| Mac | Desktop reports | Panel has | Wallpaper needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| MacBook Air 13" | 1470 × 956 | 2560 × 1664 | 2560 × 1664 |
| MacBook Pro 14" | 1512 × 982 | 3024 × 1964 | 3024 × 1964 |
| MacBook Air 15" | 1710 × 1112 | 2880 × 1864 | 2880 × 1864 |
| MacBook Pro 16" | 1728 × 1117 | 3456 × 2234 | 3456 × 2234 |
| iMac 24" | 2240 × 1260 | 4480 × 2520 | 4480 × 2520 |
| Studio Display 27" | 2560 × 1440 | 5120 × 2880 | 5120 × 2880 |
| Pro Display XDR 32" | 3008 × 1692 | 6016 × 3384 | 6016 × 3384 |
The short version
Take the native column. Every MacBook screen on sale is a 2× Retina panel, so the desktop you measure in points is half the pixels the panel draws. A 14" MacBook Pro reports 1512 × 982 and wants a 3024 × 1964 image. Give macOS the native size and it lands one image pixel on one screen pixel.
The camera housing needs nothing from you
On the MacBook Pro 14" and 16", and on the Air since it grew the same housing, the camera sits inside the menu bar strip. The numbers in the table are the whole panel, that strip included, so a wallpaper at the native size already covers it.
There is nothing to trim and no dead zone to design around — the menu bar draws over the top of the image the way it always has.
One file for a whole desk
If you want a single wallpaper that holds up everywhere, 3840 × 2160 covers the 13", 14" and 15" laptops outright and is a little short on the 16" and the 24" iMac. On a Studio Display it is a 1.33× upscale, which is hard to catch; on a Pro Display XDR it starts to show.
Scaled modes move the target
“More Space” on a laptop changes the logical size, not the panel. The pixel count in the third column stays the same, so size for the panel, whatever scaled mode you use.
Where the built-in footage sits
The Aerial films built into macOS are 4K SDR masters — 3840 × 2160. That is why they look right on a MacBook and still hold on a 27" display, and why Skywall plays them untouched rather than re-encoding them into something smaller.
Questions
What size should a MacBook wallpaper be?
Match your display’s native resolution, not the logical one macOS reports. Every current Mac screen is a 2× Retina panel, so a MacBook Pro 14" wants 3024 × 1964 pixels even though the desktop measures 1512 × 982 points.
Is 4K enough for a MacBook?
Nearly. 3840 × 2160 covers the 13", 14" and 15" laptops outright; the 16" is 74 rows taller and the 24" iMac is 4480 × 2520, so both upscale it a little. The Studio Display and Pro Display XDR ask for much more.
Why does my wallpaper look soft?
Almost always because the file is smaller than the panel and macOS is scaling it up. A 1920 × 1080 image on a Studio Display is stretched 2.67×. The built-in Aerials are 4K masters, so on a MacBook they are scaled by at most a few percent, and Skywall plays them without re-encoding.
Does the notch change the wallpaper size?
No. The native resolutions above cover the entire panel, including the strip either side of the camera, so an image at that size already fits. macOS draws the menu bar over the top of it and nothing is cropped.
Does the aspect ratio matter?
It does. MacBook panels are taller than 16:9, so a 16:9 image filled to the screen loses its left and right edges. Pick an image at the panel’s size and let macOS fill the frame.