# Can you get live wallpaper like iPhone on Mac? > Source: https://macplus.pro/live-wallpaper-like-iphone-on-mac.html > Language: en > Updated: 2026-09-24 Not exactly: macOS has no built-in setting that plays a Live Photo as wallpaper, the way the iPhone does when it wakes. The closest native option is Apple's aerials, which only animate as you lock or unlock the Mac; an app such as Mac+ keeps the desktop animated all the time. No, not exactly — macOS has no built-in setting that plays a Live Photo as wallpaper, the way iPhone's Live Photo wallpaper plays when the phone wakes up. What it does have, since macOS Sonoma, is a link between Apple's aerial screen savers and the desktop background: since macOS Tahoe, the aerials animate as you lock or unlock the Mac, then settle into a still image. And apps like Mac+ go a step further: a desktop background that's animated all the time, rendered live on the GPU, with nothing to trigger. By [Adrien Pennetier](https://macplus.pro/about.html) macOS developer, creator of Mac+ Updated 2026-09-24 · 5 min read ![macOS desktop running Mac+: the Waves animated wallpaper, a calendar widget and a weekend countdown, and two folders with custom icons](https://macplus.pro/img/scene-vagues.jpg) The Waves scene animates the desktop continuously — no touch needed. ## How Live Wallpaper actually works on iPhone On iPhone, a Live Photo set as the Lock Screen wallpaper doesn't move on its own: with its motion effect turned on, it plays when the iPhone wakes up, then settles back into a still frame. It's motion *at wake-up*, brief and automatic, not a background that keeps moving on its own. ## Does macOS have a native live wallpaper feature? Not the same one. macOS has no built-in setting that plays a Live Photo as your wallpaper the way the iPhone does. What Apple did add, starting with macOS Sonoma, is a link between its aerial screen savers and the desktop. On Sonoma and Sequoia, you opened **System Settings → Screen Saver**, picked one of the aerials and turned on **Show as wallpaper** — which, in Apple's words, uses “a still aerial image as your wallpaper.” Since macOS Tahoe, Apple's guide no longer lists that toggle: you pick an aerial directly in **System Settings → Wallpaper**, and Apple says these aerial images animate as you lock or unlock your Mac — drifting clouds, oceans, or aerial city footage — before the desktop settles on a still image. It's a real feature, and a nice one, and its trigger is close to the iPhone's — motion as you lock or unlock — but it draws on a small, fixed catalog of Apple aerials, not a photo of your own that comes alive. ## The real difference: brief motion vs. motion all the time - **iPhone Live Wallpaper:** still by default, plays briefly when the iPhone wakes up, then returns to still. - **macOS screen-saver-as-wallpaper:** it only animates as you lock or unlock the Mac, stays still on the desktop, and is limited to Apple's built-in scenes. - **Mac+:** continuously animated, 100% GPU-rendered with Metal, no fixed catalog — 15 scenes across four families (Atmosphere, Fluid, Geometry, Weather), or your own looping video or image, recolored instantly with 44 palettes. None of these is a literal port of iPhone's Live Photo wallpaper — macOS has no setting that plays your own Live Photos on the desktop. But if what you actually want is a Mac desktop that feels alive instead of static, an always-animated GPU wallpaper gets you closer than a screen saver that goes still on the desktop and is limited to a handful of Apple scenes. ## Getting an iPhone-like living desktop on Mac with Mac+ [Mac+](https://macplus.pro/live-wallpaper-mac.html) is a native macOS app, not a video player looping an mp4 in the background — every scene is rendered live on the GPU with Apple's Metal framework, so it stays crisp at any resolution and adapts to 30, 60 or 120 FPS. You choose from 15 scenes — Mist, Aurora, Mesh, Flux, Plasma, Relief, Waves, Lava, Bands, Smoke, Silk, Gradient, Bubbles, Rain, Snow — grouped into four families (Atmosphere, Fluid, Geometry, Weather), recolor any of them with 44 built-in palettes, or drop in your own looping video or image instead. Because rendering pauses automatically when the screen sleeps or a window covers the desktop, the battery impact stays marginal — a real concern on a MacBook Air for any wallpaper that stays in motion all day. Everything renders 100% locally, with no telemetry. Mac+ runs on macOS 13 or later, on Apple Silicon and Intel, across multiple displays, and is free to try, with a one-time €9.99 lifetime option if you decide to keep it. macOS 13 or later. Apple Silicon and Intel. Free tier, no account required. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does Mac have live wallpaper like iPhone? Not the exact same feature. On iPhone, a Live Photo set as the Lock Screen wallpaper plays when the iPhone wakes up; macOS has no built-in setting that plays a Live Photo as wallpaper. The closest native option is Apple's aerials, which only animate as you lock or unlock the Mac, and apps like Mac+ add a wallpaper that's animated all the time on the GPU. ### Can I use my iPhone's Live Photos as a Mac wallpaper? Not with its motion: Apple's Mac guide describes no setting that plays a Live Photo on the desktop. What Photos on your Mac does document is exporting it, with File > Export > Export Unmodified Original: “A Live Photo is exported as two separate files: a still-image file and a video file.” That video can then loop as your wallpaper in an app like [Mac+](https://macplus.pro/live-wallpaper-mac.html), continuously rather than once at wake-up like on the iPhone. ### How do I get an animated background on Mac? Two options: pick one of Apple's aerials in System Settings → Wallpaper, which animates only as you lock or unlock the Mac (on Sonoma and Sequoia, the “Show as wallpaper” toggle in System Settings → Screen Saver gave a still aerial image), or install a dedicated app such as Mac+ for continuously animated GPU scenes, custom video backgrounds, and more control over FPS, palettes and auto-pause. ### Does an animated wallpaper drain a MacBook's battery? Barely, if it's built well. Mac+ renders 100% on the GPU with Metal, lets you cap the frame rate at 30, 60 or 120 FPS, and pauses automatically when the screen sleeps or a window covers the desktop, so the battery impact stays marginal. ### Can I set my own video as a live wallpaper on Mac? Yes, with Mac+ — drop in your own looping video (or an image) as the desktop background, in addition to its 15 built-in GPU scenes. ### What's the closest thing to iPhone's Live Wallpaper on Mac? The closest native option is Apple's aerial wallpapers, which animate as you lock or unlock the Mac, then settle into a still image. For a desktop that's genuinely animated all the time, with more variety, apps like Mac+ render live GPU scenes, accept your own video, and offer 44 color palettes. ## Keep reading [Live wallpaper for Mac →](https://macplus.pro/live-wallpaper-mac.html) [Customize your Mac desktop →](https://macplus.pro/mac-desktop-customization.html) [Free animated wallpapers for Mac →](https://macplus.pro/free-animated-wallpapers-mac.html) [More Mac guides →](https://macplus.pro/blog.html) ## Sources - [Apple Support — Customize the wallpaper on your Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/mchlp3013/mac) - [Apple Support — Create a custom iPhone Lock Screen](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/create-a-custom-lock-screen-iph4d0e6c351/ios) - [Apple Support — Change Screen Saver settings on Mac (macOS Sonoma 14)](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/change-screen-saver-settings-mchlp1227/14.0/mac/14.0) - [Apple Support — Export photos, videos, slideshows, and memories on Mac (Photos)](https://support.apple.com/guide/photos/export-photos-videos-slideshows-and-memories-pht6e157c5f/mac) [← All guides](https://macplus.pro/blog.html)