Latest macOS Sonoma Beta Adds 100+ New Video Wallpapers and Screensavers

[CalMin]

Keep a close eye on memory usage. VTDecoderXPCService appears to be used to support playback of these videos in Sonoma. If you are running a system that frequently short on memory, you might want to reconsider using this full time.

My awareness of SSD wear has gone way up recently. Doing things on your machine that lead to memory paging is going to lead to inevitable SSD failure on a faster timeline.

I've keep hearing about this, but I've never actually worn out an SSD. Ever.

 

[TrenttonY]

I think Apple should partner with Unsplash and allow you to select new wallpapers from their database right from the macOS & iOS Settings.app

 

[svish]

Great to see this!! Fantastic update

 

[gleepskip]

I've keep hearing about this, but I've never actually worn out an SSD. Ever.

I've had failures with SSDs, just as I had failures with rust drives. Two anecdotes walk into a bar... 😉

 

[AAPLGeek]

macOS 14 moreBloat

 

[Gregintosh]

I really thought the wallpaper would continue in slo-mo or something in the background. That would be so cool, like a video wallpaper. But all we have is a screensaver with a blurry wallpaper combo? Even on my MacBook Air 13 screen, the still isn't nearly as sharp as photos I took myself or dedicated wallpapers.

 

[Skyscraperfan]

I do not see a reason to use a wallpaper. My background always is plain black. That is least distracting.

And IF I would use a wallpaper, of course it would be my own and not one that is used on 100,000 other notebooks.

I rarely see my desktop anyway. I would have to close all windows to see the desktop.

 

[applepotato666]

I may be the only person who still has a dark gray solid color desktop background. I've done this for many years.

Me too. A wallpaper is very distracting for me, can’t imagine it also start moving. Ok for a screensaver but not when I have 20 windows open and I’m trying to get work done.

 

[Camerondonal]

With macOS Sonoma, Apple is introducing aerial wallpapers and screensavers that are similar to the aerial screensavers available on the Apple TV. In the latest macOS Sonoma beta that came out today, there are more than 100 new options to choose from.

Many of the videos are taken directly from tvOS, and they are organized into categories that include Landscape, Cityscape, Underwater, and Earth. Prior to today, there were a handful of options in each category, but now there are dozens. Apple offers 47 landscape videos, including some that feature the Sonoma region of California that macOS Sonoma is named after, and 30 cityscapes.

There are 21 underwater videos and 22 earth videos, along with options to shuffle through all the aerial videos or to select shuffle from the specific categories. Apple also has range of animated "Picture" videos that have more abstract art and that were not sourced from the Apple TV aerial videos, but these are not new to this beta.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1696948355262185484

Scenes feature locations all across the globe, captured with drones, underwater cameras, and from the International Space Station. If you've seen the aerial videos on the Apple TV, you will already be familiar with many of the options on macOS Sonoma.

In macOS Sonoma, the video screensavers work like they do on the Apple TV, but when a Mac is woken from sleep, the screensaver slows down and seamlessly becomes a still image on the desktop when you log in. The login screen also animates with one of these options selected.

Article Link: Latest macOS Sonoma Beta Adds 100+ New Video Wallpapers and Screensavers

The "new Sonoma wallpaper"! So, after an extended holiday during macOS Monterey and Ventura, Apple has brought back California code name-specific landscape photography. Very cool: I never thought I'd see the day. Now all we need is for it to be dynamic and change over the course of the day

 

[picpicmac]

I do not see a reason to use a wallpaper. My background always is plain black. That is least distracting.

I've always used a solid medium-dark green for the background on my iMac. I find it's a pleasant combination with the various Finder colorings.

Never had a use for fancy wallpaper on a computer because I find all of them distracting when trying to read text that appears on them.

 

[armhol]

Aerial Companion is still better

Yeah, I've been using Aerial Companion for a long time now, so this will be nothing new for me.

 

[Atarikid]

And probably with 100bugs added too. :-/

 

[markosb]

Are there guidelines for creating our video that turns to wallpaper? I like that feature; every video I tried looks nice. I want to create my own as I use my photography for wallpaper, and I wouldn't mind video.

 

[wyrdness]

Ok this is seriously cool. It’s sad that screensavers have slowly faded into obscurity.

