Windows 11's desktop will soon look different on your PC, and I'm not talking about the refreshed Start menu or the upgrades to the taskbar in the works. Microsoft reportedly has new default wallpapers in the works for Windows 11, and they're a bigger deal than they might initially seem.
I cover wallpapers a lot, sometimes with a hint of sarcastic enthusiasm. But Microsoft making new default wallpapers for Windows is significant.
Our Senior Editor Zac Bowden discussed the new wallpapers in the latest episode of the Windows Central Podcast. When Microsoft creates new default wallpapers for Windows, it usually signals either a new major version of Windows, such as Windows 12, or a major refresh of the current release. According to Bowden and the initial report from The Verge on the topic, the latter is far more likely.
There will reportedly be separate editions of the wallpaper for different versions of Windows 11, such as Windows 11 Pro and commercial versions of the OS.
We've already seen the default Windows 11 wallpaper refreshed a few times. Microsoft created a special version of the wallpaper for Copilot+ PCs and a variant for the company's 50th anniversary. While the new wallpapers that will ship in 2027 are a bit similar to Bloom, they are not simply color swaps or small tweaks. They're new images rather than just variants of Bloom.
At one point in time, Microsoft planned to ship major releases of Windows every three years, but those plans changed with the departure of Panos Panay. Microsoft released the AI-focused update to Windows 11 after the operating system had been around for three years. It appears that another major update is on the way in 2027 rather than Windows 12.
Bowden dove deeper into why Microsoft is not likely to ship Windows 12 next year. But I'm a simple man: I see nice wallpapers and I focus on those. I spent weeks hunting down the RTX Spark wallpaper and now have it set on my desktop.
The new Windows 11 wallpapers should come out with an update in 2027, but I suspect they'll leak on the web before then. You can already grab one of them now despite Microsoft not even announcing its plans for next year.
Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.
