From excellent laptops to unrivaled desktops, Apple's new Mac line offers various variants and configurations that cater to users' different needs. Personalizing these computers even extends beyond the tech specs. A user can easily change their Mac's wallpaper whenever they feel like freshening up its look. And with macOS Sonoma, users have an abundance of built-in wallpapers they can pick from.

How to change the wallpaper on Mac using system settings

Through the System Settings app, you can easily change the wallpaper by following these steps:

  1. Launch the System Settings app, and tap on Wallpaper.
  2. You can alternatively right-click anywhere on the Desktop and tap Change Wallpaper.
    change wallpaper menu on the Mac desktop
  3. You will find several sections, including Dynamic Wallpapers, Landscape, Cityscape, and more. These include default photos offered by Apple.
    different wallpaper section in settings, including dynamic wallpapers and more
  4. For a personal image from the Photos app library, click on Add Photo.
  5. If you want to choose pictures saved in your folders or browse the People album, choose Add Folder or Album.
    add photo and add folder or album buttons in wallpaper settings
  6. Some Apple wallpapers offer a Dark/Light/Dynamic mode. Dark/Light wallpapers adapt to the system's Dark mode. Dynamic wallpapers change throughout the day. So in the morning it would be a Light wallpaper. By nighttime it'll be a Dark wallpaper. The change happens gradually in-between.
  7. Once you click on the photo you want, it'll instantly become your new wallpaper, and you may quit the System Settings app.

Changing the wallpaper using the Photos app

If you're browsing the built-in Photos app, and there's a particular shot you like, you can directly set it as a wallpaper.

  1. Navigate to the desired image in the Photos app.
  2. Hit the Share button.
  3. Tap on Set Wallpaper.
    setting an image in the photos as wallpaper using the option in the share sheet

That's it! You can easily change your wallpaper whenever you get bored with it by following the steps listed above. And remember that there are plenty of decent wallpapers online for you to download if Apple's and yours aren't enough. Once you save the image you like to the Photos app, you can rely on either of the two methods we've included above to set it as your new Mac wallpaper.