Why's it sad? Screensavers were originally for CRT monitors that suffered from screen burn when displaying the same image for a long time. The idea was to display a moving image when the computer wasn't being used, so that the screen wasn't damaged.

Modern LCD screens don't suffer from screen burn, so screensavers aren't required any more. And since they're generally displayed when you're away from the computer, you're not likely to spend much time actually looking at them. So, apart from being a bit of occasional eye-candy, they're not actually much use anymore.

 

[Mike_Trivisonno]

Why can't we have iCal as a wallpaper?

 

[ignatius345]

I'm afraid i have to completely disagree. When they come to a stop, they are blurred (on a 4k monitor at least).

Huh, so are you saying the experience isn't super polished on this beta software you're running? Shocking!

 

[ignatius345]

Why can't we have iCal as a wallpaper?

Looks like this might work? You'd have to use the web version of your calendar if it has one (iCloud, Google Calendar do).

‎Plash

‎Make any website your desktop wallpaper. This enables you to have a highly dynamic desktop wallpaper. You could display your favorite news site, Facebook feed, or a random beautiful scenery photo. The use-cases are limitless. You could even set an animated GIF as wallpaper. You can even add...

apps.apple.com

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Why's it sad? Screensavers were originally for CRT monitors that suffered from screen burn when displaying the same image for a long time. The idea was to display a moving image when the computer wasn't being used, so that the screen wasn't damaged.

Modern LCD screens don't suffer from screen burn, so screensavers aren't required any more. And since they're generally displayed when you're away from the computer, you're not likely to spend much time actually looking at them. So, apart from being a bit of occasional eye-candy, they're not actually much use anymore.

For a lot of people screensavers still have a purpose.
If you’re doing something in the background of your computer, for some people there’s a lot more peace of mind that the computer is still doing what it’s supposed to if the screen is on in some form.
Also, with TVs, computer monitors, tablets and smartphones all moving towards OLED, burn-in is something that people still have to deal with.
Before we got an Apple TV with screensavers, our TV had its default music player interface burned in, because we would just let it play throughout the day.
Also, always on displays are becoming more of a popular feature on phones and tablets, and inevitably computers and monitors eventually.
Apple’s even apparently working on one themselves:

Apple Is Reportedly Working on a Mac Monitor That Becomes a Smart Home Display When Idle

Apple is working on a new external monitor for Macs that also functions as a kind of smart home display while not in use, according to Bloomberg...

www.macrumors.com

So I think the screensaver still has a long life ahead of it.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Incredible feature, just so well executed.

How so?

 

[CheesePuff]

Everyone’s complaining about storage space. They download individually as you click on them to make them your wallpaper. If you select your own photo, then no video wallpapers download. It’s not like hundreds of videos are all being loaded on your device. And frankly, I really enjoy them.

The problem is it appears it stays downloaded with no way to delete it if you move to another wallpaper. If you try out all of them, then they all are downloaded and remain.

 

[anshuvorty]

The problem is it appears it stays downloaded with no way to delete it if you move to another wallpaper. If you try out all of them, then they all are downloaded and remain.

So…the Mac’s “optimize storage” feature doesn’t delete the unused wallpapers, after some period of time?

 

[bunty]

Probably good for productivity and keeps you from being drawn into the computer too much? Dopamine and all that. I've tried using some of the macos solid colors before for a retro look, but I always end up switching

I find desktop pictures really distracting, I can't imagine how distracting an animated or changing one would be. I rarely use the desktop for anything, usually there's no icons other than a HD on my desktop anyway. I actually hardly ever even see my desktop now that I think about it.

 

[aevan]

Keep a close eye on memory usage. VTDecoderXPCService appears to be used to support playback of these videos in Sonoma. If you are running a system that frequently short on memory, you might want to reconsider using this full time.

My awareness of SSD wear has gone way up recently. Doing things on your machine that lead to memory paging is going to lead to inevitable SSD failure on a faster timeline.

Yes, instead of 50 years it might take 30.

 

[Superhai]

I think Apple should partner with Unsplash and allow you to select new wallpapers from their database right from the macOS & iOS Settings.app

You can use the Unsplash app, and it works great, although not directly from the macOS settings.

 

[cthompson94]

I've had failures with SSDs, just as I had failures with rust drives. Two anecdotes walk into a bar... 😉

Did these SSDs happen to be Sandisks?