Google's latest Pixel live wallpaper is a blast from the past

The Horizon we missed has returned

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Whenever Google introduces some new phones, like it did with last year's Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, we expect a certain amount of stuff that's going to be at least momentarily exclusive to this latest generation, like with Photo Unblur. Pixel phones don't only get tools like that, though, and also include exclusive wallpapers --- like the Feathers collection or the Live Bloom wallpapers. After sitting out a couple recent releases, Google is now bringing back one live wallpaper that might just ring a bell.

Going back to the first generation, Pixel phones offered a live wallpaper called Horizon, showing a mountainous skyline that would respond with the sun rising as your battery charged, and setting during discharge. If you like live wallpapers, you may fondly remember it from older models, but with last year's release of the Pixel 6a, Horizon was not present in the Living Universe section of Pixel wallpapers --- Google seemed to have killed it off.

Horizon didn't come back with the release of the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, but now, 9to5Google has spotted it appearing in the Living Universe collection. We can confirm it is available to all Pixel 7 and 7 Pro owners running the latest Android 13 stable build, and Android 14 Beta 3.1 as well.

The Horizon live wallpaper makes for a nice throwback, especially if you're in the know. Even otherwise, it's nice to see a nostalgic live wallpaper come back to modern devices untouched. This one could be a great option if you don't enjoy seeing the battery percentage in the status bar, but still want quick, glanceable information about your remaining charge. Hopefully, Horizon will make its way to the Pixel 8 series, too, later this year.

You don't have to wait for the Pixel 8 to get a look at its own wallpapers, since those are already available for download. They feature static images of various mineral crystals in the same colors as the hardware. They sure look interesting, and are worth checking out in both light and dark variations if this Horizon nostalgia doesn't quite appeal to you.