2026-06-25 09:00:16
Let’s take a 3,000-mile zigzag tour across California, tracing the past decade and a half of macOS releases.
macOS, the operating system formerly known as OS X (2012–2016), Mac OS X (2001–2012), and Mac OS (1994–2001), has spent nearly a decade and a half drawing inspiration from locations scattered across the state of California.
Before that, Apple famously named its operating system releases after big cats: Cheetah (2001), Puma (2001), Jaguar (2002), Panther (2003), Tiger (2005), Leopard (2007), Snow Leopard (2009), Lion (2011), and finally Mountain Lion (2012).
Apple’s transition to California-inspired names coincided with the company’s now-familiar annual release cadence. Since the debut of OS X 10.9 Mavericks in 2013, Apple has released 14 versions of macOS bearing the names of beaches, mountain ranges, islands, valleys, and landmarks from across the Golden State.
But what exactly is a Mavericks? Where is Sonoma? And how many Mac users could point to where Ventura or Tahoe on a map?
Curious myself, I decided to trace the history and real-world locations behind every California-inspired macOS release and the wallpapers used to market the them to the world. Enjoy.
Lets first start with how, nearly a decade & a half ago (2013), Craig Federighi introduced the transition to the world:
Craig Federighi teasing OS X Sea Lion at WWDC 2013
“Good morning, let’s talk about OS X. Our latest release, Mountain Lion, is the ninth of our big cat-named releases in just over a decade. As we turn our attention now toward the 10th, we’ve hit a real issue. We do not want to be the first software in history to be delayed due to a dwindling supply of cats.
Now, fortunately, we do have a creative group at Apple and we can think out of the box. And so, we thought, may be we could take this lion thing in a different direction. So, I’m proud to present to you today OS X Sea Lion. What do you think?
OK, maybe not. That could be a bit of a dead-end, so. In fact, we’re really excited about the future of the Mac and we want a set of names that are going to carry us for at least the next 10 years. And, you know, the answer really was really obviously to us. It’s those places that inspire us here in California, in the place where OS X is designed and built.
So for our first California-themed release, it went just outside our backyard, just off the coast, to a place with some of the biggest waves and most extreme surfing in all of North America, OS X Mavericks.”
Released: October 22, 2013
The wallpaper for OS X 10.9 Mavericks.
Mavericks Location: Mavericks surf break, offshore from Pillar Point / Princeton-by-the-Sea, near Half Moon Bay, California
Coordinates: 37.493°N, 122.501°W
The circle shows the general area of the Mavericks Surf Zone in California.
The default wallpaper for OS X 10.9, introduced by Apple in 2013, featured the shoulder and pocket of a deep blue-turquoise wave. Apple named their first California release after Mavericks, the legendary big-wave surfing destination located about half a mile off the coast of Pillar Point, roughly 20 miles south of San Francisco.
Short of tracking down the photographer and getting their metadata, there’s no way to know whether Apple’s image was actually taken at Mavericks. But for the sake of this entry, let’s say it was.
On the software side, OS X Mavericks focused on battery life, performance, and efficiency, while introducing Finder Tabs and Tags, improved multi-display support, iBooks and Maps for Mac, and a redesigned Safari.
But let’s dry off, we’re off to the mountains!
“You may remember that we’re able to deftly shift from names based on big cats to names based on beautiful places in California, starting of course with OS X Mavericks. Well, it’s another year and time for another name and so we collected our crack product marketing team, shoved them in their VW Minibus and set them out on the road. Now, they first ventured south discovering OS X, Oxnard. This wasn’t quite right. But undeterred, they headed east, landed in OS X Rancho Cucamonga.
Still, we hadn’t quite hit the mark. So, they boldly ventured north landing at OS X Weed. Now... Strangely, this one had large pockets of support within the product marketing organization, but saner heads did prevail and they set off on what then was somewhat more circuitous path. It took them ultimately to a place that embodies the beauty and power of OS X. We discovered OS X Yosemite.”
Released: October 16, 2014
The main wallpaper for OS X 10.10 Yosemite.
Location: Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, likely taken from a ridge near the Ahwahnee Meadow area using a telephoto lens.
Coordinates: 37.747°N, 119.586°W
The circle shows the general area of Yosemite National Park while the target shows the location the photo of Half Dome was taken.
From the surf at Mavericks Beach we travel 4.15 hours (196 mi/315 km) East until we arrive at the Ahwahnee Meadows and see soaring above us the famous granite cliffs of Yosemite National Park.
Perhaps the more infamous introduction was OS X Yosemite’s, when Craig Federighi joked about possible names including OS X Rancho Cucamonga and OS X Weed before Apple’s “Crack Marketing Team” settled on OS X Yosemite.
I dunno Craig, I think Rancho Cucamonga would make a great version of OS X.
Amazingly, back in 2019, three friends: Andrew Levitt, Jacob Phillips, and Taylor Gray, went on a road trip to track down and recreate Apple’s macOS wallpaper locations, from Mavericks to Catalina. The video they created chronicling their trip is an absolute must-watch and was an essential resource for many parts of this post.
Photo of Half Dome taken by Andrew Levitt, Jacob Phillips, and Taylor Gray during their 2019 road trip to track down and recreate the locations featured in Apple’s California-themed macOS wallpapers. - Source
The main wallpaper used for marketing Yosemite features Half Dome, a 8,850 ft granite monolith located inside Yosemite National Park. The particular place this photo was shot was most likely near the Ahwahnee Meadow inside the park grounds, potentially from a ridge slightly overlooking the valley.
As for the operating system itself, OS X Yosemite brought one of the biggest visual redesigns in Mac history, introducing a flatter, cleaner interface with translucent elements and a refreshed look inspired by iOS. It also debuted Continuity, allowing Macs and iPhones to work together more seamlessly through features like Handoff, Instant Hotspot, SMS relay, and phone call forwarding.
But, we got more to see in Yosemite, onto our next location…
“So for our next big release of OS X, we knew we wanted to build on those strengths of Yosemite with some really great refinements and advances. The only real question, of course, was what to call it. So we had to once again turn to our crack Apple Marketing Team.
