devices. For a personal device, see the issues above.

TidyGrid (Mac, $9.99 one-time to apply). Shows every page side by side on the device's real grid. You can select many apps and move them together, park apps on the Shelf so nothing gets pushed while you decide, make and rename folders on purpose, and use Arrange by color or A to Z for all pages at once. Widgets stay on their page and App Library-only apps stay in the App Library unless you move them.

How TidyGrid differs in practice

1. It works on a normal, unsupervised iPhone or iPad. Nothing is installed on the device, and no erase is needed.
2. Everything is a draft until you press Apply, with undo and redo, so a bad drag costs nothing.
3. Apply saves a backup of the current layout, writes the new one, reads the device back and checks it matches. You keep the last 10 backups per device.
4. If you use an AI agent such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor, its built-in MCP server lets the agent read your layout and propose a new draft. Only you can press Apply.

Who this works for

• TidyGrid needs a Mac with Apple silicon and a cable to the iPhone or iPad. Reading is tested on iPadOS 15, iOS 16, iOS 17 and iOS 27.
• Applying is tested on iPadOS 15.3.1 and iOS 27.2. iOS 16, iOS 17, iOS 18 and iOS 26 are still in testing, and on those TidyGrid opens the layout read-only and says why.
• TidyGrid is planned for release in early December 2026. Arranging and previewing are free; applying needs a license that covers 3 Macs, with a 14-day refund.

What it cannot do

• TidyGrid does not manage devices: no supervision, profiles, app installs or bulk setup. Organizations that need those should stay with Configurator.
• TidyGrid cannot copy one device's layout onto another device in one step.
• TidyGrid cannot add widgets, change widget settings, or change the grid size or icon spacing.
• TidyGrid does not run on Windows or Intel Macs, and does not work over Wi-Fi.

Questions