Using pre-installed wallpapers
There are two distinct places you can go to customize the theme on your Galaxy A53. First, go to your home screen and hold your finger down in an empty area. You’ll see the screen change and options come up at the bottom. The first one will be named “Wallpaper and style”. Tapping on it will bring you to a new screen. Here, you can change certain aspects of your theme starting with your wallpaper. If you tap on the My Wallpapers button, it will take you to a selection screen. You can scroll through this screen to preview the wallpapers pre-installed on your phone. This screen is divided into sections. The first section has wallpapers that are just for your lock screen, and the section under it has wallpapers that are for both your lock screen and your home screen. When you tap on a wallpaper selection, you’ll have the option to set it as either your home screen, your lock screen, or both. After that, it will bring you to a preview screen that will show you how your wallpaper will look. Under the preview, you’ll see the button on the bottom to finalize the selection. If you exit before pressing the button, it won’t be applied.
Using your own wallpapers
If you don’t want to use the wallpapers on your phone and you want to bring your own, then you can do that as well. Download your wallpaper using your browser of choice (or whatever means you get your image). From there, go to the Wallpaper and style page just like before. Rather than tapping on My wallpapers, got to Gallery. There, it will show you all of the images and videos on your device. Tapping on any of the pictures will bring up the preview as before. Again, you’ll be prompted about whether you want the wallpaper on your lock screen, home screen, or both. You can also apply a video as your lock screen wallpaper, but for best results, you’ll want to make sure that it’s in portrait orientation. When you add in the video, it won’t have any sound to it, and it can only be up to 15 seconds long. If it’s too long, then the software will tell you to trim it down.
Downloading Samsung Wallpapers
If you want wallpapers straight from Samsung, you can download them from the theme store. Hold down on an empty space on your home screen, but instead of going to Wallpaper and style, go to the Themes option right next to it. There, you’ll see a bar on the bottom with different tabs you can visit. The second one is the wallpaper tab. Tapping on it will bring up a scrolling feed of wallpapers you can select. The feed will consist of individual wallpapers you can choose and categories. If you want to download Samsung wallpapers, just know that a lot of them do cost money. Tapping on them will bring up a preview screen where you can download the wallpaper. After you download it, you’ll have the option to apply it right then and there. If you don’t want to apply it then, you can just back out. If you want to apply the downloaded wallpaper at a later time, you can do so from the Wallpaper and style section. When you tap on the Wallpaper button, you’ll see two chips up top reading Featured and Downloaded. Tapping on the Downloaded chip will show you the wallpapers you downloaded.
Themes
There are two ways to change the overall theme on your Galaxy A53 5G. One way is by using Dynamic Color, and the other way is through the theme store. Let’s talk about the first method because it’s a coveted feature of Android 12.
Dynamic Color
When Google introduced Android 12 in Fall 2021, it introduced Dynamic Color. With this feature, Android will take the main colors in your wallpaper and create a custom theme based on those colors. This means that those colors will be present throughout your entire system. That includes your app icons, menus, settings, and even some of your apps will have that color scheme. In order to apply Dynamic Color, you don’t have to do much. If you changed your wallpaper using the abovementioned method, then you’ve seen it. Right after you change your wallpaper, you’ll be taken to a color palette page. In the middle of the screen, you’ll see four vertical lines made of different colors. Those colors represent the main colors that are present in your wallpaper. You can choose any of those lines to apply the theme. Above that section, you’ll see several previews that will show what your system will look like with the theme applied. This way, you can get a feel for what theme you’re applying before putting it on. Below that, you’ll see a toggle where you can choose to have the theme apply to your Samsung app icons.
Theme Store
Samsung has offered a large array of themes with its own theme store for a few years now. This is a cornucopia of different artisan-crafted themes that you can download and apply to your software. Just like with Dynamic Color, the theme will apply to all corners of your software. You’ve already seen the collection of themes on your way to download wallpapers. Hold your finger down on an empty spot on your home screen and tap on the Theme option at the bottom. When you do that, you’ll see the themes that you can apply. Just know that the majority of them cost money (most cost either $1.99 or $2.49). Up top, you’ll see two categories: Featured and Top. You can choose between them to explore your possibilities. Just like with the wallpapers, you’ll download the theme and you’ll have the option to apply it right then and there. If you don’t want to apply it just then, you can access your downloaded content at a later time from your My Stuff tab. When you open up the Themes store, tap on the Menu tab on the bottom right of the screen. You’ll see the My Stuff button up top in the menu. There, you’ll see your downloaded themes, wallpapers, icons, and AODs.
Icons and AODs
Speaking of icons and AODs, Samsung offers a plethora of customizability options with its phones, and this means that you can change the little things. You have options to change the icon packs and AODs.
Icons
When you change the theme overall, you’re also changing the icons that appear on your home screen. But, what if you only want to change the icons and leave everything else the same (or vice versa)? Well, if you go to the theme store, you’ll see an Icons tab on the bottom. There, you’ll be able to choose the specific icon packs you want to assign. You can assign them right then or access them later in the My Stuff location.
AODs
AODs or Always-On Displays are graphics and information that show while your phone’s screen is off. You’ll see information like the time, date, and your notifications. Along with those, you can also see little pictures or simple animations. Again, go to the Themes store and tap on the AODs tab right next to the menu tab. Applying these is the same as applying the theme or icon pack with one exception. When you do, you’ll be asked if you want to display just the image or the image with the time when you lock your screen. Now, there are other customizations you can make with the AOD. Go to your system settings and scroll down to the Lock Screen section. There, you’ll see an Always On Display section. In this section, you’ll be able to adjust some more settings. You can change the settings so that your AOD is customized to your needs. And there you have it! With these tips, you can really make your Galaxy A53 5G YOUR Galaxy A53 5G. If you want to take a screenshot of your new theme, here’s our how-to guide. While you’re at it, you can read our full review.
