How Material You works
When you set a wallpaper, your Pixel pulls its main colors and builds a palette from them. That palette colors the Quick Settings tiles, notification shade, keyboard, Settings, clock, and any apps that support dynamic color. Change the wallpaper and the whole phone changes with it.
Set a wallpaper on your Pixel
- Touch and hold an empty area of the Home screen and tap Wallpaper & style.
- Tap More wallpapers and choose My photos, a Google collection, or a wallpaper app.
- Tap Set wallpaper and choose Home screen, Lock screen, or both.
Choose your colors
- In Wallpaper & style, find the color options.
- Under Wallpaper colors, tap one of the palettes generated from your wallpaper.
- Or switch to Basic colors to pick a fixed color that doesn’t change with your wallpaper.
Try each palette — some favor the main color of your image, others use an accent. Turn on Dark theme in the same menu for a darker version of the palette.
Turn on themed icons
In Wallpaper & style, turn on Themed icons. Supported app icons switch to your wallpaper colors for a matching, uniform Home screen. Apps that don’t support themed icons keep their normal look.
Style the Pixel Lock screen
- In Wallpaper & style, open the Lock screen tab.
- Tap Clock to choose a clock style, color, and size. The dynamic size shrinks the clock when notifications appear.
- Tap Shortcuts to choose the two actions in the bottom corners, such as the flashlight, camera, or Do Not Disturb.
The clock color can follow your wallpaper palette too, so the Lock screen stays in sync when you change your wallpaper.
AI and cinematic wallpapers
- AI wallpapers: on supported Pixels, choose AI wallpaper in the wallpaper picker, pick a theme, and fill in the prompt to generate a background.
- Cinematic wallpapers: choose a photo from My photos and look for the Cinematic effect, which turns a flat photo into a 3D-looking scene.
- Emoji wallpapers: combine emoji into a pattern with the colors of your choice.
Availability depends on your Pixel model and Android version.
Wallpapers that theme well
- One or two strong colors give a clear, vivid palette. Try ocean, flowers, or space wallpapers.
- Muted images produce subtle, calm themes — great with minimalist wallpapers.
- Very busy, multicolor images can give unpredictable results. Pick a palette manually if you don’t like the automatic one.
- High resolution matters on Pixel Pro displays, which are more than 2,800 pixels tall.
ON Lock Screen for Android has thousands of 4K and 8K wallpapers — change your wallpaper and your Pixel gets a fresh theme to match.
Frequently asked questions
What is Material You?
Material You is Google’s design system for Android. On Pixel phones it picks colors from your wallpaper and applies them to Quick Settings, the keyboard, icons, and supported apps.
Why are my Pixel colors dull?
Material You picks colors from your wallpaper, so a gray, beige, or very dark image gives muted tones. Choose a wallpaper with one or two strong colors, or pick a Basic color manually.
Can I keep my wallpaper but use different colors?
Yes. In Wallpaper & style, open the color options and switch from Wallpaper colors to Basic colors, then pick the color you want.
Why don’t I see AI or cinematic wallpapers?
They depend on your Pixel model and Android version. Update your phone in Settings → System → Software updates, and check the wallpaper picker again.