An upcoming Android 17 update could bring an interesting wallpaper-related feature to Google Pixel smartphones. The feature, which is said to be similar to the iPhone’s Photo Shuffle option for wallpapers, was spotted in Android 17 QPR1 beta 5 code by the folks at Android Authority. This beta update is already available for testing on Pixel smartphones and is expected to be widely released in stable form as part of the September Feature Drop.
Like on iPhones, the feature can also be called “Photo Shuffle” on Google Pixels and will allow you to select albums from your photo gallery to serve as a random library of wallpapers for your phone. In addition to choosing existing albums, users will be able to create personalized albums featuring people and animals from their gallery. Although you can already choose photos from your gallery as your phone wallpapers, there is no built-in way to do this automatically and randomly. That said, third-party apps like Wallpaper Changer have offered similar options for years.
A feature long requested by Pixel owners
ZikG/Shutterstock
Google Pixel owners have wanted a mix of wallpapers for a while now, with posts asking for it dating back three years in Reddit’s Google Pixel community. Although the existing wallpaper implementation on Pixel phones offers a “Daily Wallpaper” option, it only allows you to choose a wallpaper category from the wallpapers preloaded on your phone. You cannot use your personal photos or even live wallpapers. However, this appears to be changing with the feature removal in September.
A selection of screenshots shared by Android Authority show what the “Photo Shuffle” feature could look like on a Pixel phone. As mentioned, you will be able to choose from existing albums or create a custom one just for use as wallpaper. Additionally, you will have the option to select how often you want the phone wallpaper to be mixed, hourly, daily, sunrise/sunset or touch. It appears to be released as part of the ‘Wallpaper & Style’ settings, which you can access by going to ‘Settings’ on your Pixel phone. No further details are available at this stage and, as with any other feature under testing, it is always possible that it will be delayed or removed entirely by Google.
This is neither the first nor the last time that Google plans to bring a feature to Android that was first available on iPhone. The company also demonstrated the “Continue” feature, which works similarly to Apple’s Handoff, at Google I/O 2026.