Now, in typical California fashion, they started with a project kickoff meeting, and then headed immediately into a team building off site.
Now, of course they are in their traditional Apple Marketing Free-Bottom Fridays attire. They say it’s all part of their ‘process’. I am not sure I get it. Ultimately, this didn’t yield any names, so they called in a consultant. He told them the answer was to be found within. Not within themselves, but within Yosemite. And so the new name for OS X is OS X El Capitan.”
The “Consultant” Apple used to help name the next version of OS X.
Released: September 30, 2015
The main wallpaper for OS X 10.11 El Capitan.
Location: El Capitan as seen from Tunnel View, Wawona Rd, California
Coordinates: 37.716°N, 119.679°W
The circle shows the general area of Yosemite National Park, home to the famous El Capitan granite monolith, while the target marks the location from which the El Capitan wallpaper photo was taken.
Our next stop is only a 20-minute drive from the Ahwahnee Meadow (7.8 mi/12.6 km) to another famous landmark inside Yosemite National Park.
The third California-named release of macOS was El Capitan, named after the nearly 900-metre granite monolith that rises above the floor of Yosemite National Park. Apple’s wallpaper was most likely photographed from Tunnel View, one of Yosemite’s most iconic overlooks, where El Capitan rises from the left side of the valley, Bridalveil Fall runs down the cliffs on the right, and Half Dome stands in the distance.
A little bit on OS X El Capitan: it was a release focused on making the Mac faster and more polished. It introduced Split View for side-by-side multitasking, a smarter Spotlight that could understand natural language searches, Safari Pinned Tabs, improvements to Notes and Mail, and Metal graphics technology for better performance in games and professional apps.
“Now of course each version of Mac OS does have a special name after a place that’s especially important to us here in California. And this year’s Mac OS is no different. But the choice this time was obvious. Our latest newest OS X is macOS Sierra.”
Released: September 20, 2016
The main wallpaper for macOS 10.12 Sierra.
The outline above shows the boundary of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, a 300-mile-long range stretching along the eastern edge of California, while the target marks the location of Lone Pine Peak, the mountain photographed for macOS Sierra.
Location: Alabama Hills, near Lone Pine, with Lone Pine Peak area as the subject
Coordinates: 36.609°N, 118.122°W
From Yosemite, it’s a 4.5 hour drive (210 mi/338km) South through the Sierra Nevada until you arrive at the Alabama Hills near the town of Lone Pine, California, on the eastern side of the range. Here, just west of the famous summit of Mount Whitney, sits Lone Pine Peak, the rugged mountain that appears in the wallpaper for macOS 10.12 Sierra.
As an operating system, Sierra marked the naming transition from OS X to macOS, bringing the Mac’s name in line with Apple’s other platforms. It introduced Siri to the Mac, Auto Unlock with Apple Watch, Universal Clipboard for copying and pasting between devices, and iCloud Desktop & Documents, making it easier to move between working on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
“Now, people are loving Sierra and we love it too. So, we wanted to spend this year perfecting it. Of course, the question is, what do we call it?
So we enlisted once again our crack marketing team. They were giddy to hop in their mini bus and this time, venture east, deep into the Sierras but this time, ascending its highest peaks. And when they finally came back, they had a name they said felt really, really good. And it’s my privilege to announce for you today, macOS High Sierra.”
Released: September 25, 2017
The main wallpaper for macOS 10.13 High Sierra.
The outline above shows the boundary of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, while the target marks the location of North Lake, the area photographed for macOS High Sierra.
Location: North Lake, Bishop Creek Canyon, Eastern Sierra, west of Bishop, California
Coordinates: 37.231°N, 118.614°W
From Lone Pine Peak, we continue about 80 minutes north (80 mi/129 km), deeper into the Sierra Nevada. At the small town of Bishop, we turn west into the mountains and eventually arrive at North Lake, a picturesque alpine lake nestled amongst the Sierra mountains. This is the location Apple photographed for the wallpaper of macOS 10.13 High Sierra.
The details of the photo suggest it was taken in autumn, with the trees turning shades of yellow and red while a light dusting of frost clings to the surrounding peaks.
As an operating system, macOS High Sierra was less about flashy new features and more about giving the Mac a tune-up under the hood (think the Snow Leopard for the California releases). In High Sierra, Apple introduced the new APFS file system, brought support for modern HEVC and HEIF video and photo formats, and upgraded graphics performance with Metal 2.
“Now after spending a year by the ocean, we not only modernized the look and feel of macOS, but we headed to the mountains with macOS Yosemite. Now, as you may be aware, our naming of Mac releases is handled by our crack marketing organization, and as you’ve probably noticed, they went on a four-year mountain-bound bender.
In El Capitan we added metal, our ground-breaking graphics technology. In Sierra, we brought Siri to the Mac and extended our capabilities and continuity. And last year with High Sierra, we focused on deep technology, preparing the Mac for future innovation. Well this year, we made some striking changes to macOS, and we’ve left the high country for a place entirely different but not less beautiful and here still in California, and I’d like to take you there now. Our next release of macOS is macOS Mojave.”
Mojave being introduced at WWDC2018. It was the first version of macOS to feature a dark mode UI.
Released: September 24, 2018
The main (night mode) wallpaper for macOS 10.14 Mojave.
The outline above shows the general boundary of Death Valley National Park, a 3-million-acre desert region along the southeastern edge of California. The target marks the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, the likely location of the dune photographed for macOS Mojave.
Location: Death Valley National Park, most commonly identified as Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells
Coordinates: 36.606°N, 117.115°W
After four back-to-back years of mountain named operating systems, Apple took a 3 hour (157 mi/253 km)drive to Death Valley National Park and introduced us to macOS Mojave.
Now, the thing about sand dunes is that they’re constantly shifting, but the clever trio of Andrew Levitt, Jacob Phillips, and Taylor Gray used the mountains in the background to help pinpoint the area where the dune featured in macOS Mojave was most likely photographed.
