From the iPhone’s earliest days, you’ve been able to personalize your device with background wallpaper. Today’s iPhones offer a Wallpaper section in Settings with plenty of options, including dynamic backgrounds and solid colors. But when you tire of what Apple offers, these third-party apps each bring their own unique artistic spin.
Abstruct – Wallpapers in 4K (free or $5/£5 per year)
This app’s name blends ‘abstract’ and ‘destruct,’ hinting at the digital painterly compositions within. While one collection features photography and some flirt with physical forms, the bulk of Abstruct’s collection ranges from serene swirls to bold, angular creations.
Every image is the work of one artist, Hampus Olsson, giving the app a coherence that’s rare in this space. It’s also a breeze to use. If that all clicks with you, four wallpaper packs are free, and the rest unlock via a low-cost subscription.
Get Abstruct – Wallpapers in 4K
Backdrops – Wallpapers (free or $4/£4 one-time fee)
This collection is largely the work of Christopher Morales and showcases a variety of broadly minimalist wallpapers across a range of themes, from abstract landscapes to eye-catching patterns. It also includes a submission feature – although only a select few designs appear to make the cut!
The app is intuitive and a joy to browse and use. With a generous free tier and a small one-off payment to unlock everything else (or just to support the creator), it’s easy to recommend.
Clarity Wallpaper (free or $5/£5 per year)
This app began as a simple, clean wallpaper creator – and those DIY tools remain intact. With a few taps, you can quickly fashion wallpapers based on gradients or blurred versions of your own photos.
The app has since expanded to include curated wallpaper collections. Each individual creation can be edited with text, blur, or a frame, and over 1,000 volumes have been released to date. Most sit behind the subscription, but the editor tools alone make this one worth grabbing.
Panels Wallpapers (free + IAP)
Launched by tech YouTuber MKBHD, Panels stirred controversy early on due to its high price, ads, and owner, who’d previously criticized similar models. Fortunately, the app has since matured into a solid option.
It offers plenty of styles by a range of artists and a system that lets you download HD wallpapers for free or full-resolution art by watching an ad. The subscription still feels steep ($12/£12 per month or $35/£35 per year for everything), but Panels is now worth a proper look rather than a side-eye.
Unsplash (free)
Not a wallpaper app as such, Unsplash is really a repository of free, high-quality images. However, the iPhone app does feature a wallpapers category alongside other curated picks like nature and travel.
Many of the images are designed for desktop, but it’s nonetheless easy to search, flag favorites, and build collections. And if you’re armed with a free app like Snapseed for a touch of cropping, Unsplash becomes a goldmine of fully free wallpaper options covering almost any theme imaginable.
Vellum Wallpapers (free or $4/£4 one-time fee)
From the creators of textures app Mextures, Vellum wants to bring artistic flair to your Home Screen. Its themed collections – from crystal specimens to Lego Van Gogh tributes – give you an intriguing mix of images to choose from.
The interface is top-notch too. You can tap any wallpaper for a full-screen preview, see how an image would look on a Lock Screen or Home Screen, blur if desired, and save your choice with a tap. The one black mark: a frequent premium pop-up. Although that (and the ad bar) are easily banished with the very reasonable one-off fee.
Wallaroo ($2/£2 per month or $20/20 per year)
Our final pick comes from Iconfactory, a name long associated with top-tier graphic design and Apple apps. It pairs quality design with personality, offering bold patterns, playful pop-culture nods, and a distinctive sense of style.
As you’d expect, the app is sleek and easy to browse. You can explore by author or theme and grab wallpapers in various aspect ratios and orientations. The shortcut to apply wallpapers can be finicky (fix it here), and the sub is pricier than most. But it’s a great bet if you’re an Iconfactory fan or want a wallpaper app with soul.