Depth Effect Wallpapers for iPhone

Add the wallpaper in Settings → Wallpaper → Add New Wallpaper → Photos, then, in the Lock Screen editor, tap the menu button in the bottom corner and switch on Depth Effect. When iOS can separate the subject, it slides part of it in front of the clock immediately; drag the image so the subject overlaps the bottom of the time slightly, then tap Add. On an existing wallpaper, long-press the Lock Screen, tap Customize, and use the same menu.

iOS turns Depth Effect off when it cannot isolate a subject, when the subject would cover too much of the clock, or when you add widgets under the time, since widgets and the effect cannot share that space. It also needs an iPhone XS or later. Fix it by dragging the image so only the top of the subject crosses the clock, removing Lock Screen widgets, or choosing a wallpaper with cleaner edges. If the toggle never appears, the image lacks a subject iOS can detect.

Ones with a single subject, clean edges and headroom: a face, an animal, a close-up with a soft background. iOS separates the subject from the background and layers the clock between them, so busy scenes, patterns and gradients rarely qualify. The 121 picks on this page were chosen on those criteria, but iOS makes the final decision per image and device, so a design may qualify on one iPhone and not another. Every pick is composed at 1080 × 2400 with the clock area in mind.