| Model | Screen | Native resolution |
|---|---|---|
| MacBook Air 13-inch (M2 and later) | 13.6″ | 2560 × 1664 |
| MacBook Air 15-inch (M2 and later) | 15.3″ | 2880 × 1864 |
| MacBook Pro 14-inch (M1 Pro and later) | 14.2″ | 3024 × 1964 |
| MacBook Pro 16-inch (M1 Pro and later) | 16.2″ | 3456 × 2234 |
| MacBook Air / Pro 13-inch (Retina, before 2022) | 13.3″ | 2560 × 1600 |
| MacBook Pro 15-inch (Retina) | 15.4″ | 2880 × 1800 |
| iMac 24-inch | 24″ | 4480 × 2520 |
| Apple Studio Display | 27″ | 5120 × 2880 |
Which wallpaper size should you use?
Pick an image that is at least your screen’s native resolution. Smaller images get stretched, which shows as soft edges — especially on simple artwork like line drawings or flat colour. Larger images are fine: macOS scales them down without losing quality.
Shape matters too. Recent MacBook Air and Pro screens are slightly taller than 16:10 because of the notch area, so a 16:10 image is trimmed by a sliver at the sides when it fills the screen. Wallpapers with a calm, open composition lose nothing; a wallpaper with detail at the very edges might.
The notch and the menu bar
On MacBooks with a notch, the menu bar sits in the band around the camera. macOS draws the wallpaper behind it, so the top strip of your image shows through the menu bar. Wallpapers with open colour at the top keep the menu bar easy to read and keep the notch from cutting through anything important.
Setting the wallpaper
Open System Settings → Wallpaper, click Add Photo (or Add Folder for a set), choose your image and select “Fill Screen”. Our guide to changing your wallpaper on a Mac covers rotation, Spaces and multiple displays.