14 DAY TRIAL // The Windows 10 desktop has clearly evolved in the last feature updates, there’s no doubt about it, but let’s just say that the pace at which Microsoft overhauls certain parts of its operating system doesn’t necessarily align with what users expect from the world’s number one software company.
Retaining the traditional look and feel of the desktop isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially because a more modern approach isn’t always everyone’s cup of tea. And Windows 7 users who move to Windows 10 are the ones most likely to feel like home given this familiar desktop, which given the approaching end of support for the 2009 operating system is quite a priority.
But at the same time, there are many users out there who think desktop customization should remain a key focus for Microsoft regardless of the direction that Windows 10 embraces. And for these users, animated wallpapers represent a way to bring their desktops to life.
Animated backgrounds aren’t necessarily new to the world of Windows. Third-party apps doing this have been around for a long time, and in Windows 7, many of us actually turned to such software not necessarily for daily use, but for fun, just to get rid of the rather dull desktop that we’ve known for so long.
Truth be told, third-party software that can enable animated wallpapers are still available, and many offer support for Windows 10 as well. DeskScapes is one of the best, and despite not being offered with a freeware license, it comes with a feature package that you really can’t find elsewhere.
The biggest problem with animated wallpapers is the impact they have on system performance and battery life. Because they require graphic power to render the animation, Windows devices could eventually be slowed down or experience massive battery life drops when animated wallpapers are enabled. Without a doubt, a native feature would be more polished and address these drawbacks at system level, although there’s a good chance some sort of performance impact would still happen.
Others believe that Windows 10 doesn’t necessarily need animated wallpapers, but live wallpapers. As compared to animated wallpapers, live backgrounds use less frequent animations that are updated with a reduced impact on performance. Just think of the live photos that we have on mobile phones these days and you can easily imagine how live wallpapers could work on Windows 10.
A feature suggestion posted in the Feedback Hub for this idea has already received tens of votes. Despite some of them forgetting the performance slowdown animated wallpapers would generate on a Windows 10 device, many users who joined the discussion want Microsoft to bring this feature to the OS.
“How is it possible that Samsung flip phones from the 2000s had this feature and it's almost 2020 and Windows 10 doesn't have it? Please add it, it will add a lot of polish to the OS,” one user says. “Not animated but live wallpapers which is the same. So we all think similar. Only Microsoft thinks different. That's strange. They should listen other people's opinion. They want us to buy their product then make it like we want,” another one adds.
Whether or not this will be done at some point in the future still remains to be seen, but it’s without a doubt a very challenging project even for a company the size of Microsoft. Making this happen without affecting device performance is mission impossible given how many hardware configurations run Windows these days, but at the end of the day, bringing the desktop to life with such a simple tweak is something that would further contribute to Windows 10’s modern overhaul.