Unboxing a new phone is always special, but in the early days of smartphones, it wasn’t just the hardware that left an impression. The default wallpaper was a defining feature that you’d see at the launch event and every ad that followed. Here are some of the most iconic ones in no particular order.

1 Clownfish

The Clownfish wallpaper made its first debut when Steve Jobs announced the original iPhone at MacWorld 2007. It’s a vibrant image of two orange clownfish contrasting against the green anemone surrounding them.

The wallpaper was also used extensively in marketing materials for the iPhone, but here’s a Mandela effect for you—the Clownfish wallpaper was never actually available with the first iPhone, and it wasn’t a wallpaper, either. The original iPhone’s hardware didn’t support wallpapers as we know them today; instead, it was a lock screen.

If you wanted the Clownfish wallpaper on your first iPhone, you’d have to download it and set it up yourself. Technically speaking, the Clownfish wallpaper first appeared on the iPhone with iOS 16’s “Collections” wallpapers, which are an homage to the old-school designs.

2 Earth

The original iPhone shipped with a lock screen image of our lovely Earth rather than the Clownfish. To be more specific, it’s an image of the Western Hemisphere with lots of clouds against a pitch-black background that is most certainly not outer space. Also referred to as the Blue Marble, this image was created by a data visualization engineer named Robert Simmon, who based it on NASA’s photos.

3 Dandelion

The Dandelion wallpaper debuted with the Samsung Galaxy S3. In my opinion, it’s the most iconic Samsung wallpaper of all time, in no small part thanks to the phone it came on. The Galaxy S3 marked a significant shift in Android smartphones, as the new version of TouchWiz UI offered a much cleaner, Frutiger Aero-esque software experience compared to its predecessors.

The S3’s sleek, rounded corners combined with the then-massive 4.8-inch display were perfectly complimented by the soft, elegant close-up of a dandelion and a pale blue sky.

4 Nexus Live Wallpaper

You know a wallpaper has left an impact when its third-party app version has over 5 million downloads. This live wallpaper first appeared on the Nexus One, Google’s first Nexus phone, which was manufactured by HTC. What made this wallpaper stand out were the animated cubes in Google’s colors that resembled a neural network. More cubes would appear when you touched the screen.

The original version debuted with Android 2.1, which is when support for live wallpapers was added, but there’s also a second, less popular version of this wallpaper that appeared in Android 2.3–4.4.4.

5 Rain Drops

Much like Dandelion, Rain Drops was iconic because of the phone it first appeared on, which was the iPhone 4. At the time of its release, the iPhone 4 was one of the thinnest, nicest-looking phones, featuring a stainless steel band sandwiched between two slabs of glass, similar to modern iPhones.

The wallpaper’s simple colors and design perfectly complemented the phone’s design, allowing the colorful apps to take center stage instead. Remember, smartphones were still a new and intimidating device to average consumers, so it was important to make the learning curve as easy as possible.

6 Pink Summit

To be honest with you, the only reason I’m writing this article is to share my favorite wallpaper of all time with you. It’s an oldie, but I still use a full-size version of this wallpaper in my wallpaper folder on my PC.

The gorgeous wallpaper first appeared on the Nexus 5. It’s a photograph of the snowy summit of Lone Pine Peak, California, set against an impressively pink sky. Interestingly, a similar photo of the summit was used a few years later as the default wallpaper for macOS Sierra.

7 Colorful Planets

This live wallpaper debuted with the iPhone XS, so it’s the most recent release on this list. It’s actually part of a collection of similar live wallpapers. These appear to be colorful oils trapped in a petri dish, meant to reassemble a planet that moves to make all kinds of crazy patterns when you touch the screen. They were a perfect way to showcase the iPhone XS’s new display, which reportedly had a 60% greater dynamic range.

8 Never Settle

OnePlus is a brand well-known for its “never settle” motto, which means that the company will never give up on innovating and figuring out how to make the user experience the best it can be. I like to think that it means you shouldn’t settle for a lesser smartphone, even if you’re not willing to spend a lot. The OnePlus One was the first high-profile “flagship killer,” which featured the motto set against a red pixelated background, one of many such wallpapers that OnePlus released over the years.

9 Beach

Back in 2017, Apple was rocking a bunch of cool nature-inspired wallpapers across their devices. Perhaps none is as iconic as the iOS 11 beach wallpaper. It’s elegant, simple, and beautiful.

10 Balloons

Samsung Galaxy S4’s Balloons background shares a similar Frutiger Aero-esque style to the S3’s Dandelion. However, it’s much more vibrant, thanks to the kid who’s graciously holding a bunch of colorful balloons. The S4 was one of the first smartphones with a 1080p display, so this picture was a great way to show off the sharpness.

11 Milky Way

The Milky Way first appeared in iOS 8 on one of the most important iPhones—the iPhone 6. It’s a beautiful image of our galaxy that perfectly complements the sleek, unibody aluminum chassis, especially in the Space Gray variant.

The photo also has an interesting origin story. Espen Haagensen, the person who took the photo, had no idea that Apple was going to use it for the iPhone 6 when signing the deal. It’s also worth mentioning that the original photograph had a small hut in it, which Apple took out to avoid any unecessary distractions, as the sky was mesmerzing enough by itself.

12 Nebula

Before the Milky Way, we had the Nebula on iOS 7. Unlike the Milky Way photo, this one lacks a hill or other distractions, instead featuring a stunning blue gradient.

13 Red and Blue Smoke

The LG G3 was one of the first smartphones with a 1440p display, so picking the right wallpaper to go with it was an important task in LG’s headquarters. I think that LG couldn’t have done a better job. The swirling red and blue smoke is filled with tiny details that showcase the sharpness of the new display while also giving the phone a fresh, visually pleasing look.

14 White Feather

The White Feather is to the Galaxy Note 2 what the Dandelion is to the Galaxy S3—except it’s even better. Feathers, or more specifically, quills, were traditionally used as pens. The Galaxy Note lineup is well-known for its “S Pen” stylus, so that’s what the feather symbolizes. With the stylus, users could write, draw, and interact with their screens. I had a slightly different use case on my Note 2, as I used it to play video games in class without drawing the teacher’s attention.

Wallpapers aren’t just a random background image for your phone; they are an essential design element. Many wallpapers from this list defined the devices they debuted on and left a lasting impression. If you’d like a hit of nostalgia but can’t decide which iOS wallpaper you like best, you can cycle all of them automatically.

Alternatively, consider changing your wallpaper every day to match your mood or an important event. It’s a great and easy way to customize your phone in just a few seconds!