Every Google Nexus and Pixel phone wallpaper
You may not have heard, but Android turned 10 this week. Over the course of the past decade, Google has loaded its phones up with tons of quality wallpapers — and here, we've tried to create a comprehensive repository of them.
This collection doesn't include live wallpapers, which are a little trickier to share, or the dozens of wallpapers available through Google's Wallpapers app. But it does feature more than 100 of the backdrops that have graced our mobile screens over the years. Flip on through and relive your Android history.
T-Mobile G1
The very first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1, was released all the way back in 2008. For how long ago the phone was released, it came with a surprising variety of wallpapers. It's all pretty standard fare, mostly landscapes.
Big ups to Ryne for pulling these wallpapers from the G1's files; they're not easy to find.
Nexus One
The Nexus One launched just a couple years after the G1, in January 2010, with Android 2.1 Eclair. It featured more nature wallpapers, along with some multicolored Nexus-themed ones.
Nexus S
The Nexus S came along with Android 2.3 Gingerbread in December 2010, less than a year after the Nexus One. Its new wallpapers were largely the type of abstract patterns that'd show up in Google's backdrops for the next few years — colorful spheres and lines. There's also a shot of a space shuttle, a nod to the Nexus S's honor of being the first smartphone certified for use on the International Space Station.
Galaxy Nexus
Samsung's Galaxy Nexus debuted along with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in November 2011. Like the Nexus S, most of its new wallpapers were abstract, sporting brightly colored patterns.
Nexus 4
The Nexus 4 came in November 2012 with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Many of its wallpapers were higher-res versions of ones introduced in Ice Cream Sandwich. The device also had a couple geometric wallpapers, one of which looks a lot like some still available in Google's Wallpapers app.
Nexus 5
Released in October 2013, the fan-favorite Nexus 5 debuted with Android 4.4 KitKat. Its wallpapers were decidedly playful, with the exception of two dramatic landscape shots of a forest and a mountain.
Nexus 6
The enormous Nexus 6 came in November 2014 with Android 5.0 Lollipop. Appropriately for the device that kicked off Material Design, its wallpapers featured geometric patterns made of real objects. It was also Google's first phone to sport the satellite imagery that's been a favorite wallpaper style for the company ever since.
Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P
The last of the Nexus line, the 5X and 6P debuted Android 6.0 Marshmallow in October 2015. Their wallpapers are similar in style to previous devices: satellite imagery, geometric shapes, and high-definition landscape shots.
Pixel
The first Pixel (and Pixel XL) released in October 2016, along with Android 7.1 Nougat. It had two sets of live wallpapers, "Live data" and "Live earth," plus two sets of unique static wallpapers. "Sky high" comprises aerial shots of wildlife, while "New elements" is a set of neon-tinged abstract shots.
Pixel 2
The Pixel 2 and 2 XL, the first phones with Android 8.1 Oreo, came out last November. Their most iconic wallpapers are a collection of animated images called "Living universe," but there were also two sets of stills custom made for the phones: "Come and play," a playful '90s-inspired collection, as well as "In the shadows," a moodier series.
If you were to total it up, the amount of time you've spent looking at your phone's home screen over the past 10 years is probably distressing. But it also means you likely have an emotional attachment to one or more of these images — for me, the Nexus 5's whole set brings back fond memories. Go ahead and snag some to use on your own devices.
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