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Turn Any Location Into an Interactive Google Earth-Style Wallpaper With This Android App


Tired of your boring old smartphone wallpaper? This new Android app can take your current location (or any other spot on earth) and turn it into the background image on your phone. It’s available now for $1.99 on Google Play.

Skyline, which was created by independent developer Justin Fincher, uses satellite and aerial photos to create interactive images of any location. That means when you swipe your phone to move between pages the image will shift slightly. It also slides as you rotate the device to create a sense of depth.

Using Skyline is easy. The app can figure out your exact location through GPS, or you can search for a specific spot. Then it lets you zoom in or out to find the perfect framing before you confirm the new wallpaper. From Skyline’s settings, you can switch on those depth effects. If you’re running Android 8.1 or later the menus on your phone will also change color to match the terrain you picked.

If that’s still not enough to convince you it’s worth spending two bucks on an app, the developer says he’s also working on a new feature that will change the wallpaper automatically to match your current location along with some other new features. But even without any of those extras, Skyline is a pretty cool way to spruce up your Android home screen.