Spatial Scenes on iPhone: What They Are and How to Set One (iOS 26)

A Spatial Scene is an iOS 26 Lock Screen wallpaper made from one of your own photos: iOS estimates depth in the image on device and shifts its layers in 3D as you tilt or move your iPhone.

Nothing in the frame is recorded or played back — the picture itself stays frozen. What changes is your viewing angle on it, the way looking through a window shows more of the scene as you lean sideways. Apple introduced Spatial Scenes at WWDC25, and they ship as a wallpaper option in iOS 26 (Apple Support).

How Spatial Scenes Work

A Spatial Scene is not a video and not a special file you have to capture. It starts as an ordinary 2D photo from your library. iOS 26 runs an on-device model that estimates depth across the whole image — sky at one distance, midground at another, foreground subject nearer still — and then offsets those regions at different rates as the phone moves.

A few things follow from that:

• It only reacts to motion of the phone. Tilt or move the iPhone and the layers shift. Hold it still and it looks like a normal photo. It does not play anything on raise-to-wake.
• No special capture is needed. There is no LiDAR requirement, no Pro camera requirement and no separate Spatial Scene mode in the Camera app. Photos you took years ago can work.
• It is generated on your iPhone. iOS builds the depth from your own photo. Apple does not ship a curated gallery of Spatial Scene wallpapers to pick from.
• Only some photos qualify. iOS offers the effect only where it can separate the image into depth layers with confidence.

Apple has not published the details of the rendering pipeline behind the effect.

Requirements

Spatial Scenes require:

• iPhone 12 or later
• iOS 26 — the effect is not available on iOS 18 or earlier

There is no Pro-model requirement, no LiDAR requirement, no A17 Pro requirement and no Apple Intelligence requirement — a standard iPhone 12 is enough.

iOS 26 itself also installs on some older models, including iPhone 11 and iPhone SE (2nd generation). Those phones can run iOS 26 but do not get the Spatial Scene effect.

Whether you see the option also depends on the photo, not only on the phone. On a supported iPhone, a photo that doesn't offer the effect simply didn't qualify.

How to Set a Spatial Scene as Your Wallpaper

Exact button labels can shift slightly between iOS 26 point releases, but the flow is:

1. Start a new wallpaper — either open Settings → Wallpaper → Add New Wallpaper, or touch and hold the Lock Screen and tap the + button.
2. Choose Photos and pick a photo from your library.
3. In the wallpaper editor, turn on the Spatial Scene option. If the photo doesn't qualify, the option won't be offered — go back and pick another.
4. Wait a moment while iOS builds the depth effect, then tilt the phone to preview it.
5. Adjust the crop if needed, tap Add, then choose Set as Wallpaper Pair (or customise the Home Screen separately).

To switch back to a flat photo later, edit the wallpaper and turn the Spatial Scene option off.

Which Photos Work Best

iOS decides which photos qualify, and Apple does not publish the exact criteria. In practice, the photos most likely to be offered the effect share a few traits:

• A clear foreground subject — a person, pet or object standing apart from what is behind it
• Visible depth — a landscape or street scene with distinct near, middle and far layers
• Good light and focus — soft, dark or blurry images give iOS less to work with

Photos that often don't qualify: flat textures and patterns, screenshots and graphics, heavily edited or filtered images, and shots where everything sits at the same distance.

Because the subject needs to sit in front of the background, framing matters too. Leave some room around the subject so the parallax has something to reveal.

Spatial Scene vs Live Photo vs Depth Effect

These three Lock Screen options are often confused. Only one of them contains real motion.

	Spatial Scene	Live Photo wallpaper	Depth Effect
What moves	The whole image shifts in 3D (parallax)	Real recorded video frames play	Nothing — static
Trigger	Tilting or moving the phone	Waking the screen	None
Source	An eligible photo from your library	Any genuine Live Photo	A photo with a clear subject
Requirements	iPhone 12 or later, iOS 26	iOS 17 or later, any iPhone except iPhone SE	iOS 16 or later

The practical difference: a Spatial Scene is a still image that reacts to how you hold the phone. A Live Photo wallpaper plays a short burst of recorded motion that slows and settles onto the still frame when the screen wakes. They aren't substitutes for each other, and you can keep both on different Lock Screens. For the broader format distinction, see live wallpaper vs Live Photo.

If you want the picture itself to move: Lockimate turns any still photo into a native Apple Live Photo (a paired HEIC still and MOV video) with AI-generated motion. It works with any photo, not only the ones iOS deems eligible for depth. Generation takes about 2–3 minutes, and your first wallpaper is free. The iOS 26 live wallpaper guide covers how Spatial Scenes and Live Photo wallpapers fit together.

Troubleshooting

The Spatial Scene option doesn't appear at all. Check the phone and the software first: it must be iPhone 12 or later running iOS 26. iPhone 11 and iPhone SE models don't get the effect even on iOS 26.

The option appears for some photos but not the one I want. That photo didn't qualify. Try one with a more obvious subject-to-background separation, better light, or less editing.

The wallpaper doesn't seem to move. The effect only shows while the phone is moving. Tilt it slowly side to side while looking at the Lock Screen. Nothing happens when you simply raise the phone and hold it still — that's expected.

I expected it to animate like a video. Spatial Scenes never play motion. For a wallpaper that plays a clip when the screen wakes, you need a Live Photo — see how to make a live wallpaper on iPhone.

For the other wallpaper types in iOS 26, see the full iOS 26 wallpaper guide and interactive iPhone wallpaper options.

FAQ

Which iPhones support Spatial Scenes?

Spatial Scenes need iPhone 12 or later running iOS 26. There is no Pro-model, LiDAR, A17 Pro or Apple Intelligence requirement. iOS 26 also installs on some older models, such as iPhone 11 and iPhone SE (2nd generation), but those do not get the Spatial Scene effect.

Can I make a Spatial Scene from my own photo?

Yes — that is the only way to get one. iOS 26 generates the depth effect on device from photos in your own library. There is no gallery of Apple-made Spatial Scenes. Only photos iOS can separate into depth layers qualify.

Does a Spatial Scene animate on its own?

No. Nothing in the picture moves. The parallax appears only while you tilt or move the phone; hold it still and the wallpaper looks like a normal photo. Raising the phone to wake it does not play anything.

Is a Spatial Scene the same as a Live Photo?

No. A Live Photo contains a short recorded video clip, and as a Lock Screen wallpaper it plays a brief burst of that motion when the screen wakes. A Spatial Scene has no video at all — it is a still photo whose perspective shifts as the phone moves.

Are Spatial Scenes the same as Depth Effect wallpapers?

No, though both use depth. Depth Effect (iOS 16 and later) lifts the main subject in front of the clock and stays static. A Spatial Scene builds depth across the whole image and shifts it continuously as you tilt the phone.

Why don't I see the Spatial Scene option for my photo?

Either the phone is not supported (it must be iPhone 12 or later on iOS 26) or that particular photo did not qualify. iOS only offers the effect on photos where it can find clear depth — a distinct subject in front of a background, or a landscape with separate layers.

Do Spatial Scenes drain battery?

Apple has not published power figures for Spatial Scenes, so any specific percentage you see quoted is a guess.