“Now here's where things get a little tricky. We were trying to get the right shot by lining up the mountains in the background with the sand dunes, but there was no way to line up the mountains you see on either side correctly with the right view of the ridge. So we ended up having to settle and getting the shot from both angles.”
As an OS, Mojave is perhaps best known for introducing Dark Mode, one of the most requested Mac features ever. It also added Desktop Stacks for organizing files, a redesigned Mac App Store, Dynamic Desktop wallpapers, and brought apps like News, Stocks, Voice Memos, and Home to the Mac.
“Great to be back with all of you again. So, for our next major release of macOS, we are moving out of the desert into the beautiful waters off the California coast, a place for sailing, diving and so much more. It’s macOS Catalina.”
Released: October 07, 2019
The main wallpaper for macOS 10.15 Catalina.
The outline above shows Catalina Island, a 76-square-mile island off the coast of Southern California. The target marks the northwestern part of the island, near the location where the macOS Catalina desktop wallpaper was photographed.
Location: Aerial photograph of the northwestern end of Santa Catalina Island, off Southern California.
Coordinates: 33.479°N, 118.605°W
From the Mojave Desert, we make our way to Catalina Island, the namesake of the next version of macOS. The journey takes us about 5.5 hours west by road (266 mi/428 km) to the coast, followed by a one-hour ferry ride across the Pacific (22 mi / 35 km) to the island itself.
Now, Catalina Island, and especially the area where the wallpaper was photographed, is incredibly remote. For the trio of Andrew Levitt, Jacob Phillips, and Taylor Gray, reaching it required a 7.5-mile (12 km) hike from the ferry landing to a campsite, followed by a 16-mile (26 km) round-trip trek the next day to reach the location itself:
“So here's the deal. It was an eight-mile hike to where the wallpaper was taken at the west end of Catalina. And to get there, we had to climb a thousand feet of elevation then descend a thousand feet and then turn around and go back all in the same day.”
For their wallpaper, Apple used a helicopter or drone to fly offshore and capture the island from over the water, returning multiple times to photograph the scene under different lighting conditions to create Catalina’s dynamic wallpaper.
A bit about macOS Catalina: it marked the end of iTunes and introduced separate Music, TV, and Podcasts apps, and introduced Sidecar, which lets an iPad act as a second display for your Mac. It also added Voice Control, enhanced security features, and new tools that made it easier for developers to bring iPad apps to the Mac.
“But what should we call it? Well, if you’re a student of macOS, you know this question can only be answered by Apple’s legendary crack marketing team. Their drug-fueled, minibus-driven vision quests have yielded some great names and, sadly, spawned a host of imitators. The truth is, we can’t responsibly continue to inadvertently lead our competition to copy these methods when they clearly can’t handle the trip. So this year, we’re leaving our process shrouded in mystery and taking you straight to the glorious destination. Our next release of macOS is macOS Big Sur.”
Released: November 12, 2020
The main photographic wallpaper for macOS 11 Big Sur.
The outline above shows the general area of Big Sur, a 90-mile mountainous stretch of California’s Central Coast between Monterey and San Simeon. The target marks the location of Bixby Creek Bridge, the bridge photographed for macOS Big Sur.
Location: Aerial Photograph of the Bixby Creek Bridge
Coordinates: 36.371°N, 121.902°W
Hopping back on the hour-long ferry and leaving Catalina Island behind, we travel 5.5 hours (326 mi / 524 km) North along California’s rugged, mountainous coastline, until we come across the iconic Bixby Creek Bridge, the wallpaper location of the next version of macOS: Big Sur.
The Bixby Creek Bridge, which opened in 1932, spans a dramatic section of the Big Sur coastline, a rugged region renowned for its winding coastal highway, breathtaking views, and forests.
This shot was captured overlooking the Bixby Creek Bridge and the coastline of Big Sur. The team of Andrew Levitt, Jacob Phillips, and Taylor Gray discovered that the image was taken from such a high altitude that a drone would not only have been illegal to operate, but likely incapable of reaching the required height. So they chartered a helicopter, even tracking down the same pilot who had flown Apple’s Crack Marketing Team during the creation of the original wallpaper, and flew roughly 4,000 feet (1,220 m) out over the Pacific to recreate the shot. This one was definitely not an easy shot to capture, never mind at numerous points in the day, given the regions propensity for dense fog.
As for the software, macOS Big Sur delivered another large visual redesign to the Mac, with refreshed icons, translucent materials, a redesigned Dock, Control Center, and Notification Center. It was also the first version of macOS designed to support Apple’s transition from Intel processors to Apple Silicon.
“But what should we call it? Well, that brings us to the latest exploits of our crack marketing team. With their annual vision quest postponed, our merry band of nomadic namers wandered aimlessly through the California hills before donning their technicolor wet suits and immersing themselves in the inspiration of the beautiful, rich waters of Monterey. macOS Monterey gives you the power to accomplish more than ever and helps you work fluidly across all your devices.”
Released: October 25, 2021
The main wallpaper for macOS 12 Monterey.
Location: Monterey County
Coordinates: 36.598°N, 121.894°W (of Monterey, California)
The outline above shows Monterey County, a 3,300-square-mile region known for its coastline, vineyards, and farmland. macOS Monterey was the first of Apple’s California releases not to feature a photographic wallpaper from its namesake location.
Still in the area of Big Sur, Monterey county encapsulates the rugged coastline Big Sur but also the inland hills and farmland.
However, this time Apple broke with tradition, opting not to include a photographic wallpaper or screensaver. Instead, the OS shipped with only a dynamic illustrated wallpaper and matching screensaver.
Monterey focused on bringing features to the Mac like Universal Control, which lets a single mouse and keyboard move seamlessly between a Mac and iPad. It also brought Shortcuts to the Mac, AirPlay to Mac, Focus modes, and SharePlay support in FaceTime.
“So what should we call it? Well, that brings us to the latest exploits of Apple's crack product marketing team. They've been absolutely riding high since their naming coup on M1 and M2, and needless to say, they were exhausted. But after their requisite three-month rejuvenation retreat in Monterey, with their chakras now in complete alignment, the team once again piled into their macOS naming microbus and wove their way down Highway 1. Chasing the vibrant display of colorful California wildflowers, they finally came to rest where stunning surf meets lush alluvial plains, in beautiful Ventura.”
