You can turn your own photos into unique cinematic wallpapers on a Pixel phone or a device running Android 14.
Lots of different ways to give your Android home screen and lock screen a fresh look exist. The easiest way is to change the wallpaper. However, static wallpapers can get boring. A more exciting option is either a video wallpaper or, better, a cinematic wallpaper.
This article will show you how to create a cinematic wallpaper using a new built-in feature for Pixel devices and other Android 14 phones.
Cinematic wallpapers are one of the Android AI-powered features Google announced at I/O 2023. Using the power of AI, the feature can turn any picture into a 3D one with a cinematic effect that makes it feel lively. But there's a catch.
As of June 2023, you can only access the feature on select Pixel phones. Cinematic wallpapers will be widely available to all smartphone models starting with Android 14. However, the feature was added to the Pixel series as part of Google's June 2023 Feature Drop.
So if you're yet to update your Pixel, go to Settings > System > System update, check for the latest update, and install it.
After that, follow these steps to create and use a cinematic wallpaper:
The next time you open your device, you'll see a cool animation effect. But, although the feature is not widely available, it doesn't mean you can't have 3D wallpapers. You can take your 3D photos on your Android phone and use them. Alternatively, there are a variety of Android live wallpaper apps that you can leverage.
Static wallpapers are the standard option across all Android phones. If you'd like to spice your device a bit, you can do it using a 3D wallpaper.
As long as you have the feature available, you can add a cinematic effect to any still image to make your device lively. It works best with images that have a main subject in focus, so we'd recommend experimenting with a few pictures before you settle on one.
But with the limited availability of the feature as of this writing, we advise installing a live wallpaper app instead if you want something that looks similar.
Alvin Wanjala is a Senior Writer for Android at MakeUseOf and a software developer. As an avid Android user who fell in love with the ecosystem after getting his first device in 2013, he focuses on helping users get the most out of their devices. But being a tech enthusiast who uses multiple platforms daily, he also covers iOS, Mac, Social Media, and other topics in the wide spectrum of consumer technology.
Alvin started writing in 2018 on his personal tech blog and professionally in 2019 at TechTrendsKE, where he covered general technology news and product reviews. Since then, his work has been featured on XDA Developers and several other technology websites.
Aside from writing, he’s pursuing a second degree in IT, focusing on software development.