While sometimes it can be hard to see from single release to single release, Apple has steadily been refining the Aqua user interface since first introducing it.

Of course, there have been highs and lows. Pin stripes and Brushed Metal and Linen and Rich Corinthian Leather. Transparency and Vibrancy. At times, Apple had led the way into new design trends, and at other times, they have fallen behind the rest of the industry.

(View every default wallpaper here … all scaled to 5K or beyond.)

Aqua started life on CRTs and small notebook screens. Today, it spans from 12-inch MacBooks to the 27-inch iMac. It has undergone system font changes and the Retina transition. It has had to adapt, hosting the addition of dozens and dozens of features over the years.

To explore how each major version of macOS has looked, select from the list of releases below:

Mac OS X Public Beta Kodiak

Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah

Mac OS X 10.1 Puma

Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar

Mac OS X 10.3 Panther

Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger

Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion

OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion

OS X 10.9 Mavericks

OS X 10.10 Yosemite

OS X 10.11 El Capitan

macOS 10.12 Sierra

macOS 10.13 High Sierra

macOS 10.14 Mojave

macOS 10.15 Catalina

Check out OS X’s default wallpapers, updated for 5K Retina displays.

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