Vivid Walls is a wallpaper app for Mac that runs Wallpaper Engine scene files and supports video, web, GIF, and image wallpapers. Its scene engine uses Metal to render on Apple Silicon. Wallpapers can respond to cursor movement, clicks, system audio, and focus modes; you can span one scene across displays or assign separate scenes, then schedule them by time or focus mode. The app pauses when the desktop is fully covered or an app is fullscreen, lowers its frame rate on battery, and respects Low Power Mode. Eight animated 1080p wallpapers appear in the library on first launch. A free Windows Companion can transfer a Wallpaper Engine library to the Mac over local Wi-Fi using a four-character code. The app requires macOS 14.0 or later and an M1-or-later Apple Silicon Mac; Intel Macs are not supported. The eight bundled wallpapers are free, and unlocking the full library costs $9.99 USD one-time. The maker says some scenes may have rendering issues.
Who it is for
Vivid Walls suits Mac users with Apple Silicon who want animated or interactive wallpapers, including people bringing a Wallpaper Engine library over from Windows. It also supports multi-display setups and scheduled wallpaper changes.
What is good
- Supports video, web, GIF, and image wallpapers
- Wallpapers respond to cursor, clicks, audio, or focus
- Can span or separate scenes across displays
- Eight animated 1080p wallpapers are included
- No account or license key is required
What to know first
- Requires macOS 14.0 or later and Apple Silicon
- Intel Macs are unsupported
- Some scenes may have rendering issues
- Full library costs $9.99 USD one-time
Verdict
Vivid Walls combines multiple wallpaper formats, scene interactions, and display scheduling for supported Apple Silicon Macs. Its free tier includes eight wallpapers, while the full library requires a one-time purchase.
Vivid Walls plans and pricing
All plansCompared on desktop wallpaper software
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 9.99 one-time
- Platform coverage
- multi_platform
- Live wallpapers
- Yes
- Automatic rotation
- Yes
- Multi-monitor support
- Yes
- Video wallpapers
- Yes
- Interactive wallpapers
- Yes
- Performance controls
- Yes
