5 wallpaper apps you need to download now that MKBHD’s Panels app is dead

In September 2024, tech YouTuber MKBHD made headlines for launching the Panels wallpaper app. It was initially met with backlash due to concerns around ads, permissions, and the subscription cost, but MKBHD and his team were quick to get things back on track and set Panels up for success.

However, a little over a year later, Panels is being killed. MKBHD recently announced that the app will shut down on December 31 due to challenges with the development team. While you’ll retain access to any wallpapers you purchased/downloaded, you soon won’t be able to use Panels to find new wallpapers.

While the news about Panels is disappointing, there are plenty of other excellent wallpaper apps out there. If you’re now looking for a Panels replacement, here are five other wallpaper apps you should check out.

I’ve used a lot of wallpaper apps over the years, but the one I always come back to is Backdrops. It has a great UI design, isn’t riddled with annoying ads, and — most importantly — has high-quality wallpapers.

The Backdrops team regularly adds new wallpaper creations of their own, and there’s also a Community page where you can upload your own wallpaper designs. Backdrops’ collection of abstract wallpapers is one of the best I’ve found, and it’s also one of the easiest places to find wallpapers from recently released smartphones. Combined with solid search tools and a gorgeous Material 3 Expressive app design, I really don’t have anything negative to say about Backdrops.

Backdrops is free to download, although I’d argue that it’s well worth paying a couple of bucks for Backdrops Pro to remove ads, sync your settings across devices, and unlock a few Pro-exclusive wallpaper packs.

Although I don’t see myself abandoning Backdrops any time soon, WallsPy has quickly become one of my new favorite alternatives — and one of the main reasons for this is the sheer variety of wallpapers available. Whether you’re looking for an abstract design, AMOLED wallpapers, nature landscapes, or wallpapers with characters from Marvel and Star Wars, you can find just about anything on WallsPy. The increased quantity means not everything is as high-quality as what you find on Backdrops, but that’s a pretty small price to pay.

And it’s not just the number of wallpapers that’s so impressive. Every wallpaper can be customized with new colors, blur effects, and more. You can also create your own wallpaper using the WallsPy Studio feature, which is surprisingly powerful. Paired with minimal ads and a gorgeous app design, WallsPy has a lot going for it.

WallsPy is free to download, and while the free version is excellent, you can also pay a one-time $5 fee to unlock WallsPy Premium to remove ads, unlock exclusive wallpapers, and use an auto wallpaper changer.

If you like the wallpaper creator from WallsPy but wish it did even more, you’ll want to download Tapet. My colleague Andy Walker wrote last year about why Tapet is his favorite Android wallpaper app, and after trying Tapet for myself, I get why he likes it so much.

On the surface, Tapet is pretty simple. You swipe up to generate a new wallpaper design and swipe left and right to change the pattern and colors. It’s such a fun way to get started, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg. You can also manually select patterns, add customizable filters, edit individual color layers, and more. It’s a little overwhelming at first, but the possibilities it creates are truly impressive.

Tapet is free to download, and as you’re just getting started with the app, the free version is more than enough. However, if you want to unlock more editing tools, the one-time $7 fee for Tapet Premium is money well spent.

Pix Wallpapers isn’t nearly as robust as Backdrops or WallsPy, but it is well-designed, features gorgeous abstract and Google-themed wallpapers, and is 100% free with no ads. If that’s the type of wallpaper app you’re looking for, Pix Wallpapers is fantastic.

Although the number of available wallpapers in Pix is much smaller compared to WallsPy, what is available is pretty great — especially if you’re looking for Material Design-esque wallpapers and ones from ChromeOS and Pixel phones. There are also some really fun Google I/O and Android-inspired wallpapers. You won’t find any editing tools or wallpaper makers, but Pix Wallpapers has everything organized into clearly defined categories, and the Material 3 Expressive app design looks excellent.

As mentioned above, Pix Wallpapers is entirely free to download, with no paid fees or subscriptions. To get all of this for free and without advertisements in the app is incredible, and that alone makes Pix Wallpapers worth the download.

Finally, if you have a Google Pixel, I’d argue you already have one of the better wallpaper apps on your phone. Google Wallpapers is built into every Pixel, and if you haven’t checked it out in a while, you’re missing out.

Google Wallpapers has a huge variety of styles to choose from, including wallpaper collections like Cityscapes, Earth, Landscapes, Textures, and Google Arts & Culture. Some of my favorite nature wallpapers have come from Google Wallpapers. I’m also a big fan of the Living Universe wallpapers, which include some of the prettiest live wallpapers you can find on Android. I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed the AI wallpaper generator, while the Emoji Workshop wallpaper creator is so silly and so fun.

Any Android phone can download Google Wallpapers, but you’ll need a Pixel to unlock the Living Universe wallpapers, Emoji Workshop, and more. If you have a Pixel and aren’t using Google Wallpapers, you’re really missing out.