Released: October 24, 2022
The main wallpaper for macOS 13 Ventura.
Location: Ventura County
Coordinates: 34.282°N, 119.293°W (of Ventura, California)
The outline above shows the general area of Ventura County, a 2,200-square-mile region along the southern coast of California known for its beaches, farmland, mountains, and proximity to the Channel Islands. Like macOS Monterey before it, macOS Ventura did not feature a photographic wallpaper from its namesake location.
Around 4.5 hours (281 mi/452 km) south of Monterey County we arrive in Ventura County, a diverse region of California known for its beaches, rugged hills, and fertile farmland.
Once again, however, Apple opted not to include a photographic wallpaper with the release. Instead, macOS Ventura shipped with only an illustrated, flower-like wallpaper and matching screensaver.
What was Ventura about? It introduced Stage Manager, a new way to organize and switch between apps and windows. It also added Continuity Camera, allowing an iPhone to serve as a Mac webcam, and provided updates to Mail, Messages, Safari, and perhaps most controversially, System Settings.
“Now, when it came to naming this release, we turned once again to Apple's legendary crack Product Marketing team. The instructions were simple and explicit: travel far and wide, leave no stone unturned. Well, as far as we can reconstruct, that search consisted of piling into their micro bus, punching the words "awesome vineyard" into Maps, and beelining straight to one of the most famous wine regions in the world, a place celebrated by the team perhaps a bit too much, and beloved by millions. Introducing macOS Sonoma, a big new release that will make your Mac more delightful and even more productive.”
Released: September 26, 2023
The main live aerial wallpaper for macOS 14 Sonoma.
Location: Likely Warm Springs Ranch in California
Coordinates: 38.670°N, 123.081°W
The outline above shows the general area of Sonoma County, a 1,800-square-mile region in Northern California known for its vineyards and rolling hills. The target marks what is most likely Warm Springs Ranch, the vineyard where Sonoma’s featured aerial wallpaper was photographed.
From Ventura county is a nearly 7.25 hour drive (465 mi/748 km) north to Sonoma, a area just north of San Francisco perhaps best known for it’s over 400 wineries dotted across it’s rolling hills.
After a two-year absence, Apple brought back photographic wallpapers to macOS, this time in the form of live Aerial screensavers that slowly come to rest after you log in. Many of these aerial videos first debuted on Apple TV before making their way to the Mac, but several were brand new, including Sonoma Horizon, one of the wallpapers Apple used to showcase macOS Sonoma at WWDC.
Sonoma Horizon was filmed on the property of the Mazzocco Sonoma winery, most likely at Warm Springs Ranch. According to Josh Post, who tracked down the location, the footage was most likely captured early in the morning, based on the low eastern sunlight illuminating the hills.
The release of macOS Sonoma brought interactive desktop widgets, aerial screen savers & wallpapers to the Mac, and Game Mode to improve gaming performance. It also introduced web apps in the Dock, enhanced video conferencing with Presenter Overlay and Reactions, and several updates to Safari that made everyday tasks faster and more convenient.
“But what should we call it? Well, that brings us once again to the annual escapades of our legendary crack marketing team. Distracted briefly from their marathon hacky sack session, they stumbled into their minibus and wove a trail toward the Sierras, eventually rolling to a stop in a beautiful national park. Staring skyward up the towering trunks surrounding them, they felt a deep kinship with anything that could get that high. They knew they'd found their spot. Welcome to macOS Sequoia.”
Released: September 16, 2024
The main live wallpaper for macOS 15 Sequoia.
Location: Likely from Sequoia National Park/Forest, but the exact location of the grove featured is not known.
Coordinates: 36.479°N, 118.564°W (Sequoia National Park)
The outline above shows the general area of Sequoia National Park, a 630-square-mile region in California’s southern Sierra Nevada. Giant sequoias are found only in scattered groves along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, with some of the most famous stands located in and around Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The most likely location of macOS Sequoia’s wallpaper is somewhere in this general area, though the precise grove featured in Apple’s wallpaper is not known.
From Sonoma we once again head south through California, travelling nearly 7 hours (340 mi/547 km) until we arrive at Sequoia National Park.
Giant sequoias are among the largest trees on Earth and are found naturally only in scattered groves along the western slopes of California’s Sierra Nevada. Reaching 250-300 feet (75-90 m) tall and nearly 30 feet (9 m) in diameter, some of these trees can live for nearly 3,000 years.
However, despite receiving another aerial wallpaper featuring a sweeping pan through the forest, Apple has never publicly disclosed the exact location where the macOS Sequoia wallpaper was filmed. Given the trees’ limited natural range, it was almost certainly captured somewhere within the giant sequoia groves of the Sierra Nevada, but the precise location remains unknown.
The release of macOS Sequoia introduced iPhone Mirroring, allowing users to view and control their iPhone directly from their Mac, along with a new Passwords app, improved window tiling, and the first wave of Apple Intelligence features.
“But what should we call it? Well, our crack product marketing team was adamant that they’d fully earned their annual paycheck the moment they noticed that years end in two-digit numbers. But macOS demands more. Fortunately, after carving some bodacious tracks during one of their mandatory weekly Ski Strategy Sessions, they bumbled into their legendary microbus and let gravity guide them to a breathtaking spot where crystal clear waters meet majestic mountain peaks. They’d found it. Let me introduce you to macOS Tahoe.”
Released: September 15, 2025
The main live wallpaper for macOS 26 Tahoe.
Location: Speedboat Beach, Lake Tahoe
Coordinates: 39.223°N, 120.009°W
The outline above shows Lake Tahoe, a large alpine lake in the Sierra Nevada straddling the border of California and Nevada. The target marks Speedboat Beach, the location featured in Apple’s dynamic wallpaper for macOS Tahoe.
From Sequoia National Park we make our way north, travelling another 6.25 hours (363 mi / 584 km) to Lake Tahoe, an alpine lake that borders California and Nevada. Measuring 22 miles (35 km) long and 12 miles (19 km) wide, it is the largest alpine lake in North America and sits high in the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of 6,225 feet (1,897 m).
