Screensavers fell out of style a very long time in the past, however Apple’s Aerial screensaver appears so stunning, it simply would possibly make you rethink. In truth, with its beautiful visuals, it would simply be the perfect Mac screensaver round.
The Aerial screensaver began on the Apple TV, displaying attractive, sweeping helicopter pictures of the world’s best pure landscapes, underwater sights and cityscapes — even pictures from area. Now, if in case you have a desktop show arrange someplace prominently in your home, you may get the identical stunning vistas in your pc with the Aerial screensaver for Mac.
Right here’s the place to search out this stunning Mac screensaver, plus some setup suggestions that can actually assist it shine.
The best way to arrange the Mac Aerial screensaver
As soon as important for stopping display burn-in on previous CRT screens, screensavers now not serve a sensible function with LCD shows. However that doesn’t imply they’ve disappeared solely. They’ll nonetheless deliver a contact of magnificence and persona to an idle display. Apple’s Aerial screensaver, with its sweeping cinematic footage, turns your Mac right into a shifting artwork piece.
And with OLED shows doubtlessly coming to the MacBook Professional, they could as soon as once more serve a sensible function in stopping burn-in. Right here’s the way it works.
Desk of Contents:
- Replace your Mac to macOS Sonoma
- Set your Mac to maintain the show on
- Allow the Aerial display saver
- Present as wallpaper
- Extra superior macOS Sonoma options
Replace your Mac to macOS Sonoma
First, it’s worthwhile to replace to macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Test which model you’re on by going to the Apple menu within the higher left, then clicking About This Mac. If it says you’re working macOS 14 or later, you’re already good.
In any other case, go to System Settings > Common > Software program Replace to put in it. From an older model of macOS, this can be in System Preferences > Software program Replace.
macOS Sonoma runs on the iMac (2019 or later), iMac Professional (2017), MacBook Air (2018 or later), MacBook Professional (2018 or later), Mac Mini (2018 or later), Mac Professional (2019 or later) and Mac Studio (all fashions).
Set your Mac to maintain the show on
After you’ve up to date, open System Settings. For those who don’t already use a screensaver in your Mac, it’s worthwhile to change a number of settings first. Click on Lock Display screen from the sidebar. Ensure the time you set for “Begin Display screen Saver” is lower than for “Flip Show Off.”
For instance, you may set Begin Display screen Saver to 5 minutes and Flip Show Off to 2 hours.
Allow the Aerial display saver

Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Now, within the Settings sidebar, click on Display screen Saver. On the high, you may choose a selected scene, however I extremely advocate scrolling right down to Shuffle Aerials and hitting Shuffle All.
It’ll rotate by way of the entire units, downloading new ones each occasionally to maintain your Mac screensaver recent.
Alternatively, you may choose a selected set — all of the underwater scenes, all of the landscapes, all of the cityscapes, and so on.
Present as wallpaper
Again on the high of the Display screen Saver panel, you may allow Present as wallpaper. This may allow one other actually cool function of the Aerials screensavers.
Whenever you unlock your Mac, the screensaver will gently come to a cease to develop into your new desktop background. It’ll pause the place you allow off. When your Mac goes idle once more, your home windows will disappear and the screensaver will choose up proper there.
It’s so cool!
Extra superior macOS Sonoma options
The Aerial Mac screensaver is one among many nice options in macOS Sonoma. Now that you just’re working Apple’s newest, make sure to discover the remainder. We now have an article with 35 extra macOS Sonoma options in addition to a video you may sit again and watch.
We initially revealed this text on the way to arrange the Aerial Mac screensaver on February 23, 2024. We up to date the knowledge on June 27, 2025.