Does a live wallpaper drain my battery?

Not really. On iPhone, the Live Photo only animates when you long-press the lock screen — the rest of the time it's a still image. Battery cost: zero.

On Android, the MP4 plays continuously on the lock screen when the screen is on. Modern phones decode short 4-second loops in dedicated hardware (basically free), so the additional drain is ≈1–2% over a full day — invisible to most users.

The exception is older Android phones (pre-2019) on wallpaper apps that re-decode the video on every wake. If you have a 2017-era phone, stick to still wallpapers.

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