For users who like to change up their iPhone home screen and lock screen wallpapers frequently, a great wallpaper app is a must-have. Apple has a limited selection, divided into categories such as Astronomy, Collections, Emoji, Color, and Pride. While some categories have multiple wallpapers, they don't compare to the vast libraries that third-party apps offer. For example, if someone wants to use a superhero wallpaper, they will need to use a third-party app.
With the release of iOS 16, Apple finally introduced lock screen customization options, such as the ability to use a depth effect for compatible wallpapers, add widgets, and even change the clock font. A combination of these features, along with the right wallpaper, can make for an aesthetic home screen and lock screen. For users who want to explore third-party wallpaper options, here's a selection of the best free wallpaper apps for the iPhone.
10 Wallcraft
Wallcraft is a 4.6-star app with over 100,000 ratings on the App Store. The app takes up about 160MB of storage and has approximately 150,000 wallpapers, covering themes like natural scenery, abstract design, cute animals, and more. Although there's a paid version of the app, users can view and download several images for free by watching in-app ads, ranging from a few seconds to 30 seconds.
When downloading a wallpaper, the app provides three size options: Portrait Adapter, Landscape Adapter, and Original Size. The user interface is quite refined, but would be much better without the annoying pop-up ads. The paid version costs $4.99 a year or $12.99 for a lifetime.
9 Wallpapers For iPhone
Next up on the list is the 4.4-star Wallpapers for iPhone app. The 60MB app opens on the Categories page, which groups wallpapers based on themes like Summer, Abstraction, Architecture, Beach, and more. Upon selecting a theme, the app shows all the related wallpapers in that collection. A nice feature of the app is the ability to preview a wallpaper for the home screen and the lock screen by placing a dummy clock and app icons over it. Users can also blur an image or add it as their Apple Watch face.
To download a wallpaper, users will need to watch an ad which can be up to 30 seconds long. Despite this, images in some collections, especially Art, Cars, and City, are worth downloading. The ad-free premium version costs $2.99 per week or $4.99 per month.
8 Backdrops
The Backdrops app has an average rating of 4.7 stars by over 1,300 users. It offers some of the coolest abstract wallpapers and only takes up about 15MB of storage. It opens right on the Explore page, where users can scroll to view the collection. Every wallpaper has a name and displays the number of downloads, resolution, and size. Despite being a free app, it doesn't show too many ads. However, the app's selling point is also its weak point – most wallpapers are abstract, and it's hard to find anything realistic in the catalog. The ad-free premium version of Backdrops costs $3.99 and is a one time-purchase.
7 Kappboom
Kappboom is yet another popular free wallpaper app for iPhone. It has over 30,000 ratings on the App Store, with an average of 4.7 stars. The app has a massive library with all types of images, but the downside is that they're watermarked. It is possible to crop the portion located near the bottom of the image and use the wallpaper for the lock screen or home screen.
What's unique about this app is that it has 'Kappbooms,' or wallpapers with voice-overs, which play only in the app. The user interface, however, isn't optimized well. On the plus side, there are no video ads in the app. Users will need to pay $1.99 to remove ads.
6 Wallpapers Now
Wallpapers Now offers thousands of free iPhone wallpapers, including those designed to take advantage of the lock screen's depth effect. Other themes include Holidays, Winter, and Nature. While some pictures on the app are locked behind a paywall, many wallpapers are available for free. Users also get an option to preview an image before downloading.
The app doesn't require users to watch an ad whenever they choose a wallpaper, which is good. Although the user interface displays ads, it's not as bad as some other free apps.
5 Superhero Wallpaper HD
Users looking for superhero wallpapers will love Superhero Wallpaper HD. The free app has over 3,500 ratings on the App Store, and occupies about 15MB of space on an iPhone. The app opens right into its gallery of superhero-themed wallpapers, including Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Deadpool, The Flash, and many more.
Once users select a character, the following menu showcases all the available options. While some are locked behind a paywall, the free options are pretty good, and it is only after downloading a wallpaper that the app displays an ad.
4 Vellum
Vellum is yet another popular wallpaper app for iPhone, rated by over 56,000 users on the App Store with an average rating of 4.8 stars. The app is for those who frequently change their home screen or lock screen background, given that it's updated with new wallpapers every day. The interface is largely ad-free, and even includes an in-app tool enables users to add blur and preview the image. It's one of the most straightforward wallpaper apps for iPhone.
3 Walli
The Walli app has a huge collection of free iPhone wallpapers across several genres, including Dark, Anime, Neon Lights, Black (for AMOLED displays), and so on. On top of that, it has an entire collection of Depth Effect wallpapers. While most images are free to download, the ones locked behind ads are marked in the bottom right corner. In addition, the app also has an AI image generator that enables users to type in text prompts and create aesthetic images. Although it isn't very good, it gets the job done, and is a nice feature to have access to for free.
2 Zedge
Zedge is a fantastic free wallpaper app for iPhone. The app's home page is divided into three sections, including 'Featured,' which contains some of the most popular wallpapers, and a 'For You' section that showcases options based on user's preferences. There are also sections for 'Popular Collections' and 'Featured Artists.'
The app has all kinds of wallpapers, right from Dark Abstract to Live Space to Electric Vibe, and even includes photos that are good enough to be used on the home or lock screen. The app doesn't have too many ads, but it does promote its paid version after each download. It also has an AI image generator for those who want to create their own wallpapers from prompts.
1 Unsplash
Unsplash is a no-nonsense app for iPhone wallpapers. It has the cleanest user interface of any app on the list, which makes it easy to use. The app contains several high-quality realistic images in categories such as Nature, Textures & Patterns, Film, and more.
Downloading a wallpaper is as simple as selecting it and tapping the downward-pointing arrow, which saves the image directly to the phone's gallery. A dedicated search page lets users type in a keyword and look for related wallpapers. Unsplash is more about quality than quantity, and the app doesn't promote a paid version or show any ads, making it the best free wallpaper app for iPhone.