What is Depth Effect on iPhone Lock Screen?
Apple showcased the depth effect prominently at WWDC this year, and quite right too. It is a beautiful multi-layered effect, that puts the subject in the photo in front of the time, creating a sense of depth on the lock screen. It works best with Portrait photos where the subject is starkly distinguished from the background. But it doesn’t mean it won’t work with other photos where the subject is visibly ahead of the background. Other than photos with a subject in them, it sometimes also works with wallpapers that have an object to place in front of the time, rendering the depth effect. But whether or not a photo will work with the depth effect is entirely up to the iOS’s discretion. If a photo has depth, it can be used to create a depth effect. But if not, there’s nothing you can do. Sometimes even when a photo has depth, you won’t be able to use it with the depth effect. The reason is simple – if it obscures the time too much, it’ll end up behind the time and not in front of it. You can try zooming it out to make it work. Now that you understand the effect, let’s get on with how you can set one.
Setting a Depth Effect Wallpaper As Your Lock Screen
You can either set a depth effect wallpaper from the Lock Screen Customization screen or the Settings app.
Right From The Lock Screen
Being able to customize the lock screen from the lock screen itself is one of the biggest headline-grabbers in iOS 16. And rightly so. It adds so much convenience to the whole process while allowing you to have multiple lock screens. Here’s how to add a lock screen with a depth effect from the Lock Screen itself.
- Unlock your iPhone using either Face ID or Touch ID but don’t swipe up or press the Home button, i.e., don’t go to the home screen yet.
- Tap and hold your lock screen until the lock screen customization screen appears.
- Tap the + icon in the bottom-right corner to add a new lock screen.
- An overlay screen for adding a new wallpaper will open. Go to the Photos option to select a photo you want to use as the wallpaper. You can also tap the People option if you only want to select a photo with a live subject in it.
- An overlay screen will open. You can switch to different categories like All, Featured, People, and Nature from the tabs at the top.
- Select the photo you want to use as your lock screen wallpaper. A preview of what your lock screen would look like will appear. If the photo supports the Depth Effect, you’ll be able to see it in the preview.
- Some photos will have a depth effect if you zoom them (in/ out) to adjust the object over the time. Case in point: the below screenshot only shows a depth effect when the photo is zoomed to place the object over the clock. Otherwise, it looks like a normal wallpaper.
- There are also a few stock wallpapers from Apple that have the depth effect, namely a couple of Astronomy, Collections, and Pride wallpapers. Instead of using photos from your gallery, you can also use these. (The Earth wallpaper in the screenshot blelow is from the Astrronomy collection.)
- Tap Done to set the wallpaper as your lock screen. And that’s it. Your lock screen will now have a wallpaper with a depth effect.
From The Settings App
If you’re not comfortable with the new way of doing things, i.e., customizing from the lock screen, the good old way of changing the wallpaper is still valid.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap the tile for ‘Wallpaper’.
- Then, tap ‘Add New Wallpaper’ to apply a new lock screen.
- The same overlay screen for adding a new wallpaper as the step 4 in the above section will appear. Repeat the rest of the steps to set a depth-effect wallpaper.
Disable Depth Effect Wallpaper on iPhone Lock Screen
You can also disable the depth effect from a wallpaper if you don’t want it to hide the time on your lock screen.
- Go to the Lock Screen customization screen and swipe left/ right to find the lock screen you want to disable the depth effect for. Then tap the Customise button at the bottom.
- Now, tap the More option (three-dot menu) in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
- From the overflow menu, tap the Depth effect option so it doesn’t have a tick next to it anymore. The Depth Effect will be disabled. To enable it again, follow the same steps.
- Tap Done in the top-right corner to save the changes.
Fix Depth Effect Not Working On iOS 16 Lock Screen Wallpapers
Depth Effect is enabled by default in iOS 16 for compatible photos. Other than the photo not being compatible, there’s a scenario where the depth effect won’t work even when the photo does support it. If you place widgets on the lock screen below the clock, it’ll render the depth effect inactive. And the only way to get it back is to remove the widgets. So, you’ll have to choose between one or the other lock screen customization option. Read More: How to Fix iOS 16 Depth Effect Not Working On Lock Screen Wallpaper
Final Words
And that’s about it for adding a wallpaper with depth effect as your lock screen. It’s important to note that the depth effect only works on the lock screen and not the home screen.
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