The Pixel 6a has fantastic, Dynamic Color-friendly wallpapers [Download]

Abner Li | Jul 21 2022 - 10:15 am PT

This might sound overly hyperbolic, but the Pixel 6a includes the best collection of wallpapers Google has ever released, and you can download them for your phone right now.

My claim and absolute adoration for the “Nature swept” collection of 12 (static) wallpapers that Google introduced with the Pixel 6a comes down to Dynamic Color. For my money, it even surpasses several of the old live wallpapers. (On a peculiar note, the Pixel 6a is currently missing the old live “Horizon” background that should be part of Living Universe.)

The backgrounds are split into two groups – each with their own description/caption – but they are basically highly blurred color splotches that only leave you with a vague impression of the original landscape or flower.

Material You’s Dynamic Color does a magnificent job of extracting a palette from these wallpapers, even on Android 12 where you only get four options (Android 13 triples that). Until the Pixel 6a, I’ve made do with the “Basic colors” option (blue or green) for the consistency and preference for cooler/lighter theming, especially on homescreen widgets. Nature swept – particularly Sage – achieves that and strikes the right balance by default.

In fact, I’d go as far as saying Nature swept should be made available on every Pixel phone given how well it highlights Dynamic Color. It’s a much better showcase than the 18 wallpapers that the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro added last year.