A wallpaper looks sharpest when it has exactly as many pixels as your display. Then macOS shows it pixel for pixel, without scaling. Thin lines stay crisp and text does not get soft edges.
Wallpaper sizes for every Mac
| Model | Resolution | Notch |
|---|---|---|
| MacBook Air 13″ (M2, M3, M4) | 2560 × 1664 | yes |
| MacBook Air 15″ | 2880 × 1864 | yes |
| MacBook Pro 14″ (2021 and later) | 3024 × 1964 | yes |
| MacBook Pro 16″ (2021 and later) | 3456 × 2234 | yes |
| MacBook Air 13″ (M1) / MacBook Pro 13″ | 2560 × 1600 | no |
| iMac 24″ | 4480 × 2520 | – |
| Studio Display 27″ | 5120 × 2880 | – |
If you are not sure which model you have, open the Apple menu and choose About This Mac. The model name and year are shown at the top.
Why the notch matters
Every MacBook with a notch has a slightly unusual aspect ratio. The display is a little taller than 16:10, and the extra strip at the top is where the menu bar and the camera notch sit. A wallpaper made for an older 16:10 MacBook either gets cropped at the sides when macOS fills the taller screen, or puts its top edge right behind the menu bar.
Two simple rules help:
- Keep text and important details out of the top strip. Anything there sits behind the menu bar, and the middle part disappears behind the notch.
- Use the exact resolution of your model. A 16:10 image on a notched MacBook gets scaled up and loses a little at the left and right edges.
What about external displays?
For an external display, use its native resolution, not the scaled "looks like" setting in System Settings. A 4K monitor has 3840 × 2160 pixels, for example. macOS lets you set a different wallpaper for each display under System Settings → Wallpaper.
Make one in the right size
The Notchwerk generator knows these sizes: pick your Mac under Your device and the wallpaper is rendered at its native resolution, with rulers, frames and text kept below the menu bar. A good starting point is the Cutting Mat template, whose grid makes it easy to see that everything lines up.