It's always nice when Microsoft officially adds a feature previously exclusive to third-party apps. It's not common, and it usually takes Microsoft a few years to catch up; however, sometimes it surprises us. I can't remember how long it took for the Redmond giant to finally add tabs in File Explorer, long after third-party apps had added them.
Now, it seems the company has finally gotten its head around implementing animated wallpapers in Windows 11. An upcoming update will likely replace the functionality of the third-party app Wallpaper Engine with official tools, although I wouldn't uninstall Wallpaper Engine just yet.
Windows 11 is getting officially supported animated MP4 wallpapers
PhantomOfEarth spotted this new feature on X, who we owe a ton of new discoveries to. If you're unsure as to who they are, Phantom loves going through all the latest Windows 11 testing builds and finding new features that weren't officially announced in the patch notes. These are usually features Microsoft is working on and has disabled from public view, albeit Phantom is highly skilled at sniffing them out and finding a way to enable them for everyone to see.
This time, Phantom spotted a new feature hidden in the Windows 11 Dev and Beta builds. This allows you to set video files, like MP4s, as desktop backgrounds, which the company originally experimented with in DreamScene back with Vista.Cool, right? Well, before you uninstall Wallpaper Engine, it's worth noting that this feature is still in testing, so there's no guarantee that it'll arrive on the release branch. If it does, it may take a little while to arrive. And even once it's on everyone's PCs, Wallpaper Engine still has a few benefits over Windows 11's feature, such as an extensive library you can search through. However, I can imagine that some people will be satisfied with using the officially supported Windows 11 tool to turn an MP4 into a desktop wallpaper. If not, you can always check out these 20 best wallpapers on Wallpaper Engine worthy of your PC instead