[Android Apps and Games] AndroidDeveloperLB:
Starting from Android 8.1, when you set a wallpaper, the OS might change its colors based on it.

On Android 12 and above, it got more official as "Monet" feature.

Sometimes though, what you get might not be what you'd wish to have.

This is why I've made this tiny live wallpaper app:

With this app, you can stay with your own wallpaper and still have more control about the colors.

APK mirror:

https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/androiddeveloperlb/lwp-live-wallpaper-with-customized-colors/

ApkPure:

https://apkpure.com/lwp-live-wallpaper-with-customized-colors/com.lb.lwp_plus

View attachment 5476033

The app allows you to manually set which colors you'd like to request the OS to use.

This means, for example, that even if you have a relatively yellow background, you can still (if the OS allows it) choose to have green colors.

For now the app is very basic, so only features are:

1. Ability to import your current wallpaper, and have more control of it. Alternatively, you can import a different one, or animation, or just a solid color.

3. Ability to have a double-tap-to-lock device.

4. Ability to choose which colors to request from the OS.

5. Some experimental flags.

How to use:

1. Check if your device supports dynamic colors. You can use the app's tutorial to test it out, but it's advised to backup your current wallpaper if you want, first. You might need to check the settings of the OS.

For example, if you have a Pixel device, make sure that in "Wallpaper & style" setting screen, it is set to use "Wallpaper colors" and not the manual "Basic colors". Choose the first option there.

If it doesn't seem to affect the OS and/or various apps, maybe you don't have dynamic colors supported.

2. In the app, optionally choose content to be shown. You can choose the current wallpaper as an image (as long as the current app isn't set as the default live wallpaper). If you choose an image as content, choose how to crop it for portrait and landscape mode. You can also choose to do it automatically via the toolbar action items. You have to choose it for both portrait and landscape mode. Other types of content work a bit differently.

3. Optionally choose to double tap on the live wallpaper, to lock the device. If you have a rooted device, you can choose that it will turn off the screen instead.

4. If you wish, you can (try to) set which color to use for the OS, which on some devices will change the color of the navigation drawer, volume bar, etc... It might change colors on other apps too, such as the launcher. Do note that it might not work this way on all devices, if at all.

It is advised to first try vibrant, bright colors first, such as green, yellow, or red, but not blue, black, or white.

Read more about this matter below.

5. Set the app to be the live wallpaper of your device. This is the most important step. You need to have it at least as the current home wallpaper, but on some devices you might need to set it as both hom&lock wallpaper.

For the custom colors you've chosen (or the colors of the wallpaper) to be used by the OS and other apps, turn off&on the display, to let the OS check out the new colors.

That's it!

FAQ

Q: What's with the different colors? What are they for?

A: The app only requests the OS to use the colors. The OS is the one to decide what to do with them, if at all. Same goes for other apps in case they check the colors.

The meaning of each of the 3 colors (primary, secondary, tertiary) you can set depends on the OS alone.

For me, changing the colors have changed the volume color and the quick-settings tiles colors.

On different devices, the colors can mean different things. It can change a lot on some devices, change a little on others, or change nothing... The purpose of each color you choose depends on the OS alone, and on the apps that check the colors.

This is why I can't add description of what each of them do.

If you think this is a bug on the app, please try any other live wallpaper that tells the OS about which colors it uses, such as Muzei . There, set the background to be completely black, and see if it affects the OS UI.

Q: How can I know if my device supports dynamic colors?

A: On Android 12 it is a bit rare to find devices that support them, and only on Android 13 it began to be more widely supported. In order to find if your device supports it, start by changing your wallpaper (normal wallpaper images, not a live wallpaper app) to very clear colors, such as pure red, pure yellow, pure green. Then turn off and on the display/device (to let the OS re-generate the dynamic colors based on the wallpaper). After that, you should notice on various places on the OS that the colors have changed, or at least on apps that support it, such as Gmail.

If you've noticed the change, it means your device supports dynamic colors.

If not, either your device doesn't support it, or you need to change something in the settings of the OS to have it enabled.

Q: I choose some color, but it's not used on the OS and other apps, or the color becomes different. How come?

A: As I wrote, it all depends on the OS (and other apps), of what they will do with it.

Android might choose a "Pastel" color based on what you've chosen, which didn't happen in the past. That's why I've reported about it here, hoping they will go back to showing the real colors you've chosen.

Recently Google also created a website explaining the change to this "Pastel" colors, here.

