iOS 26 lets you turn old 2D photos in 3D photos and even put them on your iPhone lock screen

The brand-new iOS 26 update (it's being disseminated for almost two days now) comes not just with Liquid Glass, but a ton of other clever features on board.

Among these, there's Spatial Scenes – which turns old, boring 2D photos into a 3D-like show off material. The best part is that you can enjoy Spatial Scenes not just on your Photos gallery, but you could also put the 3D-like creation on your iPhone's home screen or lock screen.

Every time you tilt your iPhone, the Spatial Scenes-created image will move accordingly and come to live with the 3D effect.

How to do it?

To use Spatial Scenes, the first step is making sure your iPhone is running iOS 26. You'll find the update in Settings > General > Software Update, under "Upgrade to iOS 26". The feature works only on iPhone 12 or newer, though iOS 26 itself is also available on iPhone 11 and iPhone SE 2.

Once you're running iOS 26, creating a Spatial Scene is simple and happens directly inside the Photos app:

1. Open the Photos app.
2. Select a picture you'd like to turn into a 3D scene.
3. Tap the Spatial Scene button in the top-right corner (hexagon icon with an arrow).
4. Wait while the photo is processed.
5. Tilt your phone to see the depth effect.

The best part is that almost any photo works — even older ones from years ago or taken on a different camera. Once processed, the effect creates a sense of perspective so the foreground and background move when you tilt your iPhone.



If you want the effect on your Lock Screen, that's just as easy:

1. Tap the Share button.
2. Choose Use as Wallpaper.
3. Toggle the Spatial Scene effect on or off using the hexagon icon in the preview.
4. Tap Done to confirm.

There's one catch: unlike normal photos, Spatial Scenes can't be resized around the clock on the Lock Screen. This means images with subjects too close to the top may overlap with the clock. Wide shots like landscapes and cityscapes tend to work best.

For more variety, you can also use Photo Shuffle with Spatial Scenes. This cycles through different 3D wallpapers at intervals you pick — daily, hourly, when tapped, or every time you unlock your iPhone.

How it's made possible

Apple's Neural Engine is a special part of its chips designed to handle tasks that involve AI tricks and machine learning. Instead of relying only on the main processor or graphics unit, the Neural Engine is built to quickly process things like face recognition, voice commands, photo enhancements, and predictive text.

Despite Apple lagging behind the competition on the AI front, the Neural Engine is of great help for iPhones and iPads.

And Apple's Neural Engine is what is used by Spatial Scenes to make the magic happen. That's what turns your old photos, even taken on another camera, into a 3D-like image.

"Iconic Phones" is coming this Fall!