Known for having some of the clearest water on Earth, the macOS Tahoe wallpaper features a low-angle view across the lake, overlooking the granite boulders, two pine trees, and the Sierra Nevada mountains in the distance.
And those two pine trees are what gave one Redditor a clue about where on the lake the images for Tahoe came from. Using Google Maps, they were able to determine the location of the wallpaper as coming from Speedboat Beach, a quiet a secluded beach on the north end of Lake Tahoe.
As an operating system, macOS Tahoe introduced another major redesign to macOS, our third since we started this trip, with the arrival of Liquid Glass. It also expanded Continuity with iPhone Live Activities, overhauled Spotlight, and introduced further Apple Intelligence refinements throughout the platform.
Apple’s crack marketing team went on quite the adventure before eventually arriving at Golden Gate.
“Speaking of macOS, for those of you that are WWDC regulars, you of course know that this is the moment where I relay the latest exploits of Apple's crack marketing team, and their, shall we say, unconventional methods for naming macOS releases. In this case, I'm afraid the story is incomplete.
Last I saw them, they just spilled out of their recently installed Apple Park ‘experiential ideation yurt’ and piled into their microbus. I tried to catch them, but they just handed me this note out the window before motoring northward. So here's all I've got.
‘Dude, our chakra alignment has set our compass toward the summer of love. But like, further. Our corporeal forms know no earthly tether. We shall float on a span of gold over infinite seas, flying so high. Marketing is such a great job.’
Okay, well, I'm afraid they haven't returned and I'm lacking the sensory amplifiers to crack this code. So I guess the great era of macOS names must come to an end.
Joz: It's Golden Gate, man.
Oh thank goodness. Perfect. Our next version of macOS is macOS Golden Gate.”
This also marks the first time we’ve actually caught a glimpse of the infamous VW Minibus that Craig Federighi’s crack marketing team has apparently been travelling around California in for the past decade and a half.
Released: Fall, 2026
As of macOS 27 Beta 2, this is the default wallpaper for macOS Golden Gate.
The outline above shows Golden Gate, a narrow strait that connects the San Francisco Bay to the Pacific. The area is perhaps most famously know for the Golden Gate Bridge and Karl the Fog, the dense coastal fog that funnels through the strait.
Location: Golden Gate, San Francisco
Coordinates: 37.820°N, 122.479°W
The last stop takes us from the eastern edge of California back down south on a 3.5 hour (205 mi/330 km) trek to the gateway of the San Francisco Bay.
And spanning the Golden Gate Strait, this area is perhaps most famously known for the Golden Gate Bridge, a 1.7 mi (2.7 km) bridge built in the late 30s between San Francisco and Sausalito.
As of Beta 2 (June 24, 2026), Apple has yet to release a photographic wallpaper for macOS Golden Gate, instead opting for a unified abstract wallpaper shared across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. However, there's absolutely no shortage of iconic photos of the Golden Gate Bridge, and I also released a couple variations from screen grabs during the keynote and a wallpaper I generated.
macOS Golden Gate was announced at WWDC26 and features a refinement of Liquid Glass, significant performance enhancements across the operating system, child protection features, and a significant teardown and rearchitecting of Apple Intelligence.
And with that, our journey across California comes to an end, having followed Apple’s wallpapers from crashing waves and granite peaks to vineyards, giant sequoias, alpine lakes, and finally the Golden Gate. Over the course of 14 macOS releases, we’ve zigzagged across the state, covering nearly 3,000 miles (4,700 km) through 55 hours of driving, 44 miles on a ferry, a dozen miles of hiking, and even a helicopter ride along the way.
If this is the end of Apple’s California era, I’ll be a little sad to see it go. Putting this entry together has been a lot of fun and taught me far more about California’s landscapes, geography, and diversity than I ever expected. It’s been a wonderful excuse to follow along with one of my favourite traditions in macOS history.
One more thing…
If you're interested in a more interactive version of this California tour, app developer Baptiste Dajon has included a map of all the OS releases in his application 9:41 that chronicles a host of Apple hardware history. Definitely worth checking out and worth your support if you're interested.
2026-06-14 04:13:33
macOS Golden Gate deserved a wallpaper inspired by its namesake.
Apple announced the next version of macOS at its annual developers conference this past week, introducing macOS Golden Gate. But one thing was suspiciously absent from the beta: a wallpaper inspired by the operating system’s namesake. Instead, we got a much more muted, abstract grey-blue-taupe wallpaper designed to unify all the platforms. It’s fine enough, but a proper Golden Gate wallpaper it is not.
The new unified wallpaper of OS27 across Mac, iPadOS, and iOS.
So I set out to right that wrong.
Using Apple’s previous California wallpapers as inspiration, I tried to generate something that felt like it belonged with the OS. What came back was a good start, but in usual AI fashion, the devil was in the details. The trusses were a mangled mess, the cables were hallucinated nonsense, and the longer I looked, the more oddities I found.
Left: the original generated image.
Right: the final version after upscaling, editing, denoising, and cleanup.
So I spent a bunch of time polishing it into something I felt comfortable sharing. That included various stages of upscaling, denoising, refining, colour editing, and more.
It may still be, as the kids say, AI slop. But it’s AI slop I spent a lot of time trying my hardest to make look as good as I possibly could. Enjoy.
2026-06-10 00:05:39
Comparing the macOS System Icons between Tahoe & Golden Gate (beta 1).
WWDC always brings a torrent of new content, details, and platform-wide changes. One of the first things I noticed after installing the macOS Golden Gate beta was the updated icon design. The colours are much bolder, several icons have been adjusted, and the refraction in the Liquid Glass effect has changed significantly, especially in icons like Journal.
There’s also a noticeable sharpness to the icons, along with a flattening of the Liquid Glass effect. I’m not sure yet whether this is simply an early-beta artifact or the intended final look. For example, while I really like the redesigned Finder icon, the sharp black edges around the nose currently feel a little unrefined.
