Robert Triggs / Android Authority
summary
- Android 15 QPR1 Beta 1 includes hidden redesigns of the Wallpaper and Style apps for Pixel smartphones.
- “Wallpaper and Style” allows Pixel users to change the wallpaper, customize the lock screen, and choose system colors.
- The app's current design was introduced in Android 12.
While the stable Android 15 update has yet to be released, Google is already beta testing the first quarterly platform release. The first beta of Android 15 QPR1 was released last weekend, offering a glimpse of what to expect in the December Android 15 update. While sifting through the release, we found evidence that Google may be overhauling the design of its Pixel Wallpaper app. Here is an early look at what the Pixel Wallpaper app will look like in the upcoming Android 15 release.
The Pixel Wallpaper app is the place to apply Google Pixel wallpapers to your device. You can also customize your lock screen shortcuts, adjust your lock screen clock style, choose your system color palette, enable themed icons, and more. This app is essentially your one-stop shop for customizing the look and feel of your home screen and lock screen.
Currently, there are two ways to access the Pixel Wallpaper app. First, long press on an empty area on the home screen, Wallpapers and Styles Click the button that appears in the context menu. Then Settings > Wallpaper and StyleBoth methods will open the Pixel Wallpapers app, but the first option will open the app in the “Home screen” tab, while the second option will open the app in the “Lock screen” tab.
The new version of the Pixel Wallpaper app enabled in Android 15 QPR1 Beta 1 has the same entry point but a significantly different UI. Here's a video comparing the current UI of the Pixel Wallpaper app with the enabled in-development UI: Note that the in-development UI is far from complete and is missing many features and assets. Still, this early look gives us a good idea of ​​what to expect from the new version of the app.
First, there are no longer tabs to switch between customizing your home screen and customizing your lock screen: instead, to switch from customizing your home screen to customizing your lock screen (or vice versa), simply swipe from one to the other in the carousel below that says “Wallpaper and Style.”
The next big change is how lock screen clock customization is handled. Instead of switching between lock screen clock styles by swiping left or right, all available options will now be displayed in a bottom sheet. Lock screen clock color and size customization settings are also included in this new bottom sheet, albeit in a separate tab.
Similarly, the lock screen shortcuts customization UI is now part of the bottom sheet instead of a separate page. This change means the sheet can fit up to 10 shortcuts, eliminating the need to scroll to see all available lock screen shortcuts (currently there are only 9 shortcuts for the Phone).
This is also the case with the new system color palette picker, which now shows two rows of palette options instead of one. When you select a color palette, the preview of your home screen will expand to give you a better preview of your icon changes. The expanded preview also shows the option to toggle dark theme, so you can easily preview what your home screen will look like with dark theme enabled.
The remaining options and toggles aren't currently working on Android 15 QPR1 Beta 1, so we can't show you them just yet. While we learned today that the Android 15 update for Pixel phones won't be coming next month, it's unlikely that Google will release this new UI in the Android 15 stable release. Instead, we'll likely see it in the Pixel Drop in December 2024 at the earliest.