Difference Between Home Screen and Wallpaper

The main difference between home screen and wallpaper is that the home screen is the main screen of a mobile operating system or a computer while the wallpaper is the background image applicable to the home screen.

Devices such as computers and mobile phones have a home screen. It is the main screen of the device and the user can access various applications via the icons on the home screen. However, wallpaper is a decorative digital image that is applied to the home screen. It is a can be a photo or a drawing.  In brief, the wallpaper makes the home screen more presentable.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is a Home Screen
     – Definition, Features
2. What is a Wallpaper
    – Definition, Features
3. Difference Between Home Screen and Wallpaper
    – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Computers, Home Screen, Mobile Phones, Wallpaper

What is a Home Screen

The home screen is the main screen on the computer or a mobile phone. It is also called the start screen. It consists of multiple icons that direct the user to various applications, settings, and notifications. The user can arrange the icons according to his choice. Therefore, the structure of the home screen is not always identical in every system.

Figure 1: Android 4 Home Screen

In a mobile application, the home screen is in grid form with icons to access the applications. The home screen might contain multiple pages. In a computer, the user can add folders to the home screen to save files. Some home screens contain a pane which displays push notifications or select system settings. Moreover, some home screens provide features such as vertical screen orientation and provide an encrypted customized overview. Even though a device has a default home screen, the users can replace the native home screen using a different application or third-party home screen.

What is a Wallpaper

Wallpaper is a background. It can be a photograph or a drawing etc. It is the background digital image applied to the home screen of a computer or a mobile device. Initially, these devices contain default wallpaper but the user can change them according to their choice. There is a wide range of wallpapers available on the internet. There are certain websites that collect wallpapers and allow the users to download them.

Figure 2: Wallpaper of a Laptop

There is a special type of wallpaper called live wallpapers. Mobile devices with an Android operating system, and Windows desktops have live wallpapers. These wallpapers provide the background image for the home screen. Furthermore, they allow the user to interact with the touchscreen and access the other software and hardware features of the device. There is third party software that provides live wallpapers for the devices.

Difference Between Home Screen and Wallpaper

Definition

Home screen is the main screen on a mobile operating system or a computer. Wallpaper is a digital image that is used for a home screen of the computer, mobile communication device or other electronic devices.

Main Usage

Home screen helps the users to go to the applications, setting, and notifications quickly. The wallpaper makes the home screen appear more decorative and presentable.

Conclusion

The difference between home screen and wallpaper is that the home screen is the main screen of a mobile operating system or a computer while the wallpaper is the background image applicable to the home screen. In brief, the home screen is the main screen and wallpaper is the background applied to the home screen.

Reference:

1. “Wallpaper (Computing).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 July 2018, Available here.
2. “Home Screen.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 July 2018, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Android 4.4.3 homescreen” By MasterEdits – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “732963” (CC0) via pxhere