4K, 5K, and 6K wallpapers, matched to Mac displays
How wallpaper pixel sizes map to MacBook, Studio Display, and Pro Display XDR panels, and why a 16:10 crop matters.
Wallpaper packs often ship a single 1920×1080 file and call it a day. That is below the native resolution of almost every recent Mac display, so the desktop becomes a stretched still.
What the numbers mean
- 4K here means 3840×2160. It covers many 16:9 external monitors and is a reasonable everyday download.
- 5K means 5120×2880, the native size of a 27-inch Studio Display.
- 6K means 6144×3456. A Pro Display XDR is 6016×3384, so a 6K file gives you a little extra room to crop rather than upscale.
- MacBook 16:10 is 3456×2234 on this site. 14-inch and 16-inch Liquid Retina XDR panels are 16:10, not 16:9. A 16:9 still will either crop the sides or add empty bands, depending on how you set it.
Why WebP
The gallery serves stills as WebP to keep 5K and 6K files lighter than an equivalent JPEG at the same visual quality. Preview and Quick Look on current macOS versions open WebP, and System Settings accepts the format as a wallpaper on the versions we targeted when writing this. If a machine you support does not, convert the file with Preview or sips before applying it.
Live loops are a different size
The live wallpapers in this gallery are 1920×1080 loops. They are meant to stay light enough to play. A still from the same scene remains the sharper choice if the desktop will sit still.
For a per-display walkthrough, see the size guide.