iPad wallpaper size and how to make one that fits

The right iPad wallpaper size is a square whose sides match your iPad's longest screen edge in pixels. An iPad rotates, and the wallpaper has to fill the screen in portrait and in landscape, so a square covers both. Find your model under Settings, General, About, look up its native resolution on Apple's technical specifications page, take the larger of the two numbers, and make a square at that size or a little larger. Keep anything important in the centre, because each orientation crops a different pair of edges.

How to find your iPad's screen size in pixels

There is no single iPad wallpaper size: iPad mini, iPad, iPad Air and iPad Pro each have their own resolution, and they have changed between generations. Guessing gets you a wallpaper that is soft or oddly cropped. It takes two minutes to find the real numbers.

1. 1

   Find your model

   Open Settings, General, About. Note the model name, for example iPad Air (M2) or iPad Pro 11 inch.

2. 2

   Look up its specifications

   Search Apple's support site for that model's technical specifications. The Display section lists the resolution, such as width by height pixels.

3. 3

   Take the longer number

   Whichever of the two numbers is larger is your screen's long edge. That is the side of your square. A quick check: take a screenshot and look at its dimensions in Photos, since screenshots are saved at the screen's full resolution.

4. 4

   Add a little room

   Make the square slightly larger than the long edge, so any small zoom on the home or lock screen never shows an edge.

Why a square iPad wallpaper fits both ways

Most iPad screens are somewhere between 4:3 and about 3:2, depending on the model. Held upright, the screen is tall; turned sideways, it is wide. A wallpaper made exactly to the portrait size would leave gaps in landscape, so iPadOS scales it up and crops it. A square as wide as the long edge already covers both shapes, so nothing needs to be enlarged.

The practical rule that follows: the centre of the square is the only area always on screen. Put any shape, word or bright spot of colour there, and treat the outer band on all four sides as background that may or may not be visible.

Where the clock, widgets and icons sit

On the lock screen, the time and date sit towards the top and notifications gather beneath them. On the home screen, app icons, widgets and the dock cover most of the image. That suits calm, even wallpapers far better than detailed photos: a busy picture fights every icon, while a soft gradient lets labels read and still gives the iPad a personality. Lock screen wallpaper ideas goes further into designing around the clock.

iPad wallpaper ideas that suit a big screen

An iPad screen is large enough that a wallpaper becomes part of the room, especially on a stand or in a keyboard case. Styles that work well:

• A slow vertical gradient that stays pleasant both ways up, because it changes gently in every direction.
• A radial glow at the centre on a dark ground, so the light is visible whichever way the iPad turns.
• Paper or grain textures for note taking and drawing, which make the screen feel less glassy.
• A colour matched to your case or keyboard, for a set that looks deliberate.
• One word in the centre, small, as a quiet reminder of what the iPad is for.

How to make and set your own iPad wallpaper

Any design tool that accepts a custom canvas size will do. In Gradiently's Studio you can set a custom size from 200 to 8,000 pixels, which comfortably covers an iPad's long edge, and start from a wallpaper template. Exports at full resolution without a watermark need Pro; a free 720p export would look soft on an iPad. Design in a Mark and the background renders crisply at whatever square you choose.

To set it, save the image to Photos, then open Settings, Wallpaper, and add a new wallpaper from your photo. Turn the iPad both ways on the lock screen and the home screen before you settle. Save as PNG so gradients stay smooth; PNG vs JPEG explains why, and gradient banding covers the fix if you see stripes.

For your other screens, see phone wallpaper size and desktop wallpapers; one look across all three is easy once you have the colours.