Live Wallpapers for Android

Android has a built-in live wallpaper system: an app registers a wallpaper service, and the launcher draws that service behind your icons. ScreenLux registers one of its own, so when you tap Apply on a live wallpaper the phone shows the standard live wallpaper preview and, after you confirm, plays the muted video loop on the Home Screen. The Lock Screen gets a matching still. Nothing is exported to a file manager, and you can switch loops from the app at any time.

A little, and ScreenLux keeps it small. The loop only renders while the Home Screen is visible; Android pauses the service when the screen is off or an app is in front, which is most of the day. Each loop is a few seconds long, muted and encoded at 1080 × 2400, with a 1080 × 1920 rendition for phones that decode 1080p most efficiently. If you want zero cost on a particular day, apply the still version of the same design from the app.

Because your phone’s manufacturer decides whether a live wallpaper is allowed on the Lock Screen, and many only permit it on the Home Screen. ScreenLux always places a matching still on the Lock Screen so the two screens look the same; where the phone allows video there, choosing Both in the Apply sheet turns it on. Samsung One UI and Google Pixel phones differ on this, and the rule can change between software versions, so the Home Screen loop is the part you can count on.