IOS 14.0 introduced three new wallpapers, each with a dark and light version, while iOS 14.2 added eight more. Each iPhone also has specially designed live wallpapers. However, Apple’s wallpaper is not dynamic. In other words, it does not automatically change depending on certain conditions, such as the time of day. But if you are using macOS Catalina is possible and you can make it work on your iPhone.
Apple’s latest dynamic wallpapers are arguably the best in macOS Big Sur. Taken in the Big Sur region, this wallpaper features California’s breathtaking central coastline, where the Santa Lucia Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean. Eight different images of the same location were taken at different times and in different weather conditions. The macOS desktop switches these backgrounds based on the time of your current location.
MacOS also added 4 dynamic wallpapers that artistically render some of the environment around Big Sur. These four different images also appear as part of the new wallpapers in iOS 14.2, but they are dynamic only on macOS computers.
Now let’s see how to get these dynamic wallpapers on iPhone, all made possible in shortcuts app. If you set the right automation shortcut, your iPhone will automatically change your home screen and lock screen background throughout the day (you can even create just one) to mimic the dynamic wallpaper feature of your Mac system.
How it works?
The shortcuts check the current date, location, and weather while running in the background. He then performs a series of calculations to figure out which of the 8 Big Sur photos to set as wallpaper. Then replace your current wallpaper with the best home and lock screen wallpaper.
IOS 14 needs to be running to use the shortcut, it is currently only available in beta, but if you want to try it out sooner, you can sign up for Apple’s software beta program. If you don’t want to run the beta on your iPhone, which can be causing problems, you’ll have to wait for the official release of iOS 14.3.
In addition to this, you will need the shortcuts and wallpapers below. If, for some reason, you deleted the shortcut app, it’s best to return it. Then make sure Allow Untrusted Shortcuts is turned on in the Shortcuts preferences.
Get Big Sur’s new wallpapers
To get all 8 versions of Big Sur dynamic wallpapers, use one of the links below in your Safari web browser. Safari makes things easier because it has a download manager that comes in handy later. When the MediaFire folder opens, select all JPG files and click Download. Click Yes when prompted for Bulk Download upload to continue. Then click Download again on the Safari command line.
The zip file will be downloaded to the default folder for Safari to download. You can check if it has been downloaded by clicking the download icon next to the search box.
- Big Sur Dynamic Wallpapers download link
If you’d like to use other dynamic wallpapers available in macOS Big Sur, check out the links at the bottom of this article for more information on using them.
Move the images into shortcuts folder
The shortcuts that you want to use after a while are already set up to use the image files downloaded to the iPhone from the Shortcuts folder in iCloud Drive. You can save the Big Sur wallpaper to any folder in the Files app and then reposition the image in the shortcut action, but it’s easier to move the wallpaper to the Shortcuts folder.
To go directly to the zip file, regardless of the default Safari download location, tap the download icon next to the search box as you did above, then tap the zip file name. This will open the Files app for the zip file directory. Now click on the zip file in the Files app and the images folder will be unzipped.
Open that folder, tap the ellipsis (•••) icon to see the menu, then choose Select. After viewing all 8 images, click the folder icon on the bottom toolbar. Then select the Shortcuts folder in iCloud Drive and click Go.
Add the Dynamic Wallpaper shortcut
It’s time to download the dynamic wallpaper shortcut that picks the wallpaper from the background. You can download the shortcut from the direct link below. This link fixes a small bug in the original Dynamic Wallpaper version 2 label for Reddit user apoch8000.
On Add Shortcut page you will be redirected to the shortcut app. Here you can see all the actions of the shortcut. Scroll down and click on the red Add Untrusted Shortcut to add it to your library.
Run the Dynamic Wallpaper manually
Dynamic Wallpaper runs automatically in the background of your iPhone all day long, but you need to manually launch it first to give it the necessary permissions to run smoothly.
In the Shortcuts app, tap on My Shortcuts, then tap on the new Dynamic Wallpaper card. Allow the use of user location in Shortcuts and ask to save the exact location (default) or click Precise: On on the map, to make your current location a shared area. Then select Allow While Using App.
The Weather app will then ask you to allow the dynamic wallpaper to access your location. Click OK to continue. This is necessary for quick access to local weather conditions.
You may then be asked to provide a shortcut to access your iCloud Drive. If so, click OK at the invitation. If not, tap the ellipsis (•••) icon on the Dynamic Wallpaper card and scroll down until you see the Allow Access action card for iCloud. Tap it, then tap OK when prompted.
Run the Dynamic Wallpapers automatically
You cannot switch wallpapers on iPhone using the above shortcut. This is where automation starts. Start by clicking Automate at the bottom of the app shortcut. If you don’t have any other automation, just click Create Personal Automation. If so, click the plus sign (+), then click Create Personal Automation.
The trigger you choose to run the shortcut is up to you, but you need to choose something that makes it run multiple times a day. You can launch a shortcut every time you open a specific app (App) or connect your iPhone to a charger (charger). Use multiple time automation whenever you want to change the wallpaper on a set schedule.
You can select any trigger on the page, but for this example I am using the Application option. Once you’ve made your selection, click Select to select the app for which you want to set up automation on iPhone, then click Done. Then select Open or Close to launch the dynamic wallpaper shortcut each time you open or close the selected application. When done, click Next.
It’s time to add tasks to your automation. Select Add Action or click the search box at the bottom and then search for Run Shortcut. Go back to the action page, click on “Shortcuts” on the card, then find and select the Dynamic Wallpaper shortcut.
Finally, click Next and disable Ask Before Launch. Every time this automation runs, a pop-up window appears asking if you would like to be asked. Click Don’t Ask, then click Done to finish.
AUTHOR BIO
On my daily job, I am a software engineer, programmer & computer technician. My passion is assembling PC hardware, studying Operating System and all things related to computers technology. I also love to make short films for YouTube as a producer. More at about me…
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