PSA: macOS Big Sur 11.3 Includes Colorful New Wallpapers Designed for M1 iMac

Apple in macOS Big Sur 11.3 introduced a series of colorful wallpapers that are designed specifically for the M1 iMac, but you can unearth them and download them on any Mac with a few quick instructions.

imac m1 blue isolated 16x9 500k
These are the wallpapers that have been used in Apple's marketing materials for the 24-inch ‌iMac‌, with different colored lines and patterns available for each ‌iMac‌ color. To get to these wallpapers, follow these steps:

  1. Open the System Preferences app.
  2. Click on Desktop & Screen Saver.
  3. Double click on "Desktop Pictures" on the left side to open the Desktop Pictures folder.
  4. Click into this folder when it opens up (alternatively, go to System > Library > Desktop Pictures).
  5. Scroll down to find the images labeled "Hello."
  6. Drag the image that you want to use onto your desktop.
  7. Right click on an image and select "Set Desktop Picture" or choose the image from the Desktop & Screensaver interface.

To get these images, you need to be running macOS Big Sur 11.3 or later, and it appears that they may not be available in the macOS Big Sur 11.4 beta. Apple has also released a new "Hello" screensaver for the iMacs, which you can also get from any Mac running macOS Big Sur 11.3.


These new wallpapers will be available by default on new iMacs, which are set to begin arriving to customers in the second half of May, starting on May 21.

Related Forum: macOS Big Sur

Popular Stories

CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday April 15, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update. Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key...
tvOS 18 Thumb 1

Apple Releases tvOS 18.4.1

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released tvOS 18.4.1, a minor update to the tvOS 18 operating system that came out last September. tvOS 18.4.1 comes two weeks after Apple released tvOS 18.4, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models. tvOS 18.4.1 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software....
iPhone Security Feature 25

Five iPhone Security Features You Should Be Using

Wednesday April 16, 2025 4:15 pm PDT by
Apple has quite a few security features that it's added to iPhones, iPads, and Macs over the years. Now more than ever, it's important to make sure you're taking advantage of the built-in security tools that are available to keep yourself and your data safe, so we've rounded up a list of the most important options. If you don't already have these enabled, you might want to consider turning...
vision air cable

Images of Apple 'Vision Air' Power Cable Emerge Online

Thursday April 17, 2025 5:55 am PDT by
More images of a redesigned power cable allegedly for a future Apple "Vision Air" headset were today shared online by the prototype collector and leaker known as "Kosutami." Yesterday, the leaker explained that the Apple "Vision Air" will feature a thinner design and switch the battery enclosure and several of its internal structures to titanium to reduce the device's overall weight. Most of ...

Top Rated Comments

thedocbwarren Avatar
52 months ago
These really scream OS 9 Platinum to me. I guess it's intended to revisit the iMac era.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tomtendo Avatar
52 months ago
These wallpapers are atrocious. So plain and too bright
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wolframite Avatar
52 months ago

how about the fact that they're square? Why are they no longer wide screen? Is MacOS coming to some device that would need wallpapers in portrait? Perhaps at WWDC? Perhaps a square device running M1? Perhaps that's why the new control center GUI makes so much more sense on a touch device?
My guess is that they're square to accommodate any orientation (portrait or landscape), particularly for the Pro XDR display, to ensure no warping or sacrificing of image quality.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jwhite9185 Avatar
52 months ago
I'm more interested in the two new dynamic wallpapers in the Tweet above. I don't see those...

Attachment Image
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmichaelb Avatar
52 months ago

Can someone drag the blue one from system preferences to desktop and upload it?
Would like the blue one on my m1 air (not on 11.3 yet)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/iifq4nvkkojalwd/Blue.png?dl=0
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KoolAid-Drink Avatar
52 months ago

On 11.3.0 and they are there.

This really feels like a throwback. Definite feels from some of the original OS X 10.0 desktop pictures. And the colors does kinda give me the nostalgia for my old Bondi Blue. I'll have to pull it out of its box. It's been a bit.
It does! From an old Snow Leopard installation I used to have, I pulled all the classic desktops from SL and have kept it to this day, and this folder includes all the Mac OS X 10.0 wallpapers. I even managed to find an archive of Mac OS 8 and 9 desktop wallpapers, so you could say I got the entire library.

Nostalgia, indeed. I particularly liked the ~10.3-era brown/grey wallpaper that had a macro zoom of stones. So soothing. Those new iMac wallpapers definitely screams 2001 all over again (which, ironically, is 20 years ago!).
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)