Here are a list of many of the icons across macOS Golden Gate (beta 1) compared to their liquid glass Tahoe counterpart. Enjoy!
Finder has undergone a bit of rhinoplasty over the past year, returning to the more rounded nose that recalls earlier iterations of the icon.
Updated colours, and the refractive properties of the Golden Gate icons are especially noticeable when you compare how the circle distorts as it approaches the edges of the rounded rectangle layered over it.
Journal is another example where we can see the updated refraction brought to macOS icons.
2026-06-09 04:08:50
Apple’s Crack Marketing Team’s Golden Gate Adventure…
During Apple’s announcement of the next version of macOS at this year’s WWDC, we watched Apple’s crack marketing team’s VW Microbus take a psychedelic tour across a landscape filled with creatures made of thumbs, launch into space and weave through the craters of an asteroid, dip under the Golden Gate Bridge while narrowly avoiding a pair of quadcopter bugs, and eventually arrive at Apple Park as a winged dolphin glided overhead.
I thought the animated sequence was pretty delightful, so I captured four of my favourite frames, upscaled them, and posted them here for everyone to enjoy.
“Speaking of macOS, for those of you that are WWDC regulars, you of course know that this is the moment where I relay the latest exploits of Apple's crack marketing team, and their, shall we say, unconventional methods for naming macOS releases. In this case, I'm afraid the story is incomplete.
Last I saw them, they just spilled out of their recently installed Apple Park "experiential ideation yurt" and piled into their microbus. I tried to catch them, but they just handed me this note out the window before motoring northward. So here's all I've got.
‘Dude, our chakra alignment has set our compass toward the summer of love. But like, further. Our corporeal forms know no earthly tether. We shall float on a span of gold over infinite seas, flying so high. Marketing is such a great job.’
Okay, well, I'm afraid they haven't returned and I'm lacking the sensory amplifiers to crack this code. So I guess the great era of macOS names must come to an end.
Joz: It's Golden Gate, man.
Oh thank goodness. Perfect. Our next version of macOS is macOS Golden Gate.”
Version 01 | Version 02 | Version 03
2026-06-05 22:20:28
It’s nearly time for WWDC26, which means it’s time to make my annual bingo board of predictions, prognostications, and presentation ponderings ahead of this year’s keynote.
Two years ago, Apple unveiled Apple Intelligence, which I think most people would pretty unanimously agree has been a significant miss for the company. The fallout from that failed rollout has led to lawsuits, organizational reshuffling, and a pretty significant directional repivot inside Apple.
Looking back now, I don’t think anyone would have expected that the solution would be Apple adopting Google’s Gemini to power its AI push, as the rumours now seem to suggest. But here we are.
Fortunately, Apple has managed to maneuver these past two years quite adeptly. And as Google battles with other AI makers like Anthropic and OpenAI, Apple has benefited from their sizeable platform base to have these apps installable and usable across most of its platforms. Apple may not have had its own AI story figured out, but it has still benefited from these companies competing for more and more customer attention across its platforms.
This year, I think many of us are expecting to see Apple do a lot more with AI across the OS. Apple and Google have reportedly been working on bringing Gemini into Siri, and we’re expecting to see the fruits of that integration at this year’s event.
But what else does Apple plan to announce at WWDC? And how will all of these integrations come together? That part is still very much shrouded in mystery.
So I’ve done my best to compile as many picks and predictions as I can, from what I think might happen, to what has been rumoured, to a few selections meant purely to manifest the things I want to see. So play along as we watch WWDC together!
Note: The board was assembled in picks made from late May and locked in on June 3.
Winning in Bingo means completing a specific pattern on your card, in this case, a row, column, diagonal, or the entire card. The "Good Morning Free Space" in the centre is already marked and can be part of any winning pattern.
Mockup of a hypothetical macOS Tiburon Wallpaper.
This year, my pick for the name of the next version of macOS is macOS Tiburon.
As of 2025, Apple still had a number of California-themed names protected, including California, Condor, Diablo, Farallon, Grizzly, Mammoth, Miramar, Pacific, Redtail, Redwood, Rincon, Shasta, Skyline, and Tiburon. That list is from before WWDC25, when Tahoe was announced, so it’s far from a guarantee that this is the definitive list of possible names.
It’s also worth noting that Tiburon has shown up in a couple of Apple screenshots, which, again, guarantees absolutely nothing. And now that I think about it, that might actually make it less likely to be the chosen name.
Tiburon, if you’re curious, is a small bayside town just north of San Francisco.
Update: The code word “Big Bear” has been spotted in relation to some of the teaser WWDC images, leading people to belief that might be the name of the next version of macOS.
For the past half decade, virtual WWDC keynotes have regularly cleared the 100-minute mark. But in 2025, Apple’s keynote was noticeably shorter than its predecessors, landing at 92 minutes and 26 seconds.
This year, based on what I’m predicting and hoping to see, I imagine Apple returning to a more true-to-form WWDC keynote. My guess is that we see the presentation stretch closer to the 110-minute mark, which would make it the longest WWDC keynote of the post-COVID era outside of 2023, when Apple debuted Vision Pro and clocked in at a hefty 126 minutes.
There are rumours that Apple is poised to be launching some sort of Wallpaper Creator feature for their platforms. Users may be able to use something like image playgrounds to create custom backgrounds using prompts, photos from the users library, etc.
Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and the 256GB M3 Ultra Mac Studio. What do these three things have in common? Many have claimed to see them, but no one can seem to find them.
Apple appears to have found itself caught up in the global RAM and chip shortage, as supply and demand continue shifting toward powering ever-larger data centres. Shipping dates for some Mac Studio and Mac mini models continue to slide, while more configurations appear unavailable or have been removed from Apple’s website altogether. Earlier this year, the 256GB and 512GB memory configurations of the Mac Studio vanished from Apple’s online store.
Which makes me wonder if Apple will use WWDC to introduce updates to these increasingly hard-to-find desktop devices.
It’s not every year Apple launches hardware at WWDC, but the Mac Studio and Mac mini are both due for attention, and they have become especially popular among people working with AI-heavy workflows. So this feels like one of the more plausible places for new models to debut.
