iPhone 17 Pro Wallpaper: 4K Picks for Pro and Pro Max

The best iPhone 17 Pro wallpaper is a dark one with its subject in the lower half: both the iPhone 17 Pro and the 17 Pro Max have an OLED screen, so black areas stay black, and the Always-On display keeps that wallpaper visible in a dimmed form all day. One 2160 × 3840 original is larger than both screens, so the same file stays sharp on the 6.3 inch Pro and the 6.9 inch Pro Max.

This page is only about the two Pro models: their sizes as Apple lists them, what the display changes for a wallpaper, and picks for Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue and Silver. For the whole family, including the iPhone 17, the iPhone Air and the pastel colours, see our iPhone 17 wallpapers.

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max wallpaper size

These figures come from Apple's tech specs pages for the two phones, width by height in pixels:

Both screens have the same pixel density, so the Pro Max is simply a bigger window onto the same picture. A 2160 × 3840 wallpaper is taller and wider than either screen. iOS scales it down and trims about 9 percent from each side, because both phones are narrower than 9:16. In practice you see the middle four fifths of the width, so anything placed right at the edge of the artwork will be cut. Older iPhones and the exact crop for each are in our iPhone wallpaper size guide.

What the 17 Pro display means for your wallpaper

Apple calls the screen on both models a Super Retina XDR display and lists, among other things:

• An all-screen OLED display, 6.3 inches on the 17 Pro and 6.9 inches on the 17 Pro Max.
• A 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio (typical).
• 1000 nits max brightness (typical), 1600 nits peak for HDR, 3000 nits peak outdoors and 1 nit minimum.
• ProMotion with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz.
• The Always-On display, the Dynamic Island and an anti-reflective coating.

Three of these matter when you pick a picture. On OLED each pixel makes its own light, so a black background blends into the frame and a bright shape on it looks like it floats. The Always-On display shows a dimmed version of the lock screen when the phone is locked, so a dark wallpaper looks calm there instead of like a gray sheet. And the Dynamic Island sits at the top centre, right above the clock, so a subject placed high in the frame ends up behind the island and the time. Our guide to dark wallpapers for OLED goes deeper into why black works on these screens.

Black wallpapers for the Always-On display

These are almost entirely black, with one quiet form low in the frame. They look the same whether the screen is awake or dimmed.

Black Glass Sphere4K · PhoneBlack Liquid Fold4K · PhoneLone Spire4K · PhonePagoda Moon4K · Phone

Black Glass Sphere is a single clear glass ball resting in the lower third of a pure black frame, caught by a thin rim of light. Black Liquid Fold is a glossy black liquid shape spreading out at the bottom of the screen, with a soft highlight at its tip. Lone Spire draws one white stepped tower against a black sky with a small moon above it, and keeps most of the frame empty. Pagoda Moon puts a full moon over the dark silhouette of a pagoda, deep navy rather than pure black.

To decide whether the wallpaper shows on the dimmed screen, open Settings, tap Display & Brightness, then Always On Display, and turn Show Wallpaper on or off. With it off, the locked phone shows only the clock and widgets on black. Everything else about that mode is in our article on the iPhone Always-On display wallpaper.

Wallpapers for Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue and Silver

The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max come in three finishes: Silver, Cosmic Orange and Deep Blue. These picks are different from the ones on our family page, so you have a second set to choose from.

Cosmic Orange

Terracotta Leaves4K · PhoneAmber Paper Sunrise4K · PhoneCobalt Shadow Ascent4K · Phone

Terracotta Leaves is a curve of terracotta stairs with a few fallen leaves under a pale evening sky, so the clock sits on soft sky and the orange stays below it. Amber Paper Sunrise layers paper cut hills in amber and rust under a low sun, warm and flat like the aluminium back. Cobalt Shadow Ascent mixes both Pro colours: blue stairs crossed by warm orange bands of light.

Deep Blue

Midnight Flow4K · PhonePetrol Terraces4K · PhoneVolt Blue Arch4K · Phone

Midnight Flow is navy and violet silk rolling across the screen, close to how Deep Blue looks in low light. Petrol Terraces swirls dark teal liquid into rings, a little greener and moodier. Volt Blue Arch is a glowing electric blue arch in a blue room, the bright option for people who like colour next to the OLED blacks.

Silver

Ink Pressure4K · PhoneArctic Current4K · PhoneTwin Slabs4K · Phone

Ink Pressure folds liquid chrome into soft waves of steel and gray, the closest match to a silver frame. Arctic Current is two curved panes of pale gray glass meeting in the middle. Twin Slabs is two tall concrete blocks standing in a pale sky, quiet and light, with plenty of space for the clock.

How to set a wallpaper on iPhone 17 Pro

Apple's spec pages mention iOS 26 for these phones, and the steps below follow its English menu names:

1. Save the original to Photos from the Velpaper app or from the wallpaper page on velpaper.com.
2. Open Settings, tap Wallpaper, then Add New Wallpaper, and choose Photos.
3. Pick the image, then pinch and drag so the main shape sits below the clock and clear of the Dynamic Island.
4. Tap Add and choose whether to use it on both the lock screen and the home screen.

Fonts, widgets and the clock colour are all covered in how to set a lock screen wallpaper on iPhone.

Common problems and fixes

• Something at the edge is cut off. The 17 Pro and Pro Max show about the middle four fifths of a 9:16 image. Pick a wallpaper with its subject near the centre.
• The clock covers the subject. Move the image down in the editor, or choose one of the picks above that keep the top third empty.
• The wallpaper looks soft. You probably saved a preview or a screenshot. Download the original again from the wallpaper page.
• iOS zooms in further than you framed it. Open the More menu in the wallpaper editor and turn off Perspective Zoom if your version shows it, or read our iPhone wallpaper zoom fix.
• You worry about burn-in with a black wallpaper. The lock screen is not on screen most of the time, and our article on whether a wallpaper can cause OLED burn-in explains the real risk.

Get these iPhone 17 Pro wallpapers in Velpaper

Velpaper is an app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android, and every wallpaper is also on velpaper.com. Phone wallpapers are 4K originals at 2160 × 3840, desktop wallpapers are 4K and some are 5K, all without a watermark and without an account. The phone wallpapers in this article unlock after a short optional ad in the Velpaper apps; on the website, if no ad is available, the original downloads for free. The wallpapers are designed by Carlos Vivero.

Next step: open Black Glass Sphere, save the original, set it on your 17 Pro and lock the phone to see it on the Always-On display.