Live Wallpaper CPU Usage on Mac, Tested

The number one fear about live wallpapers: *will it slow down my Mac?* With the right architecture, the answer is no. Apple Silicon decodes H.264 and HEVC in dedicated silicon, so a well-built app barely touches the CPU. The difference between apps is everything around the decoder.

What makes MacWall the lightest option

Hardware decode via AVFoundation/VideoToolbox, the video never hits the CPU

Auto-pause on high CPU: playback pauses when system load passes 80% and resumes at 55%

Pause on full screen: covered wallpaper means zero decode work, per display

Pause on screen lock and display sleep: nothing renders when you're away

Reduce Quality on Battery: caps playback to 1080p/30fps on battery or Low Power Mode

One decoder per display: no duplicated work on multi-monitor setups

Quality presets: Performance Mode caps resolution and frame rate (down to 720p/24fps) if you want extra headroom

How competitors compare

Electron and web-wrapper wallpaper tools keep a Chromium instance alive just to draw your desktop, tens of times MacWall's footprint. Scene-engine tools run translation layers that cost real GPU and CPU. Native video apps (Wallper, Wallspace, Backdrop) are reasonable, but none combine MacWall's full pause policy stack: battery, full screen, lock, display sleep, AND live CPU monitoring.

Check it yourself

MacWall shows live CPU, RAM, and cache stats right in its menu bar popover. Open Activity Monitor next to it, during normal work with a full-screen app in front, MacWall's playback cost is zero, because it isn't playing at all.