That said, I shudder to think what the pricing might look like for any higher-spec memory configurations, given the inflated market we’re in right now.
Currently, Apple only has OpenAI’s ChatGPT available as a direct OS-level plug-in across its platforms. But with Google Gemini coming on board, I imagine users will be able to select the provider of their choice, whether that’s Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or another AI service altogether.
Apple has already added plug-in support for both OpenAI’s Codex and Anthropic’s Claude in Xcode, so seeing that same kind of connectivity and choice expand to other parts of the OS feels like a pretty natural next step.
As AirPods continue to gain features and complexity, the case for a redesigned & dedicated hub to manage their settings keeps getting stronger.
Right now, AirPods settings appear when the earbuds are connected, but that menu has become a mile-long list of options: battery life, listening modes, hearing health, press-and-hold actions, call controls, Camera Control, audio settings, Automatic Ear Detection, Spatial Audio, Live Translation, microphone settings, sleep controls, head gestures, case sounds, Find My, Accessibility, hearing mode, privacy, device information, AppleCare+ details, and finally the Disconnect and Forget Device options.
At this point, I think AirPods are overdue for their own dedicated app or settings redesign. Something that more thoughtfully organizes this laundry list of features and presents them in a cleaner, more structured, and more approachable way.
Alan Dye skipped town for Meta late last year, leaving his role to be filled by longtime Apple user interface designer Stephen Lemay.
Lemay is now in his third decade at Apple, having joined the company back in 1999, and now holds the title of Vice President of Human Interface Design.
Just as Jony Ive and Alan Dye have done in years past, I expect we’ll see a small segment during the keynote where Lemay speaks to some of the design refinements and updates being introduced across Apple’s platforms this year.
Genmoji Billboard.
I don't know how popular this feature continues to be, despite Apple's Pro prolific billboard campaign, but I expect at one point during the keynote that they'll make mention of improvements to Genmoji creation.
I wonder if we’ll see Apple integrate more Apple Intelligence into the Shortcuts app, giving us lay users a simpler and easier way to create shortcuts.
Maybe that looks like chatting with Siri in natural language and saying, “I need you to take these 10 images, crop them, and convert them into JPGs,” and having Shortcuts build the automation for you. Or maybe Apple could surface recommended shortcuts based on common actions you perform, giving people an easier entry point into automation without needing to understand all the fiddly bits that make Shortcuts feel so intimidating.
Lil’ Finder Guy made their debut alongside the launch of the MacBook Neo, and so far, they seem to be a mascot mostly dedicated to marketing the Neo, and Mac features more broadly, via the lens of the MacBook Neo on TikTok.
I have no idea what Apple’s long-term plans are for their tiny viral mascot, but I’m manifesting some kind of easter egg at the event. Maybe they show up in a screenshot, maybe they’re hiding in the background during a feature demo, or maybe Apple sneaks them in somewhere else entirely.
Apple has built an incredibly robust app for cataloguing health information, but so much of that data still feels passive. It gets collected, stored, and occasionally surfaced, but rarely analyzed in a way that feels personal or genuinely useful beyond more basic insights like sleep scores.
I wonder if Apple will start injecting more on-device Apple Intelligence into the Health app to provide users with more personal, dynamic insights into their health trends. Apple has long been rumoured to be working on some sort of fitness coach, and this feels like a natural place for those features to first appear.
Imagine being able to ask the Health app a question about your own health and getting a thoughtful, guardrailed response based on your actual data. If I asked how to build more muscle, it might notice that most of my workouts are walking-based and suggest adding more functional or strength-based training. If I asked about fat loss, it might look at my recent workout heart rate zones and suggest ways to spend more time in higher-intensity zones.
The Health app already has the data. What it needs next is a way to help users better understand what that data actually means.
Apple’s parkour-loving, golf-cart-racing, three-headed-guitar-playing, skydiving madman, last seen racing donuts on the roof of Apple Park, is sure to surprise us with another memeable… I mean, memorable WWDC performance.
I believe Tim Cook, who will still be Apple’s CEO at the time of the event, will open the video presentation with his signature Southern-style “Good morning” for the last time.
Customizable Camera App. Source: Bloomberg
I’d like to see Apple take a step toward making the Camera app in iOS 27 more customizable. Apple has so many buried featured inside their camera app and I would like them give users the ability to surface and customize the layout of their controls to better suit their needs. For example, if someone wants a persistent exposure controller, let them pin it. If someone regularly adjusts aperture, let them keep that control closer at hand. The Camera app is already incredibly powerful. I’d just like to see Apple give users a little more say in how that power is organized.
Siri Chat Bot mockup. Source: Bloomberg
Chatbots have proven to be incredibly popular interfaces for interacting with AI, and I expect Apple to compete by introducing a chatbot interface of its own.
I imagine this’ll be a standalone app that allows users to talk or text directly with Apple’s AI to ask questions, perform functions on device, or access world knowledge. Depending on the complexity of the request, Apple could choose to handle the task locally or hand it off to its Private Cloud Compute models when more power or broader context is needed.
Gurman seemed to reveal as much in late May, when he published concept artwork showing what these interfaces are expected to look like.
According to the rumours, Apple has been sitting on a nearly finished lineup of new home accessories designed to be powered by Apple Intelligence. However, since Apple Intelligence has spent the past couple of years mostly being used to make parrot popsicle Genmoji, these products appear to have been stuck in a bit of a holding pattern.
I expect Apple will preview the first wave of these devices, along with the new operating system powering them, at this year’s WWDC. These are widely rumoured to be smart home devices in the vein of Amazon Echo or Google Home, featuring a screen, speaker, and a modified version of iOS. Let’s call it homeOS.
I don’t expect any of this hardware to be available at WWDC. My guess is that Apple previews the category, gives developers the summer to start thinking about how their apps might work on this new accessory line, and possibly offers some form of developer kit to select partners so they can begin testing these experiences in the real world.
Extending on the promises of 2024, I wonder if Apple could use all of the Apple Intelligence features being built across the OS to create some sort of daily brief.
