Spatial Scenes on iPhone: Apple's iOS 26 Wallpaper Type

Spatial Scenes are a wallpaper effect introduced in iOS 26. iOS builds a depth map from a photo you already have, then shifts the image with parallax as you move your iPhone — giving the Lock Screen a sense of three-dimensional space without any tap or swipe. They work on iPhone 12 and later running iOS 26, and you set one up in Settings → Wallpaper → Add New Wallpaper → Photos.

What Spatial Scenes Are

A Spatial Scene is not a video and not a special file you have to capture. It starts as an ordinary 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 objects nearer still — and then offsets those regions at different rates as the phone moves. The result reads like looking through a window rather than at a flat picture.

That depth estimate is generated on device from a normal 2D photo. There is no LiDAR involved, no Pro camera requirement, and no separate Spatial Scene capture mode in the Camera app. Apple has not published the sensor sampling rate or the rendering pipeline behind the effect.

Not every photo qualifies. iOS only offers the effect on images it can separate confidently — good lighting, a clear subject against a distinguishable background, or landscape shots with several visible depth planes. Flat textures, abstract patterns and heavily processed images often will not be offered at all.

The 3D effect shows on the Lock Screen only. It does not play on raise-to-wake the way Live Photos do; instead it responds continuously to how you hold and move the phone while the screen is on.

Which iPhones Support Spatial Scenes

Spatial Scenes require:

• iPhone 12 or later
• iOS 26 — the effect does not back-port to iOS 18 or earlier

iOS 26 itself runs on iPhone 11 and later, plus iPhone SE (2nd generation) and later. iPhone 11 and the SE models can install iOS 26 but do not get the Spatial Scene effect. There is no Pro-model requirement and no Apple Intelligence requirement — a standard iPhone 12 is enough.

Whether you see the option on a given picture depends on the picture, not only on the phone. If the Spatial Scene tab is empty or a particular photo is skipped, iOS could not build a usable depth map from it — try a shot with a clearer foreground and background.

How to Set a Spatial Scene Wallpaper

1. Open Settings → Wallpaper
2. Tap Add New Wallpaper
3. Tap Photos
4. Scroll the row of options along the top and select Spatial Scene
5. Pick one of the eligible photos. iOS shows "Generating Spatial Scene" while it builds the depth map
6. Tilt the phone in hand to preview the effect
7. Tap Add, then Set as Wallpaper Pair

If a photo you want does not appear under Spatial Scene, it did not qualify — pick another. Photos with an obvious foreground subject or a landscape with clear layers work best.

How Spatial Scenes Differ from Live Photos

Spatial Scenes, Live Photos and static images each behave differently on the Lock Screen. The distinction matters, because only one of them actually moves.

Wallpaper type	Motion trigger	Motion type	Source image	Supported devices
Spatial Scene	Moving or tilting the phone	Parallax depth on a still image	Your own eligible photos	iPhone 12 or later on iOS 26
Live Photo	Raise-to-wake or touch and hold	Actual frames of video playing	Any Live Photo	iOS 17 or later, every iPhone except iPhone SE
Static Photo	None	No motion	Any image	All iPhones

The key practical difference: a Spatial Scene is a still image that reacts to how you hold the phone. A Live Photo plays a short burst of motion that settles onto the still frame when the screen wakes. They serve different purposes and are not substitutes for each other — you can use both, on different Lock Screens.

For more on how Live Photos work on the Lock Screen, see how Live Photos animate on iPhone, the Live Photo lock screen guide, and the full iOS 26 wallpaper guide.

Can You Create a Spatial Scene from Your Own Photo?

Yes — that is exactly what the feature does. iOS 26 does not ship a gallery of Apple-authored spatial wallpapers to pick from; the Spatial Scene tab in the Photos wallpaper picker surfaces photos from your own library that qualify for the effect, and iOS generates the depth on device.

What a Spatial Scene will not do is make the picture move. The frame is frozen; only your perspective on it changes. If you want the subject itself to animate on the Lock Screen, that is a Live Photo.

What Lockimate does instead: Lockimate converts any still photo into a native Apple Live Photo (.heic + .mov) using AI video generation. You choose an animation vibe (Warm, Playful, Cinematic, or Lively) and the output saves directly to Photos, ready to set as a Lock Screen wallpaper with the Live toggle enabled. Generation takes about 2–3 minutes and the first wallpaper is free. Unlike a Spatial Scene, it animates on wake — and it works with any photo, not only the ones iOS deems eligible for depth. See the iOS 26 live wallpaper guide for how Spatial Scenes and Live Photo wallpapers fit together.

See interactive iPhone wallpaper options for a comparison of every wallpaper type in iOS 26 that reacts to you.

FAQ

Which iPhones support Spatial Scenes?

Spatial Scenes work on iPhone 12 and later running iOS 26. There is no Pro-model, LiDAR or Apple Intelligence requirement. iOS 26 itself installs on iPhone 11 and later plus iPhone SE (2nd generation) and later, but those older models do not get the Spatial Scene effect. If the Spatial Scene option does not appear for a specific photo on a supported phone, the photo itself did not qualify.

Can I make my own Spatial Scene from a photo?

Yes. Spatial Scenes are made from your own photos: Settings → Wallpaper → Add New Wallpaper → Photos → scroll to the Spatial Scene tab → pick an eligible image, and iOS generates the depth effect on device. The limitation is which photos qualify — iOS needs clear separation between subject and background, or a landscape with distinct depth planes. If you want a wallpaper that actually moves rather than one that reacts to tilt, generate a Live Photo with an app like Lockimate instead; it produces a native .heic + .mov pair that iOS accepts as a Live Photo wallpaper.

Do Spatial Scenes drain battery?

Apple has not published power figures for Spatial Scenes, so any specific percentage you see quoted is a guess. In principle the effect only renders while the Lock Screen is on and the phone is moving — it does not run in the background or on the always-on display. A Live Photo wallpaper is lighter still, since it only plays a short burst of motion when the screen wakes and then holds on the still frame.

Are Spatial Scenes the same as Depth Effect wallpapers?

No, though they are related. The Depth Effect wallpaper (introduced in iOS 16) separates a single foreground subject from the background so the clock can sit behind it — a two-layer effect, and a static one. A Spatial Scene estimates depth across the whole image and shifts it continuously as you move the phone. Spatial Scenes are the more robust of the two and often work on photos where Depth Effect fails.

Does a Spatial Scene animate on its own?

No. Nothing in the frame moves. A Spatial Scene is a still photo with a depth map applied — the parallax you see is your own viewing angle changing as you move the phone. For motion that plays by itself when the Lock Screen wakes, you need a Live Photo wallpaper.