When Windows 11 first debuted in 2021, it did so with one of the biggest changes to the Windows desktop in over a decade. It was the first version of Windows since Windows 8 to radically change up the Start menu and Taskbar, moving their position and altering their functionality.
Famously, Windows 11 introduced the first centered Start menu and Taskbar, along with other modern and simplified interfaces across the Windows shell. It also introduced a number of new static wallpapers designed to highlight the new centered interfaces, the most famous of which is the default Windows 11 wallpaper known as "Bloom."
In additional to static wallpapers, Microsoft has since explored bringing dynamic wallpapers to Windows 11, which would let users set live wallpapers on their desktop or lockscreen that would gently animate in the background. Thanks to Sergey Kisselev, an ex-Microsoft designer on the Windows team, we now know what these may look like.
"A variety of dynamic animations and still images were explored for Microsoft’s low-cost devices, primarily targeting educational users" says Kisselev on Behance. "This work was part of the Windows Creative Direction Team’s efforts to celebrate a new centered signature composition for Windows 11, highlighting its centered Start Menu and taskbar."
Kisselev has shared a handful of examples, which showcase different dynamic wallpaper designs that Microsoft explored for education customers. Unfortunately, dynamic wallpapers as a feature is yet to actually ship for Windows 11, suggesting the feature may have been canceled, or at the very least postponed.
Early support for dynamic wallpapers has been spotted in Windows 11 Insider builds in the past. I understand that Microsoft originally intended to bring dynamic wallpapers to Windows 11 with version 23H2, but that ended up not happening for some reason.
Whether support for dynamic wallpapers ever ships remains to be seen. For now, we can only hope the feature is still coming, and that it'll hopefully be ready in time for the annual Windows 11 feature update for 2025.
In the meantime, be sure to check out Kisselev's excellent dynamic wallpaper work on Behance.
