macOS Tiger Aqua Redux wallpaper for iPhone

As we look toward the general availability of macOS Sonoma this fall, our Wallpapers of the Week take a step back in time, almost 20 years. macOS Tiger launched in 2005 and included the Aqua wallpaper, smoothing the lines of users’ backgrounds. Download this collection of Aqua inspired wallpapers and a touch up of the original.

macOS Tiger wallpapers for iPhone

If you are regular visitor to our wallpaper gallery, you may quickly recognize the name of today’s featured artist, @BasicAppleGuy. Taking inspiration from the original macOS Tiger, he created a set of “macOS Tiger Redux” wallpapers that honor the first edition. These new downloads bring smoother lines, more colorful gradients, and updated resolutions.

BasicAppleGuy notes:

Apple’s fifth major release of OS X, was much beloved by the Apple community & holds the title as the longest-running version of Mac OS X (30 months). Released in 2005, Tiger introduced notable features including Spotlight search, Dashboard, Safari RSS, Automator, and more. It also felt like a very refined version of Mac OS X, with a lot of fit and finish across the entire operating system.

In honoring the original art, he clearly took care to master the clean lines and color transitions. My favorite of the Redux versions below is the sunset, “Twilight,” rendition, which starts with a bold orange, then moves through red, purple, and ultimately navy blue.

Closer to the original, these blue and slate downloads are thematically closer to the 2005 Apple version. The slate option is my preferred download, also because it has a very rich, dark blue color.

If you are looking for iPad or desktop sized versions of these downloads, you can visit the BasicAppleGuy posts for more files.

To influence the iDB Wallpapers of the Week, catch up with me via @jim_gresham, where I curate the gallery. Follow along for posting alerts, mid-week downloads, and sneak peaks of upcoming downloads.