Android is fantastic in the way that it allows you to customise your device to get it to look and behave in almost any way that you like. One of the more important elements to this flexibility is, to many users, the ability to have animated wallpapers that can also use data to display anything you like.
This sounds great and it works brilliantly, but the real problem comes with finding decent live wallpapers, as there are literally thousands to choose from and all offer different things, with many just not looking as good as they do in the Play store images, when they eventually find their way onto your actual device. Most of the time, you end up being disappointed with the end result of many live wallpaper apps.
Well, here we have one of those rare apps that will actually exceed your expectations. The Liven wallpaper app, on first glance, seems like many other apps of its type, offering customisable wallpapers. However, there are several distinct differences that set it apart from the crowd. The first is that it allows you to use any images you like for the wallpaper, and the second is that it completely changes itself and seems to ‘evolve’ over time, and always offers up a different look whenever you come back to your home screen.
The app doesn’t simply put a star field over your images (although a version of that is in here), but actually adds Instagrm style filters to the pictures before adding gorgeous particle effects. The eventual look is fantastic, with warm or cold colours completely changing the feel of your phone alongside the subtle yet attractive effects. It really does look stunning.
One small but welcome feature is the fact that a beautiful night effect takes place after dark, and you will find yourself actually looking forward to it coming into effect every night.
You can customise all of this to your heart’s content, but I would advise you to let everything play out as naturally as possible, as you are then guaranteed a surprise every day.
The app doesn’t seem to use too much of the phone battery, as I didn’t notice any difference in consumption in my time with the app, and I had a static image before using Liven, so that is definitely a plus to anyone who has seen wallpaper like this drain their battery at an alarming rate.
Overall, with beautiful effects and a stunning use of filters, Liven is one of the few wallpaper apps that is actually better than the store description would have you believe. Highly recommended.