The wallpapers that come with macOS 27 Golden Gate, macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 15 Sequoia are all in System Settings > Wallpaper, grouped into categories: Dynamic Wallpapers, aerials, Shuffle Aerials, Pictures and Colors, plus your own photos. macOS 27 adds a Mac category. On Tahoe and later the aerials animate as you lock or unlock; on Sequoia they are still images on the desktop.
This page compares the three versions from Apple's own help pages, read on 6 November 2026. Apple doesn't publish a list of every wallpaper's name, so for the exact set on your Mac, open Wallpaper settings and scroll. Apple lists macOS 27.2, 26.7.2 and 15.8.2 as the latest release of each. MacWall runs on all three.
Wallpaper categories by macOS version
| Category | macOS 27 Golden Gate | macOS 26 Tahoe | macOS 15 Sequoia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamic Wallpapers | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Your Photos | Yes | Yes | Add Photo, Add Folder or Album |
| Landscape, Cityscape, Underwater, Earth aerials | Animate as you lock or unlock | Animate as you lock or unlock | Still images on the desktop |
| Mac | Yes | No | No |
| Shuffle Aerials | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pictures | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Colors | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Clock Appearance | In Wallpaper settings | In Wallpaper settings | In Lock Screen settings |
macOS 27 Golden Gate wallpapers
macOS 27 keeps Tahoe's categories and adds Mac: Apple describes it as animated gradient pill shapes that spell "Mac", and you choose their color. It appears as a screen saver too, where the shapes shift through color tones. As on Tahoe, the aerials animate as you lock or unlock, and the aerial you pick is also your screen saver by default.
Apple's own summary of macOS 27 mentions one more change that affects how a wallpaper looks: you can customize Liquid Glass, from ultraclear to fully tinted, in Appearance settings. A tinted setting lets less of the wallpaper show through menus and the Dock. macOS 27 runs only on Macs with Apple silicon.
macOS 26 Tahoe wallpapers
Tahoe brought the categories macOS 27 builds on: Dynamic Wallpapers, Your Photos, the four aerial collections, Shuffle Aerials, Pictures and Colors. It is the version where aerial wallpapers started animating as you lock or unlock, and where Clock Appearance moved into Wallpaper settings to set the large clock's font, weight and placement. Tahoe's translucent Liquid Glass look picks up color from the wallpaper, so darker, calmer pictures keep menu text readable. The details, including where the files are stored, are in macOS Tahoe wallpapers.
macOS 15 Sequoia wallpapers
On Sequoia the aerials are still images on the desktop, and the motion lives in the screen saver. Screen Saver is its own item in the System Settings sidebar, and turning on Show as wallpaper there uses a still aerial or macOS image as your desktop picture. In Wallpaper settings, aerials, Shuffle Aerials and Dynamic Wallpapers have the reverse switch, Show as screen saver. Your own images come in through Add Photo or Add Folder or Album, and photos can shuffle at an interval you choose, in random order if you like. The large clock is set in Lock Screen settings under Show large clock.
Sequoia is the oldest version MacWall runs on: macOS 15 or later for desktop live wallpapers. Lock Screen and screen saver video need macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later, so on Sequoia MacWall plays the desktop only.
Where the wallpaper files are
The still wallpapers that ship with macOS are image files in /System/Library/Desktop Pictures. Some wallpapers aren't installed until you pick one: Apple's pages note that when a download icon appears next to a wallpaper or aerial, you click it to download and use it. To open the folder, choose Go > Go to Folder in the Finder and type the path.
Use a newer macOS wallpaper on an older Mac
Apple's wallpapers are part of macOS and licensed for use on your Macs, so we don't host copies. If one of your Macs runs the newer version, copy the image file from /System/Library/Desktop Pictures on that Mac, then on the older Mac Control-click the file in the Finder and choose Set Desktop Picture. This works for still images; the moving aerials aren't picture files in that folder, so they don't copy over. The general steps are in how to change wallpaper on Mac.
Dynamic, aerial and live wallpapers
- Dynamic Wallpapers brighten and darken with the time of day where you are. They are still images; dynamic wallpaper on Mac explains how they work and how to make your own.
- Aerials are Apple's slow-motion footage: on macOS 26 and 27 they move as you lock or unlock, not while you work.
- Live wallpapers play a video on the desktop the whole time it is visible. macOS has no setting for that; MacWall adds it with 1,000+ 4K loops, and on macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later it puts the video on the Lock Screen and screen saver too.
For the Lock Screen on macOS 27 specifically, see Lock Screen live wallpaper on macOS 27. Sizes for every Mac display are in MacBook wallpaper size.
Sources
- Customize the wallpaper on your Mac (macOS 27), Apple Support, accessed 6 November 2026
- Customize the wallpaper on your Mac (macOS Tahoe 26), Apple Support, accessed 6 November 2026
- Customize the wallpaper on your Mac (macOS Sequoia 15), Apple Support, accessed 6 November 2026
- Wallpaper settings on Mac (macOS 27), Apple Support, accessed 6 November 2026
- Wallpaper settings on Mac (macOS Tahoe 26), Apple Support, accessed 6 November 2026
- Wallpaper settings on Mac (macOS Sequoia 15), Apple Support, accessed 6 November 2026
- Change Screen Saver settings on Mac (macOS 27), Apple Support, accessed 6 November 2026
- Change Screen Saver settings on Mac (macOS Sequoia 15), Apple Support, accessed 6 November 2026
- Change Lock Screen settings on Mac (macOS Sequoia 15), Apple Support, accessed 6 November 2026
- What's new in macOS 27, Apple Support, accessed 6 November 2026
- Find out which macOS your Mac is using, Apple Support, accessed 6 November 2026
- macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers, Apple Support, accessed 6 November 2026
Frequently asked questions
- Where are the macOS wallpapers?
- In System Settings > Wallpaper on macOS 15, 26 and 27. The still image files that ship with macOS are in /System/Library/Desktop Pictures; some wallpapers download the first time you pick them.
- What's new in macOS 27 wallpapers?
- macOS 27 adds a Mac category, animated gradient pill shapes that spell "Mac" in a color you choose, and lets you tune Liquid Glass from ultraclear to fully tinted in Appearance settings.
- Do macOS wallpapers move?
- On macOS 26 and 27 the aerial wallpapers animate as you lock or unlock. On Sequoia they are still on the desktop and move as screen savers. A video that plays on the desktop needs an app such as MacWall.
- Can I use the macOS Tahoe or macOS 27 wallpaper on an older Mac?
- The still images can be copied from /System/Library/Desktop Pictures on one of your Macs that runs the newer version and set with Set Desktop Picture. The moving aerials don't copy over.
