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

ios 19 messages app

Apple Sues Jon Prosser Over iOS 26 Leaks

Thursday July 17, 2025 8:40 pm PDT by
Earlier this year, YouTuber Jon Prosser shared multiple videos showing off what he claimed to be re-created renderings of what was then presumed to be called iOS 19 and which was eventually unveiled by Apple as iOS 26 at WWDC in June. In his first video back in January, Prosser showed off a Camera app redesign with a simpler set of buttons for moving between photo and video modes, and he...
iPhone 17 Colors

All 15 New iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Colors Revealed in Latest Leak

Wednesday July 16, 2025 6:50 am PDT by
We may finally have a definitive list of all color options for the iPhone 17 series, ahead of the devices launching in September. MacRumors concept In a report for Macworld today, Filipe Espósito said he obtained an "internal document" that allegedly reveals all of the color options for the upcoming iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. The report includes ...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Here's When to Expect the iOS 26 Public Beta

Tuesday July 15, 2025 11:07 am PDT by
Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, and now a more specific timeframe has surfaced. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that Apple's public betas should be released on or around Wednesday, July 23. In other words, expect the public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and more to be available at some point next week. Apple will be releasing...
iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

Ranked: The Best Features Rumored for the iPhone 17 Lineup

Wednesday July 16, 2025 4:17 pm PDT by
We have just under two months to go until the debut of Apple's iPhone 17 models, and rumors have been ramping up in recent weeks. We went through everything we know so far, pulling out the most exciting rumors and highlighting some other changes that aren't going to be so great. Top Tier Ultra Thin iPhone 17 Air - The iPhone 17 Air is 2025's most exciting iPhone rumor, because it's the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Foldable iPhone's Thickness and Price Range Detailed in New Reports

Wednesday July 16, 2025 11:31 am PDT by
Apple's long-rumored foldable iPhone will likely have a starting price between $1,800 and $2,000 in the U.S., analysts at investment banking firm UBS said this week. If so, the foldable iPhone would cost more than a MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,599. With a starting price of at least $1,800, the foldable iPhone would be the most expensive iPhone model ever released, topping the Pro Max at...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...

Top Rated Comments

thedocbwarren Avatar
55 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
55 months ago
These wallpapers are atrocious. So plain and too bright
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wolframite Avatar
55 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
55 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
55 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
55 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)