When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works

Home / News / Custom-build your own Live Case for Nexus phones, with wallpaper to match

Custom-build your own Live Case for Nexus phones, with wallpaper to match

Google's new case-making platform lets you use photos or maps

Just a year ago this week, leaked images suggested that Google was working on a platform to allow Nexus phone owners to create their own custom cases – and sure enough, that initiative is finally live today.

If you’ve got a Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, or Nexus 6 handset, take note: Google’s new Live Cases let you design your own hardshell backing and get a live wallpaper to match. One option lets you upload a photo and tweak it with all sorts of filters and effects, and then get a photo slideshow to use as your wallpaper.

But the much cooler option, we’d say, is the ability to use Google Maps to build a custom backing. Hover atop your hometown or top vacation spot and then zoom in as much as desired to frame it up perfectly – from there, you can add effects to generate your perfect personal protector. And then the live wallpaper will show your current location in the same style.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrinxYzhq-E

Google says the snap-on cases are thin and light, and the little button on the back is a shortcut button that you can assign to a favourite app, the camera, or nearby places of interest in Maps. The case sells for US$35 (about £25) in the States for all three devices, and is available in Places Live Case and Photos Live Case options – but sadly, it’s not up for sale in the UK just yet.

Also, note that this isn’t Google’s first Live Case: the company teamed with dubstep star Skrillex last May to launch a line of them for several devices, including the Nexus 5 and 6 along with the Samsung Galaxy S5, S6, and Note 4. However, those cases were only available for about a month.

[Source: Google via 9to5Google]

Profile image of Andrew Hayward Andrew Hayward Freelance Writer

About

Andrew writes features, news stories, reviews, and other pieces, often when the UK home team is off-duty or asleep. I'm based in Chicago with my lovely wife, amazing son, and silly cats, and my writing about games, gadgets, esports, apps, and plenty more has appeared in more than 75 publications since 2006.

Areas of expertise

Video games, gadgets, apps, smart home

Enable referrer and click cookie to search for eefc48a8bf715c1b 20231024b972d108 [] 2.7.22