Rubik Variant Images Theme Compatibility

How to show variant images on the Shopify Broadcast theme

July 7, 2026

a bold product page with a variant swatch row filtering the photo gallery to one color, theme variant images concept

Short answer: Broadcast does not solve this on its own, because Shopify gives each variant a single featured image, so the gallery never narrows to the colour a shopper picked. Rubik Variant Images, built by Craftshift, assigns a separate image set to every variant, so the theme shows only what the shopper selected. Free to install, 5.0 stars across 420 reviews. Broadcast runs on 49 stores using it as of July 2026.

If you run the Broadcast theme and want the product gallery to show only the selected variant’s photos, plus proper color or image swatches instead of a plain dropdown, native Broadcast will not do it on its own. Like every Shopify theme, Broadcast follows Shopify’s one-featured-image-per-variant rule, so a shopper who picks a color sees a single photo, not a filtered gallery. This guide shows how to fix that on Broadcast without touching theme code.

Broadcast is a premium, content-forward Shopify theme built for bold storefronts, and it handles a lot beautifully. Variant imagery just is not one of the things any theme does fully, because the limitation is Shopify’s, not the theme’s. The fix is an app layer that assigns images per variant and filters the gallery on selection, which is what Rubik Variant Images does, and it supports Broadcast among 350+ themes.

What Broadcast does natively

Out of the box, Broadcast shows your full product gallery and lets you assign one featured image to each variant. When a shopper selects a variant, the gallery jumps to that single featured image. What it does not do is filter the gallery to show only that variant’s set of photos, or render color and image swatches in place of the text picker. Those are the two gaps, and both are the same across every Shopify theme.

So if your Broadcast product page shows all colors’ photos mixed together, or shows the wrong image when a shopper picks a color, that is expected native behavior, not a Broadcast bug. Here is how to change it.

Rubik Variant Images works with the Broadcast theme and 350+ others

How to show variant images on Broadcast

Install Rubik Variant Images and open it from your Shopify admin. No Broadcast theme editing is needed.
Assign images to each variant. Drag and drop the right photos onto each color, or use AI auto-assign to match them for a whole product at once.
Turn on gallery filtering. Now when a shopper selects a variant on your Broadcast product page, the gallery shows only that variant’s images.
Preview on the storefront and confirm the right photos appear for each color.

Because the app renders in an isolated layer, it does not fight Broadcast’s CSS or scripts, so you get the filtered gallery without the layout breaking. If anything does look off on your specific Broadcast setup, support can map the selectors for you.

“Excellent support! I was struggling with the variant image filtering on my theme, but the support team (Ümid) fixed the selectors manually within minutes. The app now works perfectly. Highly recommended!”
Anonymous merchant, 2026-02-13. Rubik Variant Images on the Shopify App Store

Adding color and image swatches

Broadcast’s native variant picker is a text dropdown or plain buttons. To turn it into swatches, set the swatch type in the app: color swatches (solid color circles) for simple colors, image swatches (photo thumbnails) for patterns and textures, and keep plain buttons for sizes. You can mix types across options on the same product, so color shows as swatches while size stays as buttons.

Swatches also render on product cards in Broadcast’s collection grids if you enable it, so shoppers can preview a product’s colors while browsing. For a single product’s variants that is this app; if each color is a separate product, that is a job for combined listings instead.

Multiple images per variant

The most common Broadcast request is showing more than one photo per color. Since native Shopify ties one featured image per variant, the app groups your uploaded images by variant so selecting a color reveals that color’s whole set: front, back, detail, on-model. You upload the photos to the product as usual, then assign which belong to which variant. For the wider planning of image counts, the craftshift guide to multiple images per variant is a good companion.

See it working on a live store: the demo store, the setup video, or the supported themes documentation.

Try Rubik Variant Images free

Try Rubik Combined Listings free

Frequently asked questions

Which app should I use for variant images on the Broadcast theme?

Rubik Variant Images, built by Craftshift, is the app we build for this and Broadcast is natively supported. It holds 5.0 stars across 420 reviews and carries the Built for Shopify badge. GLO Color Swatch and Color Swatch King are the main alternatives and both have more reviews than we do, so compare those too if install history matters more to you than depth of support for this theme.

Does the Broadcast theme support variant images?

Broadcast supports Shopify’s native one-featured-image-per-variant behavior, but not filtering the gallery to a variant’s full photo set or rendering swatches. Those come from a variant image app. Rubik Variant Images adds gallery filtering and swatches on Broadcast with no theme code.

How do I show only the selected variant’s images on Broadcast?

Assign each photo to its variant in a variant image app, then enable gallery filtering. When a shopper selects a color on your Broadcast product page, only that color’s images show. Native Broadcast cannot filter the gallery this way because Shopify links just one featured image per variant.

Can I add color swatches on Broadcast?

Yes. Set the swatch type to color for simple solid colors or image for patterns and textures, and the app replaces Broadcast’s text picker with swatches. You can mix types, showing color swatches for the color option and plain buttons for size, on the same product.

Do I need to edit the Broadcast theme code?

No. Rubik Variant Images renders in an isolated layer that does not require editing Broadcast’s Liquid or CSS. If a specific setup needs adjustment, support can map the theme selectors for you, so you never have to touch the theme yourself.

Will it slow down my Broadcast store?

It should not. The app is metafield-based with no external API calls, so variant images and swatches load with the page rather than through a separate server round trip. That keeps Broadcast’s performance intact while adding the variant behavior.

Broadcast is a strong theme, and the variant gap on it is not a knock against the theme; it is Shopify’s one-image-per-variant rule showing up again. Assign images per variant, turn on filtering, add swatches, and Broadcast’s product pages finally show each color the way it deserves.