Re-introducing the weekly Android wallpapers selection, featuring new so-called “papers” that look sharp on phones, tablets, and laptops. This issue’s a great selection of in-house picks to go with reader selections, free to use, watermark-free, and available in both portrait and landscape in JPG and PNG format.
This Week’s Picks: Fresh Android Wallpapers for You
We’ve got:
- a dawn-lit Himalayan ridge with subject-appropriate icy blues that pair nicely with AMOLED blacks;
- a sweeping skyline of Taipei shot from the hills, complete with neon accents for its dynamic theme counterpart;
- a sharp blue spruce macro from the U.S. Northeast that brings some wintry texture to your lock screen;
- a soft, shallow-focus flower portrait ideal for minimal home screens;
- two dead butterflies sitting on milkweed if you want something more vibrant and colorful to pop off your wallpaper layer over any fresher icons you’re using;
- and finally, a minimalist beach scene with a single figure on wet sand that could benefit from a calmer, better composition.
Filling out the collection is a set of three editorial images, including a convent courtyard in Catalonian Spain that introduces simple shadows for use with gridded icons; an FPV-style shot hovering low on open water to replicate a sense of movement without a crowded look and feel; and an autumn canopy–themed composition crafted to maintain legibility with widgets and notification text.
A few submissions mention captures on new flagships like the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy S25 Ultra, and Pixel 9. As always, you can download the full-resolution versions on the page to avoid compression artifacts and keep EXIF data for your own archiving.
Designed for Modern Android Touch and Display Sizes
Since the aspect ratio of many phones is now tall (19.5:9 and 20:9 are still common), we feature portrait crops that aren’t just a portion of the frame—more than half the photo width, ideally—with minimized edge issues where launchers might add gestures or slanting. Landscape versions keep leading lines and horizon balance intact—no embarrassing letterboxing for your tablet or laptop.
Indeed, Counterpoint Research analysts have identified that high-refresh OLED is sweeping into the midrange at a great pace and many top-rated flagships tout full DCI-P3 coverage.
That translates to deeper blacks, more saturated reds, and smoother gradients than ever. Our set favors this with controlled contrast and fine-tuning for the midtones, but not so much as to cause banding on 8-bit panels.
IDC’s current device-tracking data finds average size bands hovering near 6.5 inches, and we continue to target high pixel counts to hold fine textures—tree bark, city lights, water ripples—in sharp focus on dense displays.
There are PNG versions for illustrations and cleaner typography, while photographs come as high-resolution JPGs for a compromise of fidelity and file size.
The Best Look on Your Phone: Tips for Setup and Fit
- Select wallpaper based on your preference for the color to be reflected in icons, Quick Settings, and widgets. Greens, ocean teals, and muted terracotta tones all help create passable, non-jarring palettes.
- Notice the status bar and the clock. If you have a center clock or large widgets, lean into compositions that leave the top third as negative space. The abbey courtyard and beach shots in this group were designed to do precisely that.
- Avoid over-cropping. On any 20:9 phone, a little pinch-zoom will shove important subjects under the dock. Instead, use the iPhone’s native portrait crop we give you. If your launcher has it, turn off parallax so horizons match and motion blur is avoided.
- Lock screen versus home screen: If you have a super-detailed or moody lock screen (for example, the Himalayan ridge), try using a simpler home screen (like the spruce macro) that maintains readability with icons and folders while still giving your phone that pop.
Submission Guidelines for Contributing Your Wallpapers
We are always searching for new angles. Send your highest-resolution image, a brief description of what you’ve photographed and how you took the picture, and your name for credit to opinionator@nytimes.com. If faces are recognizable, get approval; resist watermarks or bold signatures so the image can be used as a clean background.
Photos from camera phones are acceptable — new phones such as the Pixel 9 or Galaxy S24/S25 series produce great dynamic range, but even older models can really shine with good light and steady framing. Drone, long-exposure, and macro work are all welcome additions as long as the end result is home screen–friendly.
When you submit an image, you confirm that you have the right to share it as your personal wallpaper for free. We attribute contributors by name and, if provided, a social handle in the caption. If you want a better chance of getting selected, keep vital information clear of the bottom dock. Provide portrait and landscape orientations where possible.
Whether you like big cityscapes, serene nature textures, or super minimal gradients, this week’s gallery has something that will breathe new life into your Android setup the instant you tap Apply.
