Download every Mac wallpaper in 5K to commemorate two decades of OS X

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Mac wallpaper on iPad
Here’s the abstract wallpaper from Mac OS X Tiger released in 2005.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Wednesday is the twentieth anniversary of Mac OS X. And those who went though the many versions over the decades can download some reminders. Every major new version came with a fresh wallpaper, and they’re all available for free.

The 512 Pixels Wallpaper and Screenshot Library has the complete collection. And they’re even better than they were when first released because they’re now in 5K. “While great in their day, the early wallpapers are now quite small in the world of 5K displays,” noted Stephen Hackett, who runs the site.

The collection includes the various blue swirls of Mac OS X Cheetah, Puma, Jaguar, Panther and Tiger.

macOS X Leopard wallpaper started a new space theme.
Remember Mac OS X Leopard’s wallpaper? [Not in 5K]
Photo: 512 Pixels Wallpaper and Screenshot Library
There’s the space themes of Leopard, Snow Leopard, Lion and Mountain Lion. That was followed by the natural images from Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave and Catalina.

OS X Yosemite wallpaper, not in 5K.
When Apple got to Yosemite, it went much less abstract with its OS X wallpapers. [Not on 5K)
Photo: 512 Pixels Wallpaper and Screenshot Library
Hackett also threw in the wallpapers from Big Sur, even though that was the end of version 10 and the beginning of macOS 11.

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