One of Microsoft’s designers has unveiled early concepts for dynamic wallpapers in Windows 11.
Introduced in 2021, Windows 11 brought fundamental changes to its user interface, including a centered Start menu and taskbar. These updates marked the most significant transformation of the Windows desktop in over a decade. Alongside these changes, Microsoft also introduced a collection of new static wallpapers, with the default Bloom wallpaper becoming one of the most popular options. However, it seems that Microsoft didn’t stop there and was exploring the idea of dynamic wallpapers for Windows 11.
Dynamic wallpapers are animated and interactive visuals that can bring a fresh and engaging look to the Windows desktop and lock screen. Recently, Sergey Kislyov, a former Microsoft designer on the Windows team, shared samples of these dynamic wallpapers designed for Windows 11 on Behance.
According to Kislyov, these designs were specifically created for low-cost devices and users of the Education service. He described these dynamic wallpapers as part of the Windows design team’s efforts to celebrate Windows 11’s new, centralized layout, with a particular focus on the centered Start menu and taskbar.
The images shared by Kislyov on Behance showcase a variety of dynamic wallpaper concepts that Microsoft had been exploring for its Education service customers. Unfortunately, despite these explorations and even indications of early support in Windows 11 preview builds, this feature has yet to be officially released to users.
Some sources had suggested that Microsoft planned to introduce dynamic wallpapers with the Windows 11 23H2 update, but this never came to fruition.
This has led to speculation that the feature might have been canceled or at least delayed. However, there is still hope that dynamic wallpapers could be added to Windows 11 in the near future.
Some analysts predict that this feature might be introduced in the annual Windows 11 update in 2025. While there are no precise statistics on how many users are eager for this feature, the popularity of customization options in operating systems suggests that the addition of dynamic wallpapers could attract significant interest from Windows users.
Currently, users who want to use animated wallpapers on Windows 11 rely on third-party software like Lively Wallpaper, which is available through the Microsoft Store. These applications offer a variety of options for live backgrounds, but an official implementation by Microsoft could provide a more seamless and optimized user experience.
It remains to be seen when Microsoft will finally decide to officially introduce dynamic wallpapers for Windows 11.