Microsoft may have scrapped Windows 11’s dynamic wallpapers feature

Microsoft has many good ideas for Windows 11 that often do not ship, and one of them was “Dynamic Wallpapers,” which, as the name suggests, could have made the wallpaper dynamic, similar to third-party tools like Lively Wallpaper.

Dynamic wallpapers are wallpapers that move and animate automatically, creating a visually engaging and interactive experience on the desktop.

According to Sergey Kisselev, an ex-Microsoft employee on the design team for Windows, Microsoft was working on low-end devices for students, and these devices could have shipped with this interesting Windows 11 feature.

While he did not specify the exact devices, Microsoft has previously worked on operating systems like “Windows Lite” for low-end PCs, though that operating system never shipped.

Kisselev noted that wallpapers were created to celebrate the new design language of Windows 11. However, despite the creative potential, the feature never reached the public.

“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,” Sergey Kisselev noted in a Behance post, now taken down likely due to Microsoft’s intervention.

Microsoft may have given up on the dynamic wallpapers idea

It appears that the idea of dynamic wallpapers has now been canceled altogether.

As noted by Microsoft watcher Albacore, the unfinished components for dynamic wallpapers have been removed in Windows 11 24H2.

References to the feature were still present in earlier builds, like Windows 11 23H2, but the feature was ultimately abandoned. The reason for this decision remains unclear, and we may never know why Microsoft decided to scrap the idea.

This could be related to Panos Panay’s departure or a shift in Microsoft’s priorities toward productivity and AI features.

Whatever the case, the dynamic wallpapers feature is another good idea that will never ship.