The iPhone is perhaps the most iconic smartphone on the market today.
It completely refined what a mobile device was capable of with its introduction in 2007,
and has become one of the most popular smartphones in the world.
Now every year, a lot of us tech fans get excited about the upcoming iPhone’s rumored
features and design, and this usually means other details get overlooked.
Like for example, how the iPhone’s wallpaper has changed over time.
So in this video, we’re going to explore exactly that: the history of the iPhone’s
wallpaper.
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Now like I said before, it all started with the original iPhone back in 2007.
It ran iPhone OS 1, although the wallpaper it featured was the same for iPhone OS 2 released
the following year in 2008 with the iPhone 3G.
And here are the stock wallpaper photos included in those first two versions of iPhone OS…
And in 2009 Apple released iOS 3, which was the first version to feature new wallpaper.
It launched alongside the new iPhone 3GS.
Now I should mention there are still wallpaper photos from the previous version, but there
were new additions as well.
Here are the all photos it featured…
The following year in 2010 Apple revealed iOS 4, and with it, the radical new iPhone
4.
Up until this point, users could only use wallpaper photos on the lock screen.
But with iOS 4, the black home screen background could finally be customized.
Here are all the wallpaper photos you had to choose from…
In 2011, iOS 5 was introduced along with the iPhone 4S.
And here’s what the wallpaper for that version looked like…
The following year in 2012, iOS 6 made its debut with he iPhone 5.
Now this was an incremental update that was burdened by the Apple Maps debacle, but iOS
6 actually included quite a few wallpaper additions.
Here are what those looked like…
Now 2013 brought one of the most dramatic operating system updates in the iPhone’s
history with iOS 7.
It featured a completely redesigned interface with a flatter, more colorful look.
And this major change in aesthetics also required a change in wallpaper.
In fact, at the time, iOS 7 featured more updated wallpaper photos than any other version.
Here’s what they looked like…
iOS 8 was released in 2014 accompanied by the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
This version also featured a lot of new wallpaper photos which you can see here…
The following year in 2015 Apple released iOS 9 and the iPhone 6S.
Now this was a notable update because of the Live Photos feature, made possible by 3D Touch
integrated in the 6S’ display.
That meant Apple could introduce live wallpaper photos, which moved when users hard pressed
on the lock screen.
There were actually expensive display tables set up at Apple Stores across the country
to bring attention to this feature.
But live wallpapers were only available on the iPhone 6S.
So first I’m going to show you the standard wallpaper photos included on iOS 9, then share
the live wallpapers that were exclusively available on the iPhone 6s, and of course
future iPhones that also featured 3D Touch…
With the release of the iPhone SE at the beginning of 2016, Apple included a few exclusive wallpapers,
here’s what they looked like…
Now near the end of 2016 Apple released iOS 10 and the iPhone 7.
This version didn’t feature very many standard wallpaper photos as you can see here…
But that’s mainly because the iPhone 7 featured quite a few exclusive wallpapers.
The only catch was all its photos were of the same thing: a blob…
Now the following year iOS 11 made up for iOS 10’s lack of wallpaper by including
some of my favorite photos and designs…
But the iPhone X, which was also released in 2017 with iOS 11, featured it’s own set
of exclusive wallpapers which you can see here…
Now iOS 12 in 2018 came with a lot of beautiful new wallpapers as you can see…
But it also featured some exclusive photos for the iPhone XS and XR.
Because as you know, the iPhone XR comes in different colors, so Apple figured those models
should have wallpapers to match.
Here’s what those look like…
And here are the three wallpaper photos exclusive to the iPhone XS and XS Max.
So those are all the wallpapers included with the iPhone since its release in 2007.
And I’m excited to see what photos are featured in iOS 13 and on the new iPhones to be released
this fall.