Your iPhone Has Cool New Trick That You Probably Didn’t Know About

And no, you don’t need one of the newest iPhones to use it.

A hand holding a smartphone displaying a photo of a brindle boxer dog with a white chest and an orange collar, sticking its tongue out. The actual dog is in the background, sitting on a blue-striped rug on a wooden floor.

Published September 22, 2025

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With iOS 26, your current iPhone just got a new look, a few new apps and a bunch of fun features.

One of those new features is called Spatial Scenes, and it hasn’t been talked about much … but it’s really fun and simple, and it can breathe new life into photos that appear on your iPhone’s Lock Screen wallpaper.

A hand holding a smartphone displaying a lock screen with a photo of a brindle boxer puppy lying on a red patterned rug, resting with eyes closed under a piece of furniture. The phone shows the time as 2:41 and the date as Monday, September 22. In the background, a similar dog is lying on a blue and white patterned rug. — Spatial Scenes is a new feature of iOS 26 that turns 2D photos into 3D photos, which you can then use as your Lock Screen wallpaper.

What’s a Spatial Scene?

Introduced in iOS 26, Spatial Scenes is a new AI-powered feature that adds depth to normal images and photos — it effectively separates the subject from the background — and therefore transforms a 2D image into a 3D image.

Once you turn an image or photo into a Spatial Scene, it creates a parallax effect so that when you move your iPhone or look at it from different angles, that image/photo changes and sort of “pops” off the screen. It’s neat.

Close-up of a smartphone screen displaying a photo of a brindle dog with its tongue sticking out. The phone shows the time as 2:42, battery at 93%, and a "SPATIAL SCENE" label on the photo. The phone is held in a hand with a blurred wooden background. — In the Photos app, you can easily experiment with turning photos into Spatial Scenes.

There are two ways to experience Spatial Scenes on your iPhone. The first is via the Photos app.

When you open the Photos app on your iPhone, simply select a photo or image that has a clear subject. Then, once selected, you should see a small hexagonal icon located above it in the top-right of the corner. That’s the Spatial Scene button.

A simple tap will turn that normally 2D photo or image into a Spatial Scene that more or less jumps off the screen.

A hand holding a smartphone with a black case, displaying a lock screen showing the time as 3:03 and the date as Monday, September 22. The background of the phone screen is blurred greenery. The surface beneath the hand appears to be a wooden table with a blue and white patterned area in the background. — When idle, your Lock Screen will just show the time.

A hand holding a smartphone displaying a lock screen with the time 3:03 and the date Mon Sep 22. The background image on the phone shows a brown and black dog with its tongue out, sitting in tall green grass. The phone has a black case. — When you tap your iPhone, your Spatial Scene background will come to life and “pop” in the foreground.

How to set a Spatial Scene as your Lock Screen wallpaper

The second and more practical way of experiencing Spatial Scenes is by setting one as your iPhone’s Lock Screen wallpaper. This way, you can actually experience a Spatial Scene every time you look at your iPhone.

To choose a Spatial Scene, long-press your iPhone’s Lock Screen wallpaper (your iPhone must be unlocked). From here, you have a few options.

If you’d like to turn your current Lock Screen’s wallpaper into a Spatial Scene, simply select the “Customize” button and tap the hexagonal icon located on the right.

A smartphone screen displays a selection of lock screen wallpapers featuring a brindle boxer dog with a red collar in various poses. The time "9:41" is shown on each wallpaper. The screen section is titled "Spatial Scenes" and "Weather & Astronomy," with a description about live weather and astronomical conditions for the current location. The phone is in a blue case and rests on a wooden surface. — Your iPhone can also recommend photos to turn into Spatial Scenes for your Lock Screen wallpaper.

If you want to choose a new photo or image, select the “+” icon next to the big “Customize” button in the bottom-right corner. Then, choose the new photo or image and then select the hexagonal icon to turn it into a Spatial Scene.

Additionally, if you select the “+” icon, there will be a new “Spatial Scenes” row/gallery of photos that your iPhone recommends using. You can shuffle through them and see if one stands out.

Perhaps the coolest thing about these Spatial Scenes is that they work on most photos, and they don’t require Apple Intelligence. This means any iPhone (12 or later) running iOS 16 can experience them.

About the Author: Tucker Bowe has been on Gear Patrol’s editorial team since 2014. With a passion for consumer tech and hi-fi, he tracks everything from headphones and turntables to smartphones and wearables. If it lights up or makes noise, he probably covers it.

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