WellPaper
The free WellPaper is developed by OnePlus, but isn’t just for OnePlus phones—any Android handset can run it. It’s called WellPaper because it looks out for your wellbeing, turning the wallpaper on your device into an ever-changing backdrop that tells you how often you’re accessing your phone and what you’re doing when you do. To change your wallpaper on Android, open Settings, then pick Display, Styles and wallpapers, and Wallpaper. Then, look for the Live wallpapers heading. If you’re not using stock Android, the process and menu names might vary slightly, but the option shouldn’t be too difficult to find. You get a choice of three wallpaper designs, which each take a different approach to showing your app usage in five categories: lifestyle and communication, entertainment, gaming, information and business, and tools. You can pick from a tiled block pattern, a soft glow, or a series of rings to map everything out.
Activity Bubbles
Activity Bubbles, which Google offers for free, has a similar aim to WellPaper: it displays your phone usage. In this case, the design is a series of bubbles that grow in size and number as you spend more time on your handset. Every time you unlock your phone, a new bubble appears and grows in size until you put your phone down again. It gives you an at-a-glance look at just how much time you’re staring at a mobile screen, though the bubbles do reset each day.
Oajoo Device Info
You get a variety of options for customizing the colors and the text of the wallpaper, though the categories of information shown on screen are fixed. There’s also an on-screen compass included with the wallpaper, which can come in handy.
Cartogram
You’ll have to pay $2.50 for the Cartogram live wallpaper, but we reckon it’s worth the investment: It enables you to create detailed map backgrounds for your Android phone and customize them with colors and styles to suit your tastes. Even better, you’ve got an almost unlimited number of options to play around with. What makes it particularly useful for our list is that the map background can change as your location does, giving you a quick and convenient overview of whatever place you happen to be at the time—perfect for the frequent traveler.
Weather Live Wallpaper
The backdrop picture then reflects the weather and time of day at your current location, together with some tasteful animations (such as moving clouds and leaves blowing in the breeze). With this wallpaper set, you’ll only need a quick glance at your phone to know what the weather will do for the next few hours.
Material Islands
Your background choices include well-known landmarks such as Stonehenge or the pyramids of Giza, as well as more general scenes such as forests and desert islands. If you prefer, you can even have the app change your wallpaper every day for you, switching to a random pick each time.