Q: It works fine, but after a few hours/days, the OS goes back to the default wallpaper and/or colors. How come?

A: It seems this issue exists for some OEMs, such as OnePlus and Xiaomi, and that it's not just for my app, but for many live wallpaper apps.

Try to search about the problem over the Internet for your specific device.

For example, if you have "Redmi K20 Pro", you can search for "Redmi K20 Pro phone wallpaper back to default", and maybe one of the solutions that works for you will be there, such as setting the wallpaper only to the home screen, or disabling/removing some built-in wallpaper app.

Q: Why doesn't horizontal-scrolling work for me?

A: It works only on launchers that support it, and have it enabled for them.

On Nova launcher, for example, it exists, but you need to enable it there.

Q: What if I want a different wallpaper for lock screen?

A: You can still do it. Choose a normal wallpaper photo (using your launcher, not my app) for the lock screen. Then choose my live wallpaper app to be of your home screen.

According to my tests, the colors of my app should be the ones that define what's being used, and not the photo you chose for the lock screen.

If you wish to still have your previous live wallpaper, you have some choices:

1. Request the developer of the live wallpaper to allow customized colors.

2. Update to Android 9.0, where you can choose the theme.

3. Record a video of your current live wallpaper in full screen, as sometime in the future (I don't know when) I plan to allow to view videos in addition to images and animations.

Q: Can I use a different live wallpaper , while using this app?

Sadly, you can't use 2 live wallpapers at the same time, especially not one that hosts another.

This app is a live wallpaper, and Android allows to choose only one, and it alone will be shown.

That being said, it could be nice to have 2 live wallpapers at the same time, one for the lock screen and one for the home screen, just like of normal wallpapers.

This is why I've put a request for such a thing, here. If you wish for it too, please star it and optionally cast your opinion about it there.

Q: Is this app consuming any battery ?

A: If you choose a photo as the content, not at all. All it does is draw the photo. No animation needed, so no CPU is needed after that.

If you choose animated content, it will take what is needed to show it, but of course only when you can see it. It won't be using any CPU/GPU while the live wallpaper isn't showing.

Q: I can't download, install, or use the live wallpaper. How come?

A: You have to have at least Android 8.1, and the OS must allow to use live wallpapers.

For example, many say that the device called "Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1" can't use any live wallpaper, and it seems this is a known bug on the OS for this device (reported here). I don't know if Asus will fix it.

Q: Why are there multiple ways to lock the screen? Which should I choose?

A: If you use a secured lock screen , you should use root or accessibility, because using admin will cause the unlocking request you for the unlocking method you've chosen (password, pattern, ...).

In all other cases (swipe, no lock screen...), admin and root should be fine.

Q: Monet was introducted on Android 12. What about previous version?

A: Originally the app was actually meant for Android 8.1 and above, to try to get dark theme no matter which wallpaper you've chosen. There was even a video of it, here.

Over time, as dark theme was a part of the OS, the colors that you've chosen barely changed anything, but now on Android 12 they are useful again, as you can see that they might even affect other apps.

Q: What about the status bar color?

A: There are already various apps that change the color of the status bar to whatever you wish. Here's one for a black status bar :

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xda.nachonotch

And one that lets you choose the color:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.conghuy.colorstatusbar

And one that lets you choose even a background image:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.firezenk.ssb

Q: What about the nav bar?

A: There are apps for this too. Here are some cool ones:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.damianpiwowarski.navbarapps

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ace.jun.simplecontrol

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.axndx.navbaranimations

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.perfectapps.muviz

Q: I used to be able to use my previous wallpaper using this app, but now I can't. How come?

A: Google has put harsh restrictions on storage permissions for the Play Store, so starting from Android 13, you can't do this from this app.

However, you can backup your current wallpaper using a small app I've made here (XDA link here), and then import the image files.

Articles

https://www.xda-developers.com/how-to-customize-android-12-monet-colors-no-root/

https://www.googlewatchblog.de/2021/12/android12-material-you-mit-app-farben/

https://www.androidcentral.com/lwp-lets-you-force-android-81-oreos-dark-theme-any-wallpaper

https://9to5google.com/2018/03/05/how-to-google-pixel-dark-mode-wallpaper-android-basics/

https://www.howtogeek.com/345132/how-to-force-the-dark-quick-settings-theme-in-android-oreo/

https://www.androidrank.org/application/lwp_live_wallpaper_with_customized_colors/com.lb.lwp_plus

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