Whether it appears as a notification, email, widget, Siri summary, or something else entirely, the idea would be to give you a bird’s-eye view of your day before it really gets going.
In the morning, it could surface traffic reports, suggest when to leave, recommend alternate routes, provide an outline of your schedule, highlight relevant reminders, and maybe even make suggestions about when to get certain things done. For example, if traffic is expected to be heavier after work, it could suggest stopping at the grocery store near your office before heading home. Or if you have a meeting later in the day, it could surface the relevant emails, links, notes, or files you might need before you’re scrambling to find them.
The whole purpose would be to quietly connect the dots between Calendar, Reminders, Mail, Maps, Weather, etc., and then give you a useful snapshot of what matters most that day.
In addition to the expected drone footage around Apple Park, at some point, we'll transition from one place to the next via some fancy corridor, escape hatch, portal, or secret underground tunnel accessed via the fountain inside the courtyard of Apple Park.
It was all too easy to poke fun at some of the more glaring oddities of Liquid Glass. The skewampus and inconsistent rounding of windows. The transparency issues. The overall afterthought quality liquid glass got on macOS.
This year, I expect we’ll see a much more refined version of Liquid Glass now that Apple has had an entire calendar year, and our collective jeers, to fuel them.
I don’t think the rumours suggest some radical redesign. Rather, it might looks more like a year tightening things up, improving the shadowing, bringing more consistency to the system, and hopefully revisiting some of the more dreadfully lazy icons.
I also expect we’ll see more of a push to bring Liquid Glass properly into macOS, which lacked a lot of the animations, depth, and polish that iOS and iPadOS debuted with.
It’s widely expected that Apple will debut its Google Gemini-powered Siri at WWDC. After a two-year botched rollout of Apple Intelligence, Apple appears to be turning to Google Gemini, an established player in the AI space, to help power the next generation of Siri.
And that’s a pretty massive move. If Gemini becomes part of Siri, Google’s AI model suddenly becomes one of the most dominant AI systems across platforms around the world. Between Android and iOS, nearly every modern smartphone user will have a device that could soon be powered, in some way, by Gemini.
There are also rumours about how this new Siri might appear beyond the traditional “Hey Siri” (Yes, I still say the “Hey...”) command. Some reports have suggested it could be pulled down from the Dynamic Island, using the same glowing effect Apple has been teasing in its WWDC invite.
Photos AI tools. Source: Bloomberg
Back in 2024 with iOS 18.1, Apple introduced Clean Up, a photo-editing tool that uses on-device AI to remove people and objects from photos. It’s a handy feature, but it feels like just the beginning. This year, rumors suggest Apple is planning to bring even more AI-powered editing tools to the Photos app, potentially giving users the ability to extend, reframe, or otherwise enhance their photos with on-device models.
If Apple does indeed announce updated M5 Mac Studios & minis, we’re almost guaranteed to John Ternus feature during the video. But even if that hardware isn’t announced, I fully expect we see him make an appearance in some capacity during the event. This is, after all, his ship after August 31st.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on you. But fool me a third time? Shame on both of us.
For the past three WWDCs, I have been banging the drum for Apple to bring more of its native apps properly to visionOS. Apps like Reminders, Calendar, Podcasts, Pages, and Apple Books are still largely iPad versions, and many of them continue be very mid ports on Vision Pro.
I don’t think bringing a native version of Pages to visionOS is going to suddenly send people stampeding into Apple Stores to buy a Vision Pro. But it would be an important show of commitment to the platform. A sign that Apple is still investing in visionOS not just as a place for immersive videos and floating Safari windows, but as a real computing platform with first-party apps that feel considered, polished, and native.
Apple has recently made a bunch of changes to upgrade their Creator Studio apps, so it’s time to push those spoils into Vision Pro as well.
But I have pleaded for this for the last two years and been disappointed both times.
I’m ready to be hurt again.
Some in the Apple community have been waiting for this current generation of macOS to have its “Snow Leopard” glow up.
Snow Leopard, released in 2009, is still held in high regard because it focused less on obvious new features and more on core system performance, stability, and refinements to the architecture of the Mac.
If this year really is that kind of moment, I imagine Apple will spend time talking about improvements to the foundation of the operating system, and how those changes trickle down into faster performance, better efficiency, and improved battery life during everyday tasks.
I wonder if we’ll see Tim add a slightly more personal note to his sign-off at the end of the keynote, acknowledging that this may likely be his final widely-public words as Apple’s CEO.
Normally, he wraps things up by recapping the event, highlighting what developers can look forward to, and touting the exciting week ahead. But given that he has now been leading Apple for nearly a decade and a half, I wonder if we’ll see him add a small line reflecting on his role at the company. Nothing dramatic, of course, just a little extra feels.
If Apple announces an increase to its base 5GB iCloud storage (even if that change comes in the form of 5GB per device), then an instant BINGO is declared.
By my count, we did manage to hit bingo on the far-right vertical column. We got choice of AI services, Lil’ Finder Guy made an appearance both as a pin and as a background Easter egg in an early scene, Apple introduced a Siri chat app during the keynote, unveiled a Gemini-powered Siri, and Tim Cook took a few moments at the end of the presentation to say goodbye.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get a dedicated AirPods app, just a redesigned settings pane. There was also no new hardware announced. We came in well under the 105-minute prediction, with the keynote wrapping up in just 76 minutes, and despite some hopes for a broader push, Apple didn’t introduce any new apps for the Vision platform.
2026-06-02 02:16:29
Apple has stolen my thunder and released an official set of WWDC26 wallpapers.
For the past several years, I’ve released my own WWDC wallpapers (2023, 2024, 2025) ahead of Apple’s annual developer event, inspired by the logos Apple shares in the lead-up to its week-long developers conference.
But this year, I’ve been Sherlocked.
Apple has taken it upon itself to release a trio of high-quality wallpapers for the Mac, iPad, and iPhone, giving everyone a way to adorn their devices ahead of WWDC.
The wallpapers are available on Apple’s developer page, but I’m also sharing them here for posterity’s sake, because who knows if or when they’ll disappear.
Enjoy!
