Apple bucked a trend when it unveiled macOS Monterey in June featuring an abstract wallpaper graphic, breaking an eight-year tradition of using a photo of the natural landscape that inspired the latest Calfornia-themed version name.
This change came as a shock to YouTuber and photographer Andrew Levitt and his friends Jacob Phillips and Taylor Gray, whom together have made recreating macOS wallpapers something of a tradition.
Once the trio of friends had come to terms with the new abstract wallpaper, they concluded that it was supposed to represent Monterey Canyon, which is deep underwater and impossible to photograph. So, instead they decided to create their own Monterey landscape, but finding the right shot came with its own problems, as their intrepid video diary explains.
After several false starts, the group eventually found an ideal location – Lone Cypress on Pebble Beach – and, using time-lapse photography, were able to create a not only a still image but also a dynamic wallpaper that changes according to the time of day.
"Missing" Monterey Dynamic Wallpaper
They have since made both the still shot and the dynamic version available to download. The following steps explain how to install the dynamic version of the Monterey wallpaper.
Click the Apple symbol in the menu bar and select System Preferences....
Click Desktop & Screen Saver in the preferences pane.
Select one of the official wallpapers that come with macOS, such as "Catalina," "Big Sur," or "Monterey Graphic," and set it to Dynamic.
Open a Finder window and navigate to the "macOS Monterey.heic" wallpaper you downloaded.
Right-click (or Ctrl-click) on the file and select Services -> Set Desktop Picture from the contextual menu.
Wednesday January 14, 2026 10:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Verizon is experiencing a major outage across the U.S. today, with hundreds of thousands of customers reporting issues with the network on the website Downdetector. There are also complaints across Reddit and other social media platforms.
iPhone users and others with Verizon service are generally unable to make phone calls, send text messages, or use data over 5G or LTE due to the outage....
Wednesday January 14, 2026 7:09 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around eight months away, a leaker has shared some alleged details about the devices.
In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo this week, the account Digital Chat Station said the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will have the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes as the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Consistent with previous...
Thursday January 15, 2026 10:56 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another eight months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models, as of January 2026:
The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras
Under-screen Face ID...
Thursday January 15, 2026 11:19 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store.
The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the United States, according to the company's website. Most of the values declined slightly, but some of the Mac values increased.
iPhone
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Tuesday January 13, 2026 7:52 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple and Google this week announced that Gemini will help power a more personalized Siri, and The Information has provided more details.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
As soon as this spring, the report said the revamped version of Siri will be able to…
Answer more factual/world knowledge questions in a conversational manner
Tell more stories
Provide...
I'll only use the default desktop picture provided by Apple with each Mac OS release. I'm sure Apple went through millions of desktop pictures before choosing one.
